Recipe of the week – Vintage Inns’ Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake

As part of Gourmet Society’s official Bake Off, we got busy in the kitchen cooking up cakes and sweet treats from some of our favourite restaurants. Each week, we’re going to share the tricks of the trade with our followers, so you can recreate your favourite desserts at home! This week, it’s the Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake from Vintage Inns, lovingly recreated by our very own Pete!

This dessert has to be one of the most indulgent things we’ve ever tried. Definitely not for the faint-hearted, peanut butter and chocolate (a match made in heaven) are combined to create a heavenly baked cheesecake with a salty dark chocolate crust. Pete put his own spin on his cheesecake, with the addition of homemade salted peanut brittle on top.

For the base:

200g/7oz digestive biscuits

50g/2oz salted peanuts

100g/3½oz dark chocolate chips

50g/2oz unsalted butter, softened

 

For the filling:

500g/1lb 1oz cream cheese

3 free-range eggs

3 free-range egg yolks

200g/7oz caster sugar

125ml/4¼fl oz soured cream

250g/9oz smooth peanut butter

 

For the topping:

250ml/9fl oz soured cream

100g/3½oz milk chocolate chips

30g/1¼oz soft brown sugar

 

For the Salted Caramel Peanut Brittle:

5 cups of white sugar

2 cups of water

100 gms of butter

2 cups of roasted, salted skinless peanuts

 

To make the cake:

1. Start by preheating your oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.

2. For the base, blend the biscuits, peanuts, dark chocolate chips and butter together in a food processor. Turn the mixture into a cheesecake tin, pressing into the bottom up the sides to form the base. Chill this in the fridge whilst the filling is being prepared.

3. To make the super-indulgent filling, combine the eggs, egg yolks, cream cheese, sugar, soured cream and peanut butter in a mixer, until smooth.

4. Fold the mixture on top of the chilled cheesecake base and put in the oven for about an hour, or until the top feels set. Let your cheesecake cool out of the oven whilst you prepare the topping.

5. In a saucepan, gently heat the chocolate chips with the brown sugar and soured cream gently, stirring in the chocolate as it melts. Take off the heat once combined.

6. The liquid topping can then be carefully spread over the top of the baked cheesecake, before being popped back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.

7. Let the cheesecake cool completely in its tin before it’s placed in the fridge overnight to set, then cover up and put into the fridge overnight.

 

To make the salted caramel peanut brittle:

1. Place the sugar and water in a large bottomed pan and put it on a high heat. Let it come to a steady boil, cooking until the water evaporates and the sugar starts to go a light caramel colour.

2. When it looks like you have caramel, remove the mixture from the heat and add the butter, stirring until smooth.

3. Add the peanuts, stirring them in, then pour the mixture on a greased and lined flat baking tray.

4. Allow to cool completely before snapping into rough pieces. Scatter the pieces on top of the cheesecake before serving for a truly impressive bake!

 

Not so great in the kitchen? Our members get 25% off the total bill at Vintage Inns Pubs, meaning you can sample the real thing – for less! Discover your nearest Vintage Inn by visiting us here.

Had a go at baking our recipe? Share some snaps of your results on our Twitter page at @GourmetSociety!