Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake

This Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake takes the flavors of your favorite childhood sandwich, and turns them into just about the most delicious cheesecake ever. 

This peanut butter and jelly cheesecake includes a cup of peanut butter, and is glazed with grape jelly and then topped with chopped dry-roasted peanuts mixed with peanut butter chips. Just try to resist.

The salty sweet mixture of the jelly, peanuts, and peanut butter chips is crave-able, and the cheesecake with the peanut butter in it is really tasty.

For the crust, I used the same sponge cake crust that I used in this New York cheesecake.

This is a New York style cheesecake, in that is includes lots of heavy cream. It's baked in a water bath for over an hour, and becomes quite tan on the top. Miraculously, it does not crack, and the resulting cheesecake is rich and creamy.

I am making this cheesecake in honor of my friend Camilla, of Culinary Adventures with Camilla to wish her a happy eighteenth anniversary. Camilla had cheesecake as her wedding cake 18 years ago, and invited her food blogger friends to post cheesecake recipes on this special day.

Camilla is pretty much fearless in the kitchen, and has managed to get her adorable boys to be as adventurous as she is with food. You must follow her blog. Happy anniversary Camilla!

For the vanilla in this cheesecake, I used my all time favorite, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste. This stuff is magical. I wish you could see the dots of vanilla bean in the cheesecake.

Disclosure: I received a 4 ounce sample bottle of the vanilla bean paste from Nielsen-Massey. 

I often substitute the vanilla bean paste measure-for-measure for pure vanilla extract. It really amps up the vanilla flavor. Check it out in this Neapolitan Cheesecake, and these Bouchon Bakery Shortbread Cookies. If I am making a recipe that calls for scraping out the seeds of a vanilla bean, I often substitute this paste. It's fabulous.

If I were forced to choose my favorite cheesecake ever, this just might be the one.

Yield: One 9-Inch Cheesecake

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cheesecake

ingredients:

• One recipe 9-inch Sponge Cake Crust from this Cheesecake
• Three 8-ounce packages full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra large eggs (120 grams)
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2/3 cup grape jelly
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup
• 1/2 cup lightly salted dry roasted peanuts, half of them roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips

instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with spray oil, and wrap the outside with heavy duty foil, covering the bottom and sides with a continuous piece. 
2. Bake the sponge cake crust in the pan, and set aside to cool. Leave the oven on. 
3. Place one package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and the cornstarch in bowl of a stand mixer, and beat on low with the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add the rest of the cream cheese, one package at a time and beat on low until smooth. 
4. Increase the speed of your mixer to medium and add the rest of the sugar (1 cup) and the vanilla bean paste/vanilla extract. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the peanut butter and cream.  Stop beating just as soon as the mixture is completely blended. 
5. Pour the batter over the crust in the springform pan. 
6. In the oven, set up a large shallow pan with enough hot water to cover the sides of the cheesecake pan by one inch. Place the pan in the water bath, and close the oven door. Bake for about 1 1/4 hours, until the edges are light golden brown and the top is tan. 
7. Remove the cheesecake (leaving it in the pan), from the water bath, place it on a cooling rack, and leave it alone for 2 to 3 hours. Once it has fully cooled, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. 
8. Before glazing the cheesecake with the jelly, place it in the freezer for one hour. 
9. Put the jelly and corn syrup in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it's just pourable. Don't let it boil. 
10. Take the cake out of the freezer, remove the sides of the pan from the cake, leaving the cake on the bottom of the pan. Place the cake on a plate that can go into the freezer. 
11. Spoon the jelly over the top of the cake. Don't worry if some of it drips down the sides. Place the cheesecake, uncovered, back into the freezer for an hour. 
12. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer. Mix the peanuts and the peanut butter chips together, and sprinkle over the top of the jelly glaze. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2018/03/peanut-butter-and-jelly-cheesecake.html

Adapted from Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook.

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