Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

Here is another decadent dessert for all peanut butter lovers – chocolate peanut butter cheesecake with Oreo crust. This cheesecake is loaded with all the deliciousness of peanut butter and chocolate and a lovely caramel topping.

Decadent chocolate peanut butter cheesecake with chocolate and caramel drizzle and crunchy peanut topping

This baked cheesecake starts with a chocolate cookie base, and I choose Oreos. The filling is, of course, peanut butter and cream cheese and I added chocolate chips to it so you get little bits of chocolate as you dig into the cheesecake. And to complete the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake, I topped it with chopped toasted peanuts in the center and a generous drizzle of chocolate ganache and homemade caramel sauce on the top and sides of the cake. How is that for a decadent chocolate peanut butter cheesecake?

This is a baked chocolate peanut butter cheesecake recipe and is adapted from my New York cheesecake recipe. It is baked in a 7 inches round tin and can be doubled into a 9 inches round tin if you wish for a larger cheesecake.

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How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust

• Oreo cookies (with filling)
• Butter (melted)

Filling

• Cream cheese (at room temperature)
• Granulated sugar
• Plain flour
• Eggs
• Whipping cream
• Salt
• Peanut butter
• Chocolate chips

Garnish

• Chopped toasted peanuts
• Chocolate ganache
• Caramel sauce

Making the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake crust

1. Crush Oreo cookies (along with the filling ) to a fine crumb. You can do it in a food processor or fill the cookies in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
2. Transfer the crumbs into a small bowl. Add the melted butter.
3. Mix until the crumbs are all well moistened.
4. Press the crumbs firmly and evenly into a lined, 7 inches round springform pan. You can do this with the back of a spoon or the back of a flat measuring cup or drinking glass. Once the crust is all level and firm, leave it aside while you prepare the cheesecake filling.

Making the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake filling

1. Place softened cream cheese into a medium-sized bowl. Beat on high speed for about 30 seconds. 
2. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the flour, sugar, and salt, and beat again for another 20 seconds.  
3. Next, add the eggs. Add both the eggs at once. Beat for about 10 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again for another 10 seconds. If the batter appears lumpy, beat it a little longer but take note to not overbeat as overbeating at this stage will incorporate too much air into the batter, causing your cheesecake to have a bubbly surface after baking.
4. Scrape the bowl again and beat in the peanut butter until it is all well combined.
5. Next, fold the whipping cream.
6. Finally, add the chocolate chips and mix well.

Baking the cheesecake

• Pour the batter into the prepared chocolate cookie crust and level the surface. Bake the cheesecake in a water bath at 160 degrees Celsius for 55 to 60 minutes. 
• For the water bath, you can either wrap the bottom of your tin in foil and place it in a dish filled with water or place your tin in a slightly larger tin and put both in a water-filled dish in the oven. Both ways will prevent water from seeping into your springform cake tin.
• Check the cheesecake at least 5 minutes before the baking time is up. Press the edges lightly with your finger. If it is firm to the touch, the cake is done. If not, continue baking a little longer. The ideal stage to turn off the oven is when the edges are firm but the center still wobbly.
• The chocolate peanut butter cheesecake will continue to bake as it cools down, so it is important that the oven heat is turned off at this point.
• Let the cheesecake rest in the oven for another 10 minutes after turning off the heat. Remove it from the oven and let it rest at room temperature on a wire rack for another 20 minutes. Run a jam knife around the sides before loosening and removing the tin. Leave the bottom of the tin with the cake on it. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Decorating the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake

1. When ready to be garnished, run a jam knife underneath the parchment lining at the bottom to separate the cake from the tin bottom. Carefully slide it into a board or serving plate along with the parchment lining.
2. Fill chocolate ganache and caramel sauce into 2 separate piping bags. Cut a tiny hole at the tips. Chop peanuts and toast them (if not already toasted). You can also use store-bought salted peanuts, they will be equally yummy too.
3. Place a round container lid in the center of your cheesecake top. This lid is a guide to make sure you get a perfect circle of chopped peanuts in the center of the cheesecake top. With the lid on top, pipe drizzles of ganache, and caramel sauce generously all around the cheesecake, let it drip to the sides. Remove the lid.
4. Pipe some additional caramel sauce in the center.
5. Add the chopped, toasted peanuts in the center to complete the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake.
6. Keep the cheesecake chilled. Leftovers should also be kept chilled.

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Notes

Line your tin with parchment paper

• I prefer to line the bottom of my tins with parchment paper. The parchment paper makes it so much easier to transfer the cake onto a plate without risking the crust breaking.
• All you need to do is run a jam knife between the paper and the bottom of the tin to loosen them and slide the cake (along with the parchment paper) onto a plate.

Best peanut butter for the cheesecake

• The peanut butter added into the cheesecake filling can be the creamy type or the chuncky type. It is a matter of personal taste. Both will yield same results but the latter will have tiny chunks of peanuts in the filling.

Substitute for the whipping cream

• I used dairy whipping cream in the cheesecake batter. This can be substituted with sour cream.

Chocolate chips are optional

• Chocolate chips in the batter are optional. You can choose to omit them completely or even change the quantity.
• Reduce them if you want lesser chips in your cheesecake, or add more if you want more in your cheesecake.

Use the lowest rack in your oven

• Cheesecakes are best baked in the lowest rack in your oven. That way, they are placed further away from heat which can help avoid them from cracking due to high heat. This also helps the cheesecake tops from over-browning.

Disable the 'fan' function in your oven

• If your oven comes with a fan function, disabling it can help avoid cracks in your cheesecake too.

Use a reduced oven temperature

• I often bake my cheesecakes at reduced temperature as compared to the temperature I use for normal cakes. A reduction of 10 degrees Celsius would be sufficient. This also helps in avoiding cracks in cheesecakes.

What is water bath?

• Cheesecakes are often baked in water baths or bain-marie. The purpose of the water bath is to keep the interior of the oven moist so as to prevent the cheesecakes from cracking. With springform pans, placing them directly in a water-filled baking dish can result in water seeping into the tin.
• To avoid the water from seeping in, wrap your cake tin with foil before placing it in the water.
• Another option is to place your springform pan in an empty, slightly larger tin and place both the tins in a water-filled baking dish. This way, you can avoid water from seeping into the cake tin as well.

 

How to check if the cheesecake is done

• To check is a cheesecake is done, press the edges lightly with your fingers. If it is firm to the touch, it is done. If not, continue baking a little longer. Ideally, the edges should be firm and the center wobbly.
• If you wait until the center is also firm, the cheesecake will be over baked and you risk the texture becoming rubbery.
• Cheesecakes continue to bake even after you turn off your oven, so it is important that the heat it turned off at the right stage.

Storing the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake

• The cheesecake should be kept chilled all the time. It can last in the fridge for a good one week. Keep it in a closed container to avoid it from drying out in the fridge.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe

Here is the full printable version of my chocolate peanut butter cheesecake recipe. And while you are at it, don’t forget to check out my recipe notes right above, for tips on making the best chocolate peanut butter cheesecake ever!

And that’s my chocolate peanut butter cheesecake for you!

Creamy peanut butter cheesecake with chocolate chips and Oreo crust

Here are my other posts you might want to check out:

• Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Easy Cheesecake Recipe - A Simple Baked Cheesecake
• Mini Christmas Cheesecake - Pretty Festive Treats

Happy Baking 🙂