Peanut Butter Cheesecake

I've been baking cheesecakes quite often recently. And the more cheesecake flavors I try, the more convinced I become that cheesecake is my favorite dessert. My last cheesecake, peanut butter flavored, was truly amazing. Just divine. I love all peanut butter desserts, but this one was probably one of the best desserts I've ever tasted. As always, I made my own peanut butter but you can also use store-bought. Of course, homemade is always better. Aaand I added a full teaspoon of salt to the filling. I wasn't sure if it was a good decision, I thought it might be too salty, but it was just perfect. You know, I love salty peanut butter. And another wonderful thing was the milk chocolate glaze. Yes, I used milk chocolate and it wasn't too sweet. It was totally my kind of dessert. I could probably eat this every day.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Filling:
500g (2 8oz blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
115g (1/2 cup) sour cream, room temperature
150g (2/3 cup) white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
250g (1 cup) unsalted unsweetened peanut butter (I used homemade)

Crust:
150g (1 1/2 cup) cookies, ground
60g (1/4 cup) butter, melted

Glaze:
23g butter (1 1/2 tbsp)
80g (2.8 ounce) milk chocolate

1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Prepare a 23 cm / 9 inch springform pan. 

2) To make the crust, mix together cookie crumbs and melted butter and press to the bottom of a springform pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling. 

3) To make the filling, in a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract, salt and eggs. Mix until incorporated. Finally, add peanut butter and mix just until combined. 

4) Pour the filling onto the crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 120C / 250F and bake for another 40 minutes. 

5) Remove from the oven and let cool completely before glazing. 

6) To make the glaze, I simply melt the butter in a small saucepan. Then I turn off the heat, mix in the chopped chocolate, cover and let sit for 1-3 minutes, until the chocolate melts. Then I mix it until it's smooth and immediately pour onto the cheesecake. 

For the best results, refrigerate overnight.

Recipe by collecting memories