Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Cheesecake
I just wrote a special entry on Willow Bird Baking. First of all, the post is special because it's about the best chocolate+peanut butter dessert I've ever had: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Cheesecake -- a rich chocolate cheesecake in a Nutter Butter Crust topped with smooth peanut butter mousse and some Reese's cups for good measure.
But more importantly than that (which is sayin' a lot), it's my entry for Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog, an online contest to crown the next food blog star. Challenge #1 asked contestants to explain why they blog, and why their blog is unique. My response includes this cheesecake, a stranger's grandfather's 91st birthday party, and lots of fun Willow Bird Baking recipes.
I started blogging on livejournal and really value the communities here -- particularly how you've supported my baking and blogging through this past year. Will you consider voting for me on September 20th when the first challenge's voting opens? See below for a link to my blog post about these cheesecake and my Project Food Blog profile.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Cheesecake
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, pieced together from Jerome Chang (peanut butter mousse), Joelen (chocolate cheesecake)
Yields: 15-20 pieces
Crust Ingredients:
1 pack (32) of peanut butter sandwich cookies, processed into crumbs
5 and 1/3 tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake Ingredients:
4 packages (8 oz. each) of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature
3 (1oz) squares semisweet bakers chocolate (melted and cooled)
3 (1oz) squares bittersweet bakers chocolate (melted and cooled)
Peanut Butter Mousse Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons salted smooth peanut butter
Optional decorations:
Reese's cups
melted chocolate
whipped cream
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, mix the crust ingredients together and press into bottom and up the sides (about 3 inches) of a springform pan. Set aside.
For the cheesecake: Mix cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until well blended and creamy. Add the eggs and continue mixing until combined. Add chocolate and continue mixing until combined. Pour mixture into prepared crust and smooth top with a spatula.
Bake for 55 minutes or until center of cake is almost set. The top may crack, but it doesn't particularly matter, since you'll be covering it anyway. Let the cake fully cool. When almost cool, place it in refrigerator to chill while you prepare peanut butter mousse.
For peanut butter mousse, dissolve the gelatin over the water in a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. In a saucepan over moderate heat, cook the cream until it bubbles around the edges. In another bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Temper the eggs: pour about 1/2 cup hot cream into the egg yolks slowly while whisking vigorously. Then slowly pour the egg mixture into the saucepan of cream (whisking constantly). Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and the gelatin. Place mixture into a wide bowl to allow it to cool for a bit, then chill it for just a little while -- not until set, but until it's not so runny. Pour the mixture onto the top of the pie and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight. You can pipe on melted chocolate and decorate with chopped Reese's cups, if desired.
When completely chilled, loosen the cake from rim of springform pan by wrapping the pan in warm dishtowels. The remove the springform pan. Refrigerate the cheesecake for one day or overnight before serving. Garnish with fresh whipped cream if desired.
To read about why I blog, see why a stranger's grandfather's birthday party had me in tears, and see more CHEESECAKE, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
To see my Project Food Blog contestant profile, click here.
x-posted to food_porn, bakebakebake, cooking
But more importantly than that (which is sayin' a lot), it's my entry for Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog, an online contest to crown the next food blog star. Challenge #1 asked contestants to explain why they blog, and why their blog is unique. My response includes this cheesecake, a stranger's grandfather's 91st birthday party, and lots of fun Willow Bird Baking recipes.
I started blogging on livejournal and really value the communities here -- particularly how you've supported my baking and blogging through this past year. Will you consider voting for me on September 20th when the first challenge's voting opens? See below for a link to my blog post about these cheesecake and my Project Food Blog profile.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Cheesecake
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking, pieced together from Jerome Chang (peanut butter mousse), Joelen (chocolate cheesecake)
Yields: 15-20 pieces
Crust Ingredients:
1 pack (32) of peanut butter sandwich cookies, processed into crumbs
5 and 1/3 tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake Ingredients:
4 packages (8 oz. each) of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temperature
3 (1oz) squares semisweet bakers chocolate (melted and cooled)
3 (1oz) squares bittersweet bakers chocolate (melted and cooled)
Peanut Butter Mousse Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1 cup heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons salted smooth peanut butter
Optional decorations:
Reese's cups
melted chocolate
whipped cream
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. For the crust, mix the crust ingredients together and press into bottom and up the sides (about 3 inches) of a springform pan. Set aside.
For the cheesecake: Mix cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until well blended and creamy. Add the eggs and continue mixing until combined. Add chocolate and continue mixing until combined. Pour mixture into prepared crust and smooth top with a spatula.
Bake for 55 minutes or until center of cake is almost set. The top may crack, but it doesn't particularly matter, since you'll be covering it anyway. Let the cake fully cool. When almost cool, place it in refrigerator to chill while you prepare peanut butter mousse.
For peanut butter mousse, dissolve the gelatin over the water in a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. In a saucepan over moderate heat, cook the cream until it bubbles around the edges. In another bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Temper the eggs: pour about 1/2 cup hot cream into the egg yolks slowly while whisking vigorously. Then slowly pour the egg mixture into the saucepan of cream (whisking constantly). Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and the gelatin. Place mixture into a wide bowl to allow it to cool for a bit, then chill it for just a little while -- not until set, but until it's not so runny. Pour the mixture onto the top of the pie and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight. You can pipe on melted chocolate and decorate with chopped Reese's cups, if desired.
When completely chilled, loosen the cake from rim of springform pan by wrapping the pan in warm dishtowels. The remove the springform pan. Refrigerate the cheesecake for one day or overnight before serving. Garnish with fresh whipped cream if desired.
To read about why I blog, see why a stranger's grandfather's birthday party had me in tears, and see more CHEESECAKE, please head over to Willow Bird Baking!
To see my Project Food Blog contestant profile, click here.
x-posted to food_porn, bakebakebake, cooking