It's my Birthday and I'm experimenting with what exactly my vintage classic of a new apartment can actually make. To be honest, I was incredibly skeptical what my oven can successfully make. It's likely older than I am and doesn't even come close to holding a consist temperature. So, when thinking about making something as delicate and precise as a cheesecake? I was honestly skeptical whether or not it would be able to make a cheesecake at all! I started out just making a classic New York-style Cheesecake. And, while it did work, there was a pretty sizeable crack in the center. Which, while merely cosmetic, is definitely an indication of the oven not quite being at the right temperature. So, I decided to go for broke and make another set of cheesecakes. This Peanut Butter Cheesecake I made in two smaller springform pans. It's simply the full recipe cut in half across the two pans. So, you can just as easily make one large cheesecake with this recipe, instead. I just theorized that my oven would cook more consistently in smaller pans. Which it did!
I'd also literally just made a cheesecake. So, I wanted to mix up the flavor profiles a little bit more for these ones. I'm a huge fan of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. So, I decided to make a peanut butter and chocolate theme with this one. And tossed in a little bit of rum in the homemade whipped cream and chocolate ganache. Because I'm an adult and can elevate my desserts however I want to. Although you can easily omit the liquor if that's more your taste!
Gallery
Variations of Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Cheesecake is my go-to dessert. It takes a little bit of forethought because I recommend making it the night before. Although that does make it a great dish to avoid having to use oven space on the day of. My dream is to have a double oven one day. Although, until that pipe dream, my oven space is at a premium on holidays. So, any dish that's served chilled is a lifesaver.
This New York-style Peanut Butter Cheesecake consists of cream cheese, sour cream, peanut butter, sugar, eggs, nutmeg, rum, and cornstarch on a vanilla wafer crust with rum ganache and rum whipped cream.
Frosting Bag (or plastic bag w/ the corner cut out)
Ingredients
Crust
~2tbsp.butterfor coating pan
1 ½c.vanilla wafers(200 g.)
6tbsp.butter(preferably unsalted)
1/4c.sugargranulated
Filling
2lbs.cream cheese(four 8 oz. packages)
1c.sour cream
1c.peanut buttercreamy
3/4c.sugar
2eggs
1tsp.nutmeg(optional)
1tsp.rum(or vanilla extract)
2tbsp.cornstarch
Whipped Cream
1c.heavy whipping cream
1/4c.powdered sugar
1 ½tbsp.rumdark
Chocolate Ganache
1c.heavy whipping cream
8oz.dark chocolate(two 4 oz. bars)
1tbsp.rumdark
Instructions
Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heavily coat a springform cheesecake pan with butter. Set aside.I am a purist when it comes to cheesecake. I do not recommend spraying it with olive oil or attempting a cheesecake in anything other than a cheesecake pan! It will not have the same flavor and it will not come cleanly out of any other type of pan.
Add vanilla wafers to food processor and process for 1-2 minutes, or until the wafers turn into fine crumbs.You want 1 1/2 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs, so you'll need to add about twice as much whole vanilla wafers to reach this amount.
Add butter and sugar to vanilla wafer crumbs and process for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is fully incorporated and begins to form a ball.
Add wafer mixture to the springform pan and firmly pack down.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and set aside.
Filling
Turn the oven up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a large baking dish on the bottom rack of the oven and fill with water.DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. An essential part of making cheesecake is creating steam in the oven.
Add cream cheese, sour cream, peanut butter, and sugar to a food processor. Process for 2-3 minutes, or until smooth.
Add eggs gradually, along with nutmeg, rum, and cornstarch. It’s best to add 1 egg at a time and process until barely incorporated, about 10-15 seconds per egg.DO NOT OVERBEAT. I repeat, DO NOT OVERBEAT! There is nothing that will ruin the texture of a cheesecake faster than overbeating the eggs.
Pour filling on top of the crust. Let sit for a couple minutes and tap or shake lightly.This will let the air bubbles rise to the surface and will prevent the bubbles from causing brown spots or cracks in the cheesecake. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!
Bake for 45 minutes. The cheesecake should be very lightly browned on top.
Check after 30 minutes and turn down the heat if browning too quickly.
Turn off the oven and place a wooden spoon the door to prop it open. Let sit for 1-2 hours, or until cool. This will allow the cheesecake to set without removing it from the oven.I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT TOUCH IT! DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE OVEN! DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE PAN! AND DO NOT CUT!
After the cheesecake is cool, put in the refrigerator and let sit for at least 12 hours. It’s best to bake in the evening and let it set overnight. It will not turn out if you try to cut into it too early.
Whipped Cream
Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks are formed. This takes about 15 minutes by hand. Alternatively, you can use a handheld or stand mixer to cut it down to about 5 minutes.
Place in a frosting bag and decorate the cheesecake however you like.
Chocolate Ganache
Dice, chop, shred, or otherwise make your chocolate smaller. Add to a large heat-safe bowl.
Heat heavy whipping cream until warm, but not boiling.I did this on the stove and stirred constantly until heated. You can likely do this in a microwave. Just make sure that it doesn't boil, foam, or curdle.
Immediately pour cream over chocolate, whisking constantly.
Add in rum and continue to mix for about 2 minutes. The ganache should be smooth, shiny, and the texture of hot fudge.
Let cool at room temperature until it reaches the consistency that you need it for and spread over the cheesecake.
Drizzle over the cheesecake to decorate.
Refrigerate and serve within 24 hours.
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
Cheesecake will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will technically keep for longer and is still fine to eat. However, after a couple days in the refrigerator the butter will begin to separate, so I advice eating it sooner rather than later.
This Page Contains Edited Images
As a general rule, I don't like to edit images. Food styling, editing, alteration, and even faking entirely is just as rampant a problem in the recipe realm. Cooking is a very visual art and you can tell when a lot of foods are cooked based on the color. So, when this is altered and you can't use the coloration as a gauge, it makes it quite difficult to follow some recipes. I have an entire article about Food Styling and Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes. My place has very warm lighting, though. So, sometimes my camera overcompensates and ends up with an unnatural hues. I've adjusted the hues, levels, and/or cropped the following images:
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