Ben & Jerry's - Cheesecake Brownie

Cheesecake Brownie - Cheesecake Ice Cream with Cheesecake Brownie Chunks

Back in 1986, Ben & Jerry's pioneered the use of brownies as an ice cream pint mix-in with its Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor.  These excellent brownies from the Greyston bakery in New York somehow manage to stay soft and chewy despite being embedded in ice cream and stored in a freezer.  So popular was this flavor, that Ben & Jerry's looked to include these delicious Brownies in other flavor.  For example, they are the baked half of Half Baked.  In 2008, the Cheesecake Brownie flavor because the next brownie permutation.  Here, instead of a cheesecake ice cream base is used instead of a chocolate ice cream base.  Also, instead of standard chocolate brownies, these are cheesecake brownies.  I became curious as to what constitutes a cheesecake brownie.

Opening the lid, I see the very pale yellow color of the cheesecake ice cream base.  Indeed is roughly the same color as plain cheesecake -- perhaps a little lighter.    Some darker spots are evident indicative of the brownies that lay underneath the surface.  Digging into the pint, I really do get the flavor of plain cheesecake as I was eating the ice cream.  In the flavored cheesecake bases (e.g. Strawberry Cheesecake) I got the feeling the cream cheese was present not to provide its own flavor but to cut the other strong or sweet flavor of the base (e.g. strawberry) but here you do taste the cream cheese itself.  The brownies pieces are dispersed throughout the pint.  They were soft, chewy and delicious as expected and the rich chocolate flavor provided a good contrast to the cheesecake base.  I did not notice that the cheesecake brownies were any different than the regular brownies, but I really like the regular brownies so I'm not complaining.  There could have been a little bit more of them but that's a minor quibble.  As I was finishing the pint in one sitting, I expected to feel especially full -- a little slice of cheesecake can be super filling -- but I did not.  I checked the side of the pint and 260 calories per half cup is not a lightweight snack but it is about average as far as Ben & Jerry's flavor go.  The flavors with peanut butter or cookie dough can pack in over 300 calories per half cup.

I did enjoy this pint.  If you are a fan of Greyston brownies in Chocolate Fudge Brownie or Half Baked, then you can give this one a try.  I don't expect this flavor will reach the immense popularity of those two, but it provide a niche for those looking for a non-chocolatey base to contrast with the brownies.