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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

Yield: 15 Slices (9 or 10-inch cheesecake)
Prep Time: 12 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time: 14 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 20-22 Oreo cookies
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ cup (78 g) roasted, salted peanuts
  • 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, melted

Filling:

  • 3 packages (8-ounces each) (681 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup (212 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ½ cup (113 g) sour cream
  • ¾ cup (191 g) creamy peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 10 regular-sized peanut butter cups, chopped

Ganache Topping:

  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup (85 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped baking chocolate)
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Whipped Cream:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup (29 g) powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup (64 g) creamy peanut butter

Optional Garnishes:

  • Hot fudge sauce or extra ganache for drizzling
  • Chopped peanut butter cups

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Position the oven racks so one is just above the middle position and the other is in the bottom third of the oven. Lightly grease a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan.
  • For the crust, add the cookies, brown sugar and peanuts to a blender or food processor and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the butter and blend/process until the mixture is sandy in texture and evenly coated with butter.
  • Press the mixture into the bottom and 1/2-inch or so up the sides of the prepared pan.
  • Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while you prepare the filling.
  • In a large bowl with an electric mixer (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), whip the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, sour cream, peanut butter, and vanilla together until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs and mix until just combined (over mixing can cause the cheesecake to crack while baking thanks to all the extra air beat into the filling). Fold in the chopped peanut butter cups with a spoon or spatula.
  • Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust and spread evenly. Place a metal 9X13-inch or similar-sized pan on the bottom rack of the oven and pour in 2-3 cups of boiling water. Immediately place the cheesecake on the upper rack and bake for 50-65 minutes until the cheesecake is set around the edges. A slight jiggle in the center of the cheesecake is fine.
  • Turn the oven off and prop the oven door open a few inches. Keep the cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
  • For the ganache, heat the cream until it just starts to simmer (in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove). Off the heat, stir in the chocolate and vanilla. Let sit for a few minutes. Stir to combine until it is silky and smooth. Spread evenly over the cooled cheesecake.
  • Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight (up to 24 hours).
  • Prepare the peanut butter whipped cream (you can do this a couple hours in advance and refrigerate) by combining all the ingredients in a blender (or in a bowl using a handheld or stand electric mixer). Process or whip until the mixture is thick and creamy and smooth.
  • To serve, run a long knife under hot water, wipe dry and cut the cheesecake into slices (repeating the water trick between cuts if you want really clean slices).
  • Garnish with the peanut butter whipped cream and the hot fudge sauce and peanut butter cups, if desired.

Notes

Cracking: in truth, you could probably nix the water steam bath in the directions since the cheesecake will be covered with ganache to hide any cracks (also remember that overmixing the batter will make a cheesecake prone to cracking).
Peanut Butter: I haven't tried this cheesecake using natural peanut butter (I use the Skippy brand of creamy peanut butter).
Ganache: if you like a little sweetness to your ganache, consider adding a tablespoon or two of powdered sugar to the cream/chocolate mixture.
Heavy Cream: make sure to use heavy cream (not whipping cream or even heavy whipping cream) to ensure the cheesecake/topping sets up and isn't runny. Many brands of heavy whipping cream only have 30-35% milk fat whereas heavy cream will have 35% milk fat or higher. That extra milk fat is what ensures the thick cheesecake filling. I almost always use Darigold heavy cream (40% milk fat). Not all brands or cartons label the milk fat percentage, so to be safe, look for a brand that has 35% (or higher) written on the carton.