Servings: 18 Prep: 30 mins Cook: 45 mins Total: 4 hrs
As stated in my blog post about Lakanto, I had a very positive experience with their customer service and opted to try something new. This is a bit of a review of one of their products, while also being a fun twist to their product. This is unsponsored (does it matter, really?) and just something I wanted to try.
What do y’all think? Do you like the idea of reviews, along with fun twists and ideas for pre-made products? I’ve had my blog for something like 9 years and I’ve never written a single recipe starting from a packaged product. It was actually kinda fun. Should I do more?
In any event, the brownies were AMAZING. Far better than any other sugar-free brownie I’ve ever bought, made or seen. They were that good. It almost seemed silly to diminish it by twisting it, but twist it I did!
I remember as a kid, I worked summers at a summer camp north of Lake Tahoe. I got to stay at the camp for free, getting into all kinds of trouble, in exchange for helping in the kitchen. One of the big tweaks to the summer camp recipes was to take boxed brownie mix, swirl it with something, then bake it up! Sometimes, it was just more chocolate. Other times, it was ribbons of peanut butter. Fold in marshmallows? Check. Butterscotch chips? CHECK. M & M’s? Oreos? Frosting?! Bananas? Strawberry Jam?! Check, check, CHECK and CHECK!!
This time, I thought it would be fun to take the base from my Bayou Brownies, bake it with the Lakanto Brownie Batter and top it with the baked Cream Cheese topping from said Bayou Brownies.
How was it? It was stunning. Amazing. INCREDIBLE! Did it elevate the brownie mix? Well, I don’t know that it’s possible to compete with or surpass perfection, which Lakanto’s brownie mix most certainly is. So, I won’t go so far as to say this recipe is better than the stuff in the bag, but it’s not worse, either. Given a choice between the two… ?
I’d say YES!!!
Note: I’m personally fine with dairy. So, I tweaked the brownie portion, swapping out the coconut oil and water, for butter. Feel free to use the formulation on the back of the bag, though.
Second Note: If you don’t have this specific brownie mix, any other brownie mix or brownie base recipe will work, just as well.
Chocolate Marbled Bayou Brownies
Print Pin RateIngredients
Lakanto Brownie Batter
- 1 275 g bag of Lakanto Brownie Mix
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp melted butter
- 3 eggs
Bayou Brownie Batter
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup sweetener
- 1/2 cup polydextrose optional
- 1/4 cup ground white chia seeds
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Cheesecake Layer
- 8 oz. package cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sweetener
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Note: It’s best to use warm temperature ingredients for the cheesecake layer. If you haven’t already, set the cheesecake layer ingredients somewhere warm (like above the preheating oven).
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
- Grease a 13”x9” (33c x 23) baking pan and set aside.
- Brownie Mix: In a large mixing bowl, combine brownie mix and eggs. While whisking to combine, pour in the melted butter. Once well mixed, set aside.
- Bayou Brownie Mix: In a separate large mixing bowl, combine chopped pecans, sweetener, optional polydextrose, ground chia, almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
- To the second large mixing bowl, add the eggs, almond milk and vanilla. Whisk to start combining. While whisking, pour in the melted butter. The chia seeds will start to absorb moisture and thicken the batter. Set aside.
- Cheesecake Topping: In a clean large mixing bowl (an electric mixer is best for this), add the room temperature cream cheese, powdered sweetener, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and salt. Whip the ingredients until smooth. If there are any lumps, you can always push the cheesecake batter through a strainer.
- I personally used a big ice cream scoop for this. I put drops of brownie batter around the bottom of the pan. Then, I put drops of bayou brownie batter between the other drops. Then, I just continued to drop random blops of the two batters in a haphazard manner on top of one another. This kind of combines them into a patchwork pattern of batters. You can do this with a spoon, too. Or, you can marble the two batters in a bowl and pour it in, but I kinda like this method. Once both batters are in the pan, use a spatula to flatten the top.
- Gently spoon the cheesecake batter over the top of the brownie(s) layer. With a plastic spatula evenly smooth and spread the cheesecake over the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven to 300°F (148°C).
- Bake a further 20 minutes, or until the cheese mixture has a mild tan and has solidified. Once they’re done, leave the pan in the oven, but turn the oven off and allow them to cool slowly.
- A few hours later, return to the oven, remove the tray, slice and share with friends!
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* Learn More: More about this recipe and nutrition …
This recipe looks amazing and I cannot wait to try it. I look forward to seeing your reviews/recipes using Lakanto products. I have all of your cookbooks and have never been disappointed in any of your recipes! It is very exciting to have something new to look forward to.
Hi Linda. Thank you for the kind words! I think I made 6 total recipes. I’m going to eek them out once a week. As I get a rhythm going, hopefully I increase the frequency. This was a nice way to get back in the groove though. Definitely more to come. On it! 😉
Yay! I’m alway interested in anything you make, bake, finesse or tweak so looking forward to seeing you have some fun 🙏🏻
Off to go see if I can get Lakanto here in the Netherlands as yours is a ringing endorsement indeed. Greets from this baconbit!
Howdy Nikki! Let me know what you find out. It does seem like Lakanto is international. I don’t know HOW international, but when I was researching the company, it seemed to be far bigger than “just” the USA. Keep me posted!
I don’t see anything wrong with using premade products. For most of us, they’re part of our reality and your honest opinion would be very valuable. Your recipes using them would be priceless!
I agree! It’s just not something I’ve ever done. I’ve gotten a ton of supportive emails. I suspect I’ll be on the hunt for other companies/products. Let me know if you have anything specific in mind and I’ll give it a look. Thank you for the feedback!
Okay, I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I know your recipes are always 5-star!
I love the idea of product reviews along with your special twist in a recipe using these products. Great idea!! Let us know if you need suggestions for products. I figure you already have a few ideas up your sleeve for now, but if you run out of ideas…
Hi Sharon, I actually don’t. I had no idea how this would go. There are more to come, but people may have completely poo-poo’d the concept, so I haven’t really mulled over any products. If you have something in mind, let me know. I’ll definitely consider it! (kinda needs to be a big enough brand to be relatively easily found … FWIW). Thank you for the feedback!
Love your books and recipes! I have used Lankato for several years and love the sweeteners and options such as powdered and brown “sugar”. I enjoyed their brownies, but as a cheesecake-alcoholic, I can’t wait to try this version!
Another brand with a few packaged mixes is HighKey. I’d love to see what you might do with their lemon cake mix.