After my no-bake Nutella cheesecake heaven, I decided to attempt the same idea with peanut butter. Why peanut butter? BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME! It’s my replacement Nutella and definitely kept me going this past Lent. And because I tried an amazing PB cheesecake at my local GOAT and, being a foodie, had the immediate urge to re-create.  This was actually my second attempt after having failed miserably the first time round. After my initial freestyle recipeless experiment I learnt my lesson and decided to actually follow a Hummingbird recipe as guidance. Of course I had to add a touch of MasterChef garnish with a PB smear and some peanut brittle :-). Success!

No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake

You’ll need

For the base
100g digestives
38g butter, melted
2 tsp crunchy peanut butter
For the filling
3 egg yolks
190ml double cream
120g crunchy peanut butter
4.5 leaves of gelatine
112 g caster sugar
300g cream cheese
For the peanut brittle (my own addition)
50g roasted, unsalted peanuts
3 tbsp caster sugar

1. Line a 20cm tin with parchment paper.
2. For your base, whizz the digestives in a food processor until you have fine crumbles. Add the melted butter and peanut butter, whizz again until combined.
3. Press this mixture evenly into the tin and leave to chill for 30-40 mins.
4. Using an electric mixer or whisk, mix together the cream cheese, egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
5. Soak your gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water.
6. In a small pan, slowly heat the peanut butter until it melts. Once the gelatine leaves are soft, squeeze off any excess water and dissolve them in the melted warm peanut butter (keep the pan over the heat and stir continuously).
7. Once the gelatine has dissolved, stir the peanut butter mixture into the bowl with the cream cheese.
8. Finally, whip your double cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the peanut butter/cream cheese mixture. Pour your filling over the base (after it has chilled for 30-40 mins), cover with cling film and chill for at least for hours, best overnight, so it can set.
9. Before serving, toast your peanuts in a frying pan. Once golden, add the caster sugar and let it melt into a caramel over the peanuts, stirring them through occasionally. Once all of the sugar has caramelised, tip your peanuts out onto a plate and let them cool/harden. When they have hardened, break the brittle into smaller pieces and quickly whizz in a food processor until you have rough crumbs.
10. Serve the cheesecake with the peanut crumbs.

Rating: 9/10