Peanut Butter + Cheesecake = NOM NOM NOM!

Lovers of peanut butter are going to ADORE this cake! And it seems that the peanut butter in desserts craze has finally hit Australian shores. We are a bit slow on the uptake as our American friends have been privy to this obsession for years! Although I’m not sure that we have embraced the passion for peanut butter and jelly (jam) as much as the Americans have yet but I am sure it won’t be long.

Peanut butter is included as an ingredient in many sweet recipes, notably peanut butter and jam sandwiches, peanut butter cookies and confectionery. Peanut butter’s flavour combines well with honey, jam & cheese, and does well with chocolate, and salt! In our house, it is primarily used on my husbands toast or in his muesli bars. I tend to stick with almond butter for most recipes, or my I eat my gingerbread butter on apple.

I was inspired by a recipe that I saw recently for a frozen peanut butter parfait which was based on cream cheese, and knowing my penchant for cheesecake, you can guess that I put two and two together and came up with FIVE!!

This is my version of a Snickers cheesecake sans caramel, I guess! It is no bake and egg-free. It is built in 4 layers which sounds very complicated but it’s not, in fact it’s really easy. You don’t even have to wash the TM bowl between layers which suits me fine!

You will get a much more flavourful result with homemade peanut butter, especially if you toast the nuts first. I used homemade peanut butter so I added a little more salt but you might not need to if you use a bought one as commercial peanut butters can have lots of  salt & additives in them. If you use a bought peanut butter, taste the mix before adding any salt.

This cake was an enormous hit at a party that I took it to; in fact I was really surprised, it got demolished  – so I thought I better blog it straight away and get your opinion!

80g raw almonds

60g toasted peanuts

40g coconut

50g dates

50g butter

FILLING

40g rapadura sugar

60g water

2 teas gelatine

250g cream cheese

180g sour cream or thick Greek yoghurt

50g smooth peanut butter

a dash of vanilla

a few drops of stevia (optional)

¼ teas salt

Sprinkle the 2 teaspoons of gelatine on 60g water and allow to bloom for 5 minutes (for the filling). Then heat gently in a pan, stirring to dissolve the gelatine and set aside.

To make the base, add the nuts, coconut, dates and butter to the TM and mix on SP 8 for 10 seconds until it comes together – you may need to add a drop of water if the dates are very dry. Press into a 20cm springform cake tin that has been lined with baking paper (for easy removal). Set aside in the freezer while you make the filling.

Without washing the bowl, add the cheese, sugar, cream, vanilla, salt, peanut butter & gelatine mixture and blend on SP 5 until well combined. Taste for sweetness, adding a little stevia if desired. Pour on the base and tap the tin to level. Place in the freezer while you prepare the peanut topping.

PEANUT BUTTER TOPPING

100g water

1 teas gelatine

150g smooth peanut butter

30g butter

80g honey (or brown rice syrup)

pinch salt

There is no need to wash the bowl.

Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of gelatine on 100g water and allow to bloom for 5 minutes. Then heat gently in the TM at 50°C on SP1 for 1 minute or until dissolved.

Add the remaining topping ingredients and cook for 2 minutes at 50°C on SP1 until smooth. Pour over the cheesecake mixture and return to the freezer while you make the chocolate layer.

CHOCOLATE TOPPING

80g dark chocolate, chopped

60g sour cream

30g salted peanuts, roughly chopped, to garnish

There is no need to wash the bowl! Add the chocolate and cream to the TM and melt for 2 minutes at 50°C on SP1 until smooth. Spread over the cake and sprinkle on the chopped nuts to garnish. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours to set.