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Cheesecake w/ Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache

Cheesecake w/ Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache

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.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Resting Time 12 hours
Total Time 14 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Servings 12 servings

Equipment

  • Spring Form Pan
  • Baking Pan or Dish
  • Food Processor
  • Frosting Bag (or plastic bag w/ the corner cut out)

Ingredients
  

Crust

  • ~2 tbsp. butter for coating pan
  • 1 ½ c. vanilla wafers (200 g.)
  • 6 tbsp. butter (preferably unsalted)
  • 1/4 c. sugar granulated

Filling

  • 2 lbs. cream cheese (four 8 oz. packages)
  • 1 c. sour cream
  • 1 c. peanut butter creamy
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
  • 1 tsp. rum (or vanilla extract)
  • 2 tbsp. cornstarch

Whipped Cream

  • 1 c. heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 c. powdered sugar
  • 1 ½ tbsp. rum dark

Chocolate Ganache

  • 1 c. heavy whipping cream
  • 8 oz. dark chocolate (two 4 oz. bars)
  • 1 tbsp. rum dark

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.