Death by Cheesecake

Introducing the Peanutbutter cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.


Best Ever Cheesecake:


no crust, split in 2 pans


Cheesecake:
3 sticks cream cheese, 24 oz total
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla
30 mini recces peanutbutter cups (optional)


DIRECTIONS:

 Preheat oven to 350.  Boil some water for a water bath

Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice,  and blend until smooth and creamy. Add peanutbutter cups, optional.

Pour batter into  the pan and tap on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan, i used a jelly roll pan, and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Chocolate Cake that was Only Okay, and was in fact originally intended for my birthday cake, but was too light and fluffy to make the cut:


Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup hot coco

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 2 x 9″ (or 3 x 8″ for slightly shorter layers) cake pans with butter and flour or parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, sift all dry ingredients. Add all remaning ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and with paddle attachment on mixer, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed (you may need the plastic splashguard that comes with mixer) and pour into prepared pans. Batter will be liquidy.
Bake for 20 minutes and rotate pans in oven. Cakes are done when toothpick or skewer comes clean–approximately 35 minutes. Try not to overbake. Cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then gently invert onto racks until completely coo


Honey Caramel Sauce that I over cooked:


1/3 c. honey
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon butter


Heat honey and sugar over medium heat to 305 degrees.  Meanwhile heat cream till bubbles form around the edges. When sugar and honey reach 305 turn off heat and add butter. Mixture will bubble so be careful. Gradually stir in hot cream and cook till 235. Turn off heat add vanilla and let cool.  *note* if you plan on eating this frozen, don't continue cook after adding the cream and butter. 


Easy Peasy chocolate ganache:


1/2 c  heavy cream heated in microwave for one minute. Add 1 c. chocolate and stir till combined. Chill.

To put the cake together. Spread caramel and peanuts over each layer of cheese cake and chocolate cake. Alternate the cheesecake with the chocolate cake and stack them. Pour ganache over the top. This cake is easier to cut when frozen, or chilled very well.

I will; say this, this cake is HUGE. If i make it again every I will only use one layer each of chocolate cake and cheesecake.