No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Inspired by a Recipe from Pierce Abernathy on Buzzfeed, this creamy, rich cheesecake is perfect for those days you need an impressive dessert but baking is out of the question. This rich cheesecake combines chocolate and peanut butter in a dessert you can make in 45 minutes or less. Refrigerate a couple of hours, and up to a day, before serving.
Special Equipment needed: 9″ Springform Pan or pan with removeable bottom
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 Servings 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No-Bake
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 10 Graham Cracker sheets (or 20 squares)
- 6 T Butter, melted
For the Filling
- 16 oz. Cream Cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 c Sour Cream
- 1 c Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted
- 1 t Natural Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 t Salt
- 8 oz Dark Chocolate (60-72% cacao), chopped or chips
For the Topping
- 1 c Creamy Peanut Butter (I used All-natural, but regular is good, too!)
- 1/3 c Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted
Instructions
For the Crust
- Place the crackers in a zippered bag, crush with rolling pin. Add melted butter, stir until the mixture resembles wet sand. (Alternatively, place crackers in a Food Processor, process 15-30 seconds and then add melted butter, processing 10 more seconds)
- Press into the bottom of springform pan. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.
For the Filling
- Using a mixer or whisk, blend the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and salt, continuing to blend until creamy.
- If using bar chocolate, chop finely. Melt the chocolate or chocolate chips. This can be done in a Pyrex dish in the microwave or a double boiler. In the microwave, this takes about 1-1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 20-30 seconds.
- Blend into the cream cheese mixture until fully incorporated. Pour into refrigerated crust and smooth the top.
For the Topping
- Heat the peanut butter in the microwave until warm, about 30-45 seconds. Mix in the sifted confectioners’ sugar until mixture is smooth. Spread over chocolate filling.
- Refrigerate cheesecake at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours before serving.
Notes
This cake keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week, and maintains its smooth texture and rich flavor. Good luck keeping it around that long!
Some may prefer a sweeeter cake or topping, so I recommend tasting the filling and the topping once they are mixed to see if the sweetness suits you. You may wish to add another 1/4-1/2 cup of sugar to the filling, or a bit more to the topping. I like using bittersweet chocolate (70-72%) for the filling, but bittersweet chocolate chips are a fine substitute.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/16 recipe
- Calories: 380
