cheesecake. chocolate

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. “Peanut butter chocolate cheesecake?!?! The day after Thanksgiving?!? Are you crazy!?!”

Yes, I hear you. Like the rest of America, I gorged on turkey legs and cornbread dressing yesterday, and yes, there was lots of dessert involved too. I’m officially wearing stretchy sweatpants and my husband’s t-shirts until further notice, because I don’t see myself shimmying into anything not categorized as loungewear any time soon.  But as you know, the holidays wait for no one, so I’m going full-throttle Christmas baking mode from now until New Year’s Eve. Let’s just expect the expected and make the most of our holiday baking okay? Starting with this peanut butter chocolate cheesecake!

Cheesecake is Scary Sometimes.

Cheesecake can be scary, and I’ll be the first to admit that. There’s all that business with the water bath and the creaming of the cheese and the room temperature ingredients. There’s the epic debate of whether or not the crust should extend up the sides of the pan or simply pat into the bottom. We have to worry about cracks in the crust and cheesecakes that fall, and honestly, sometimes cheesecakes just don’t seem worth the hassle.

Blender Cheesecake?

But what if I told you that you could make an incredibly decadent, ridiculously rich, out-of-this-world delicious peanut butter chocolate cheesecake in a blender? What if you knew that you could throw all of the ingredients into the jar of a blender, press the start button, and all would be well in the world of cheesy cakes? Would you leave this site immediately and head to the grocery store for ingredients to make the best cheesecake of your life? Yep, that’s what I thought.

Wolf Gourmet Blender

My new friends at Wolf Gourmet sent me a stunning blender to test out. With a sleek yet classic design and easy-to-function buttons and dials, the Wolf Gourmet High Performance Blender was absolutely beyond anything I could have hoped for. I gave a quick test run of some of the blender’s capabilities (helllllo, homemade nut butters and crushed ice cocktails!) and studied up on a few others- soups, chopped veggies, and whipped cream, to name a few. The world is literally your oyster with this blender, and I’m thrilled to add it to my modest collection of necessary small kitchen appliances.

With cheesecake on the week’s menu, I decided to recipe test in my new kitchen prize, and I was really pleased with the outcome. I took care to adhere to some of the common laws of cheesecake, and found that the process of making the dessert in the blender was way easier than my traditional method in the stand mixer. My finished peanut butter chocolate cheesecake was creamy, without clumps, and had zero cracks in its smooth top. Even better, the whole prep process took me less than 10 minutes from start to finish which is record time in my house. Hasta la vista, stand mixer cheesecake.

Making the Cheesecake

To make this gem of a baked good, we start with the crust. I dumped precisely 31 chocolate sandwich cookies into the blender and let it whiz away until the cookies were reduced to crumbs. I added the crumbs to a bowl of melted butter and stirred to combine the two. The crust pats into the bottom of a 9″ springform pan, baking briefly in a preheated oven. Meanwhile, rinse out your blender and start adding cheesecake ingredients. Cream cheese, peanut butter, eggs, sugar, and cocoa powder come first. Scrape the sides of the blender jar and add some heavy cream. Allow the machine to run for an additional 10 seconds, or until the cream is incorporated. Pour the contents of the blender onto the baked cheesecake crust and bake in the oven for an hour.

I do like to use a waterbath for this peanut butter chocolate cheesecake. Waterbaths help to regulate the temperature of your cheesecake while in the oven which can prevent cracks. If you’re at all concerned about that, don’t skip that step. Other than that, making this cheesecake is a cinch, with most of the thanks to the Wolf Gourmet blender.

A Giveaway!

The holidays are the time to love and give and share. SO, Wolf Gourmet is going to provide one of these dreamy blenders to one lucky reader. To enter the contest, leave a comment in the comment section below. Tell me what is your favorite flavor of cheesecake! I will randomly select one winner in the US by Friday, December 1st and contact them by email. This is a seriously awesome prize and I am SO EXCITED to see all the goodies someone gets to make with it. Many thanks to Wolf Gourmet and to you all for supporting brands that make this site possible. The contest is now closed. 

If you’re into this peanut butter chocolate cheesecake, be sure to check out:

Peanut Butter Pretzel Shortbread Brownies

Peanut Butter Pie

S’mores Cheesecake

Brown Sugar Cheesecake with Butterscotch Sauce and Oatmeal Cookie Crust

Meyer Lemon Cheesecake

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.9 from 9 reviews

This peanut butter cheesecake has a chocolate cookie crust, a peanut butter chocolate ganache and is made with a blender!

• Author: Kate Wood
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 90
• Total Time: 360

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 12 ounces (about 31 cookies) chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreo’s)
• 5 tablespoons (70 gm) unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

• 1–1/2 pounds/ 3 blocks (680 gm) of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup (130 gm) creamy peanut butter (I used Jif)
• 1 cup (200 gm) sugar
• ¼ cup (20 gm) cocoa powder
• 3 large eggs (170 gm), room temperature
• ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy cream, room temperature

For the ganache:

• 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (semisweet, if you prefer)
• 3 ounces heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

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Instructions

To prepare the crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare a 9″ springform pan by wrapping it in sheets of aluminum foil. I use 3 layers of extra wide, heavy duty foil wrapped to the top lip of the pan. Spray the inside walls and bottom of the pan with cooking spray.
3. Process your chocolate sandwich cookies in the blender on medium speed until they have been reduced to crumbs. Combine the crumbs with the melted butter in a small bowl until the crumbs are well moistened. Gently pat out your mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides if desired. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.

 

To prepare the cheesecake:

1. Begin boiling some water in a kettle or saucepan for your water bath.
2. Place the softened cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and eggs in the base of your blender. Process on medium speed until well combined, about 10-15 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the cream to the mixture. Turn the blender on for another 10 seconds or until the mixture has been well combined.
3. Strain the cheesecake batter through a mesh strainer (if desired) into a reserved bowl. Pour the strained batter on top of the crust. Gently rap the pan on the counter to help any air bubbles escape.
4. Place your springform pan into a slightly larger baking dish/pan and fill the larger pan with the boiling water you prepared for the water bath until the water reaches about halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
5. Carefully place both pans in the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. After an hour of baking, the edges and top of the cheesecake should be set but still slightly jiggle in the center. Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to bake for an additional 30 minutes in the oven. Prop the door of the oven open slightly with a wooden spoon and continue to cool the cheesecake for another 30 minutes in the cooling oven.
6. Discard the water bath, remove the foil and then place the cheesecake in the fridge to chill for several hours or overnight. The cheesecake can be stored in the fridge for several days.

 

To prepare the ganache:

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Heat the cream over the stove over microwave until just barely bubbling. Pour the cream over the chocolate and cover the bowl tightly with a sheet of plastic wrap. Allow to rest for five minutes and then stir. If the chocolate has not melted completely, place the entire bowl back in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir again. Stir the peanut butter into the ganache. Spread the ganache evenly over the top of the cheesecake and sprinkle with the peanuts. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Notes

• I wrap my springform pan with three layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. This is to protect your crust from any water leakage of your springform pan. Many pans will claim to be waterproof but your crust will get soggy and inedible if water leakage happens. Don’t take any chances!
• I use a 11″ round cake pan for my water bath but you can use any oven-safe dish that you have. Once of my readers used a roasting pan and that works just fine!
• The cooling process seems lengthy and unnecessary, but it helps to prevent drastic temperature changes that can cause structural issues with your cake.