Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake
If you love peanut butter and chocolate, then you will love this delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake! This cheesecake marries the delicious flavors of a cocoa crust and velvety peanut butter cheesecake filling. It is topped with a smooth dark chocolate ganache, mini peanut butter cups and peanuts. This dessert is a must-try for all peanut butter chocolate lovers.
Equipment
- 30 cm /12 inch cake pan optional for the water bath
Ingredients
COOKIE CRUST
- 250 g digestive or graham crackers
- 2 tablespoon dutch process cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 75 g butter melted
CHEESECAKE
- 800 g full fat cream cheese room temperature
- 340 g smooth peanut butter 1 cup
- 260 g granulated sugar
- 100 g sour cream 18% room temperature
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
GANACHE
- 100 g semi sweet dark chocolate
- 100 g heavy cream
- 10 g butter
The US customary cup measurement serves as a rough estimate, as it can have uncertainties, so for precise results, it's recommended to weigh your ingredients using a digital scale in grams. Baking is both an art and a science, which most often requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
COOKIE CRUST
- Before starting, preheat the oven to 160ºC/ 325ºF conventional oven. Prepare a 23 cm/9-inch springform tin lined with parchment paper in the bottom.
- In a food processor, add the cookies and granulated sugar and blend it all together until a fine sand-like texture. Melt the butter. Add the melted butter to the food processor and blend it together with the blended cookies.250 g digestive or graham crackers, 2 tablespoon dutch process cocoa powder, 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, 75 g butter
- Add the cookie crumbs to the springform and press the cookie crumbs down with the bottom of a glass, so it’s well packed together and flattened out.
- Bake it for 10 minutes. Then let it cool down so that it’s cool to touch. Keep the oven turned on.
CHEESECAKE
- With a hand mixer or in a stand mix using the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese for 1 minute on low speed. Then add the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add granulated sugar and let it mix for 1 minute on low speed.800 g full fat cream cheese, 260 g granulated sugar, 340 g smooth peanut butter
- In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and cornstarch until smooth. Add it to the cream cheese with the vanilla extract and let it mix on low speed until combined.100 g sour cream, 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch, 2 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Then add two eggs at a time and let it mix on low speed until combined. Once all the eggs have mixed in, scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it a final mix to make sure all the ingredients have incorporated.4 large eggs
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the springform.
- Boil up water in a kettle. Place the springform pan in a 25 cm/10 inch cake pan. Place the cake pan in another baking pan or roasting pan and fill it with hot water. This method will prevent water from getting into the crust. (See photo further up in the blogpost)
- Alternatively, add a triple layer of aluminium foil around the cake pan to safely seal it from the water before placing it in a water bath. There might be a possibility of water leaking in, so make sure it's covered well if choosing this method.
- Bake for 1 hour and 20-30 minutes.
- Once the time has passed, give the tray a very gentle shake. The cheesecake should still be a small wobble in the middle. Turn off the oven and have the oven door slightly open and let the cheesecake cool down in the oven for 1 hour.
- Then take it out of the oven and remove it from the water bath. Take off the aluminium foil, if added, and place the cheesecake on a cooling rack. Let it cool down fully for about 1 hour to room temperature.
- Finally, once at room temperature, place it in the fridge and let it set for at least 6 hours, preferable overnight.
GANACHE
- Melt the chocolate, heavy cream and butter together in the microwave or over a double boiler. Once melted with a rubber spatula gently stir it together until smooth.100 g semi sweet dark chocolate, 100 g heavy cream, 10 g butter
- Move the cheesecake to a serving dish and pour the ganache over the cheesecake.
- Decorate with mini Reese's peanut butter cups and peanuts. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 755kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 15gFat: 55gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 152mgSodium: 541mgPotassium: 387mgFiber: 3gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 1330IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 125mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!