Peanut Butter Cheesecake has taken over as the most popular of my epic cakes!
Also known as the Death to Diets cake you can quickly see why!
I will issue an early warning though~ this is one gigantic, rich and decadent cake!
Weighing in at a whopping 7 pounds!
Quite possibly the most decadent of all my creations!
Made from layers and layers of brownies, cheesecake, peanut butter fudge and chocolate buttercream!
This is an intense building on recipes project but totally worth it!
Give yourself a two day window to get everything done since most recipes can be prepared ahead of time
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS CAKE
Not affiliated with any of the products or companies linked below
Notes for Success:
Prepare ahead:
Brownies and Cheesecake layers can be baked the day before and the refrigerated to firm and set for much easier handling.
Vegan ganache can be made a week in advance and stored in the refrigerator
Melt it back down for pouring when you are ready!
Peanut butter fudge is the only recipe that has to be made ala minute
Because you want it to be a pour able consistency to fill the cake, and also to make that bonus fudge garnish!
I don’t often tell you that “you must buy this” or “you must buy that”
But I will recommend to invest in a roll of Acetate Cake Strips for the assembly of cakes such as this one!
Tofutti Cream Cheese is the only brand I will use for my BAKED cheesecake recipes *not sponsored
I had not had success with any other brand in BAKED recipes; for some reason some other brands I’ve tried have broken down into an oily mess when baked.
CLICK HERE FOR MY HOMEMADE TOFUTTI CREAM CHEESE COPY CAT RECIPE
When measuring cornstarch I cannot stress enough that a kitchen scale is the best way to go.
Cornstarch is a very difficult ingredient to measure consistently with a volume/spoons measure
So while I list both measures below I cannot stress enough how the grams measure with a scale is going to give you the best results.
Peanut Butter Fudge Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 Recipe Fudge Brownie
- 1 Recipe Ganache
- 1 Recipe Chocolate Buttercream
For the Cheesecake:
- 16 ounces Vegan Cream Cheese (454g)
- 2 Tbs Vegan Butter melted (28g)
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 4 Tbs Cornstarch (32g)
- 3 Tbs All Purpose Flour (24g)
- ¾ cup Plant Milk (177ml)
- 1 teaspoon Vegan Lactic Acid
- ¼ teaspoon Salt ¼ teaspoon
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (10ml)
For the Peanut Butter Fudge:
- 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- ½ cup Agave Syrup
- ½ cup Coconut Oil
For the Peanuts Layer and Garnish:
- 1½ cup toasted & chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Prepare 4- 7" cake pans with grease & parchment paper lining.
- Prepare the cheesecake batter by placing all of the cheesecake ingredients into the work bowl of your food processor & pulse to blend smooth
- Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure an even mix then blend again to a smooth mixture
- Divide the batter equally into 2 portions & amongst the greased & parchment lined cake pans & bake in a water bath in the preheated 350°F oven for 40 minutes.
- Next prepare the brownie as per the instructions on that recipe & divide this batter into 2 equal portions into the other 2 prepared cake pans.
- Bake the brownie layers along with the cheesecake layers at 350°F for approximately 25 minutes, I like to keep my brownies slightly under baked for a fudgy texture, be careful not to over bake
- Cool both the cheesecake layers & the brownie layers in the pans completely then turn out just the brownie layers onto a cooling rack. Keep the cheesecake in their pans until ready to build the cake.
- Prepare the chocolate buttercream recipe as per the recipe instructions on that post .
- Now prepare the ganache recipe & reserve keeping warm to a pour able consistency
- When you are ready to assemble the cake, prepare the peanut butter fudge by combining the peanut butter, coconut oil & agave in a medium heavy bottom sauce pot over medium heat whisking often until melted & smooth.
- If you have a silicone mold like I did (see video) pour just enough (approximately 3/4 cup) of the peanut butter fudge into a mold for the garnish, the rest will go as layers in the cake. Alternatively you can pour about 3/4 cup of the PB fudge into a bowl to set then scoop balls of fudge for the garnish on each sliceThe peanut butter fudge will only set in the refrigerator because coconut oil only gets solid at cold temperatures
- Start building the cake by setting up a cake ring mold lined with an acetate cake strip or use a springform pan with the bottom removed
- Start by spreading a small amount of chocolate buttercream over the brownie layer & then about ½ cup of the roasted peanuts
- Unmold one of the cheesecake layers directly onto the first brownie layer & then pour half of the peanut butter fudge over top.
- Allow it to set and then repeat the exact layering process with the remaining brownie, peanuts, cheesecake & remaining peanut butter fudge.
- Refrigerate the cake to set for at least 1 hour then remove the cake ring & acetate strip & ice the cake with the remaining chocolate buttercream.
- Ganache drips & large rosettes of chocolate buttercream for the garnish then place each set peanut butter fudge garnish on each rosette
- Additional roasted peanuts for the bottom border & garnish
Video
Notes