My interests have shifted over time. For example, when I was very young I remember telling some judgy adult I wanted to be a doctor. That velleity only lasted a few minutes, but I also wanted to be a ballerina and an actress (thank goodness that didn’t last!) and later, a documentary filmmaker under the deep blue sea, a poet, a novelist, a singer-songwriter, a nail artist, a real artist, and others.

Mixed up in all this, as well as the confusion of going to college and thinking I was cured of all body-image and food-related thought traps, it makes sense that I often forget I like to make recipes. I only did this one yesterday because I was suffering an extreme terror over having to meet a friend today and having to make sure I got enough exercise… After doing some yoga, I made up this random recipe for a no-bake brownie cheesecake that just happened to turn out post-able, if not magazine-photogenic. Of course, my interests nowadays lean farther away from baking and more towards marine conservation…

Above: “Pserudobiceros gloriosus (flatworm) on Polycarpa aurata (Seasquirt)” by Nick Hobgood (see bottom of page for full credits)

I was thinking of titling this post “Berry Turbellarian Brownie Cheesecake,” or “Chilled Flatworm Brownie Delight,” in reference to how utterly flat this layered dessert turned out (food often reminds me of marine animals.) But despite the delightful colors of some turbellarians (free-swimming as opposed to parasitic flatworms) I didn’t think that would be a great title for a recipe (after all, I don’t want to encourage people to take flatworms out of their natural habitat in order to enjoy them in dessert recipes!) So here is the flatworm-free Summer Berry Brownie Cheesecake, which I made in the shape of a square field but which might work out better in a smaller container so as to make the layers thicker and easier to cut and eat (and photograph.) Enjoy!

No-Bake Summer Berry Brownie Cheesecake

*Note: I recommend doubling the whole recipe so it makes a thicker layer of brownie, or you could put it in a smaller pan/container)

Ingredients:

brownie

• 1/2 cup pure cocoa powder
• 1 tbs white sugar (or use your favorite type of granulated sweetener; this is just all I had in the house at the moment)
• 5 tbs milk
• 2 squares of a solid, dark chocolate bar (I used the store brand “Signature Select” 72% cacao dark chocolate with almonds and blueberry)

cheesecake

• 1 container Chobani Pure Raspberry “Flip” whole milk Greek yogurt (or your favorite thick Greek yogurt, preferably the type where the yogurt and fruit sauce are given separately)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (of your choice)
• 1 Laughing Cow light creamy swiss cheese triangle
• 1 cup fresh, washed blueberries

Directions:

Line a brownie pan, bread pan, or a gaggle of muffin cups with aluminum foil.

In a medium bowl, combine cocoa powder, 1 tbs sugar and milk.

Melt one square of chocolate and mix the melted chocolate into the brownie batter.

In another medium bowl, combine just the yogurt (not the fruit-syrupy stuff) with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss cheese triangle. Mix gently with a spoon; try to blend the cheese into the yogurt instead of chopping it into isolated cheesy morsels.

Knead the brownie dough/batter/stuff until it is thick and mostly contingent (it will never stick together). As best you can, press it onto the foil in your pan like a holey crust.

Break the remaining square of chocolate into little chunks and sprinkle them to fill the holes between brownie batter splotches.

Pour the yogurt cheesecake mixture over the brownie crust. Use a spoon to gently spread it evenly.

Drizzle the fruit syrup over the yogurt and gently mix it in with a spoon.

Distribute the blueberries evenly on top.

Refrigerate overnight and enjoy cool.

Full image credit for flatworm image:

“Pserudobiceros gloriosus (flatworm) on Polycarpa aurata (Seasquirt).” By Nhobgood Nick Hobgood (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License