Pretty soon all the native summer fruits will be crowding the display tables at the farm stands, and fruit desserts will be the order of the day. But we’re not quite there yet, so how about a season-less, fabulous peanut butter cheesecake to tide us over?
This peanut butter cheesecake captures (and then surpasses) all the flavors and textures of a peanut butter cup candy. It starts with a chocolate cookie crumb crust. The New York-style cheesecake layer is ultra creamy with an intense peanut butter flavor. On top is a splatter of dark chocolate ganache, dotted with fat poufs of peanut butter buttercream frosting, each topped with a miniature peanut butter cup.
I make a downsized version of this cheesecake using a 6-inch springform pan. That might seem small, but it actually serves six to eight people which makes it equivalent to many standard-sized desserts. If you’re having a party (or if you plan to hole up and eat nothing but cheesecake for the entire weekend – I won’t tell), the recipe is easy to double. Use a deep, 9-inch pan and add 20 minutes or so to the baking time – follow the instructions in the recipe to determine when the cheesecake is done.
Traditional New-York style cheesecakes have a slightly dry texture – I don’t mean that in a bad way at all, ironically enough they are often described as having the texture of peanut butter, so thick the cheesecake sticks to the roof of your mouth. I love that mouth-feel for a classic cheesecake, but for this peanut butter version I’ve nudged the texture just slightly to the creamier side by adding sour cream and a tiny splash of heavy cream to the batter. The filling comes out thick and smooth, but fluffy, not dense.
If you really wanted to, you could skip the buttercream frosting and peanut butter cup garnish – the rich cheesecake with its chocolate crust and ganache topping would still be pretty spectacular. But you don’t want to. I know.
Prep tips, making this peanut butter cheesecake ahead, and what to do with leftovers:
- To prep, take your cream cheese and eggs out of the fridge several hours ahead to give them time to come to room temperature. If you’ve forgotten to do this, eggs can be warmed to room temperature by dropping them into a bowl of warm tap water for a few minutes, and cream cheese can be softened carefully in the microwave – use 50% power and heat for 30 seconds at a time, until it’s just soft enough that your finger leaves an impression when you press on it.
- The cheesecake layer needs to chill for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, and then it needs another couple of hours to chill after you add the ganache. I usually bake the cheesecake layer the day before and then add the ganache and frosting earlier in the day of serving.
- Leftovers will keep for at least a week. Store the leftover portion uncovered so you don’t mess up the topping. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the cut sides of the cheesecake to keep them from drying out.
- The quantity of peanut butter buttercream this recipe makes is very small, just enough to add a ruffled garnish to each slice. But this frosting is seriously good, and would be amazing with other things, such as on chocolate cake or cupcakes, or smushed between two cookies to make sandwich cookies (try Peanut Butter Cookies, Oatmeal Cookies, or even Fudge Stripe Cookies). I’m just saying, consider making extra frosting or revisiting the frosting recipe another day to try one of these ideas.
If you’re a cheesecake lover you might also like this recipe for Mascarpone Cheesecake.
Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
Ingredients
- For the cheesecake:
- 6 ounces chocolate wafer cookies
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese, at soft room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1/8 teaspoon Morton’s
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter (not natural style)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- For the ganache:
- 2½ ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- For the peanut butter buttercream:
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (not natural style)
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 7/8 cup (99 grams) confectioner’s sugar
- 6 or 8 miniature peanut butter cup candies
Directions
- Step 1 Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle position. Wrap the outside of a 6-inch round, 3-inch deep springform pan with three layers of heavy-duty foil.
- Step 2 Process the chocolate wafer cookies to fine crumbs in a food processor. Add the crumbs to the melted butter and stir with a fork to combine. Transfer the crumbs to the springform pan and press them out across the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan to make a thick crust. Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it’s set and slightly puffy. Move the pan to a cooling rack and cool the crust for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees.
- Step 3 Bring a kettle of water to a boil while you make the filling. Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 2 minutes until it’s fluffy. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat 2 minutes more. Scrape down the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the peanut butter and beat until smooth.
- Step 4 Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until combined and scraping down the bowl after each egg. Add the vanilla, sour cream and cream and beat just until smooth. Use the silicone spatula to do a final stir, making sure that all the batter from the bottom of the bowl is incorporated and there are no lumps. If you see any lumps, give the batter one more quick turn with the mixer. Scrape the batter into the crust.
- Step 5 Set the springform pan inside a large baking pan or roasting pan. Pour in boiling water from the kettle to a level that reaches 1/3 of the way up the side of the pan. Carefully transfer the pan to the oven. Bake 1 hour, or until the cheesecake is just set in the center and the top looks set but shiny, not dry.
- Step 6 Move the baking pan to a cooling rack. Carefully run the tip of a sharp knife around the top inside edge between the cheesecake and the pan. Let the cheesecake sit in the water bath for 30 minutes, then remove the cheesecake from the water bath and return it to the rack to cool completely. When the cheesecake is completely cool, remove the foil from the outside of the pan. You can either continue with the ganache now, or pause here to give chill the cheesecake. If you want to pause, cover the top of the springform pan with a piece of foil and chill the cheesecake in the pan for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Step 7 To make the ganache, chop the chocolate and put it in a small bowl. Bring the cream just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let the cream and chocolate sit for 3 minutes, then stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Let the ganache cool until it’s still thin enough to drizzle but no longer runny, about 15 minutes.
- Step 8 While the ganache cools, make the peanut butter buttercream. Put the butter in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the butter until it’s fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioner’s sugar. When all the sugar is added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat the frosting until it’s fluffy and light, about 1 minute.
- Step 9 Remove the springform edge from the cheesecake. Carefully slide a thin spatula between the bottom of the cheesecake and the bottom of the springform pan to remove it, then transfer the cheesecake to a plate or serving platter. Use a spoon, pastry bag, or squeeze bottle to drizzle the ganache over the cheesecake in a crisscross or splatter pattern. Scoop the peanut butter buttercream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe six or eight rosettes around the top edge of the cheesecake, depending on how many slices you intend to cut. Decorate each rosette with a miniature peanut butter cup.
- Step 10 Chill the cheesecake at least six hours or overnight if it hasn’t chilled yet. If you’ve already chilled the cheesecake layer for several hours or overnight, chill for at least 2 additional hours after adding the toppings.
