Peanut Butter & Jelly Cheesecake
Submitted by Cleo
Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake on a peanut butter cookie and chocolate wafer crust, topped with white chocolate peanut butter glaze and a chocolate drizzle.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
30 minCOOK
125 minREADY
635 minThis cheesecake is a Reese’s cup in cake form. The filling blends cream cheese, melted chocolate chips, and peanut butter with brown sugar, eggs, and chopped peanuts. The crust is a mix of crushed chocolate wafers and peanut butter cookies with more chopped peanuts pressed into the pan.
Then there’s the topping: melted white chocolate stirred with peanut butter, poured over the chilled cake, and finished with parallel lines of semi-sweet chocolate dragged with a knife to create an elegant feathered pattern.
The two-stage bake is critical. Fifteen minutes at high heat sets the outside, then the temperature drops way down for over an hour of gentle baking. Thirty more minutes in the turned-off oven lets it cool gradually and prevents cracking.
Kitchen Tips
- Soften the cream cheese completely before beating. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps that no amount of mixing will smooth out.
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat gently. Over-beating incorporates too much air, which causes the cheesecake to puff up and then collapse and crack.
- Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven. This releases the cake from the sides so it can contract without pulling apart.
- Chill overnight uncovered before adding the topping. The surface needs to be fully set and dry.
Variations
- Swirl grape or strawberry jam through the filling before baking for the actual “jelly” element.
- Use dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet for a more intense chocolate flavor.
- Top with crushed peanut butter cups instead of the white chocolate glaze for a shortcut finish.
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium bowl, stir together the chocolate wafers, peanut butter cookies and peanuts.
Add melted butter and stir until well combined.
Press mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan.
Set aside.
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, brown sugar and cornstarch.
Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
Beat in the melted choclate chips and peanut butter.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in vanilla. Stir in chopped peanuts. Pour mixture over the crust.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 15 minutes.
Lower the temperature to 225 and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center no longer looks wet or shiny.
Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.
Turn the oven off and return the cake to the oven for an additional 30 minutes.
Cool to room temperature then chill, uncovered overnight.
The next day, make the topping and put on cake.
Topping: in a small saucepan melt white chocolate and peanut butter over low heat, stirring constantly.
Cool to lukewarm. Pour peanut butter mixture over the cheesecake.
Drizzle parallel strip of the melted semisweet chocolate over the peanut butter mixture.
Using a knife, draw the dull side the tip across the chocolate.
Chill until serving time.
Comments
