Peanut Butter Cheesecake

As soon as it was ready to slice, I packed half of this tempting creation and took it to a friends place... Leaving me alone with a whole cheesecake is a recipe for stretchy pants.



Peanut Butter Cheesecake
slightly adapted from here

For the Base:
300g digestive biscuits
100g roasted unsalted peanuts blitzed in a food processor until they are fine meal
120g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the Filling:
350g fresh ricotta, well drained
500g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
300ml pure (thin) cream
300ml sour cream

For the Topping:
200ml thickened cream
12 mini peanut butter cups

Make the Base:
Grease a 23cm round springform pan with cooking oil spray. Set aside.

Put the biscuits in a food processor and blitz until they are a fine crumb. Add the peanut meal and butter and process until the mixture looks like wet sand. Press the mixture into the base of the prepared pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make the Filling:
Preheat the oven to 160C.

Put the ricotta, cream cheese and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the peanut butter, vanilla paste, thin cream and sour cream and beat on low until thoroughly combined.

Pour the filling into the pan, on top of the biscuit base. Wrap the outside of the pan (base and sides) with a double thickness of foil, making sure it is completely covered and there are no gaps. Put the pan in a deep baking pan and fill to half way up the sides with water from a recently boiled kettle. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the filling is almost set, it should still have a slight wobble in the centre. Turn off the oven, prop the door slightly ajar with the handle of a wooden spoon and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and refrigerate until completely cold (overnight is best).

Make the Topping:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to soft peaks. Unmould the cheesecake and spoon on the cream. Cut the peanut butter cups into chunks and scatter them on top.