Brownies

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line a 9X9 square pan with foil and grease heavily.
2. In a large pot add the water, butter, sugar and cocoa powder. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until it is all combined together, the mixture will look weird and not liquidy enough, that is fine. Then add the oil and vanilla extract. Cook on low an additional minute and mix to combine everything.
3. Take off of heat, let sit for 5 minutes then add the egg and egg yolk. Whisk to combine. Add the baking soda, salt, cornstarch and mix to combine. Gently add the flour by using a spatula to fold in until just combined, just before there are no flour streaks add your chocolate chunks/ chips. Do not over mix, this will affect the end product.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake 15-20 minutes or until the top of the brownies are set and no longer wet. Take out of the oven, reduce oven temperature to 325F/163C and top with cheesecake batter.

Cheesecake 

1. In a large bowl or bowl of your electric mixer add cream cheese and granulated sugar. Beat the cream cheese and sugar for about two minutes. Then add in the vanilla extract, heavy cream, and cocoa powder. Mix until combined then gently mix in the eggs. 
2. The batter should be thick and smooth. Next, pour in the melted chocolate and gently fold into the batter. 
3. The brownies are only partially baked so use a  large cookie scoop to place balls of the batter evenly on top. Then use an offset spatula to gently smooth the cheesecake batter. Place brownie cheesecake bars in the oven and on the rack beneath place a cookie sheet and fill it with warm water- the steam will help prevent any cracks. 
4. Bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the center is just a little jiggly. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake inside the oven with the door cracked. Let cool in oven for 45 minutes then let them cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before transferring to the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. 

Topping 

1. Serve with whipped cream, chopped chocolate, fresh berries, or sprinkles. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To achieve clean slices, I use a knife dipped in hot water and wipe clean after each cut.