Orange Chocolate Peanut Butter Burnt Cheesecake
A gorgeous Basque burnt cheesecake filled with orange and peanut butter goodness, baked on a lovely cookie crust and crowned with orange chocolate ganache and a burnt ombré toffee leaf.
Servings: 6 inch round tin
Ingredients
Biscuit crust
- 125 g chocolate chip biscuits
- 55 g melted butter (unsalted)
Cheesecake layer
- 250 g cream cheese (softened)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 eggs @room temperature
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- 1 to 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tsp rice flour
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 225 ml heavy cream @room temperature
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp orange chocolate peanut butter or peanut butter for swirling
Orange chocolate peanut butter ganache
- 1/4 white chocolate chip
- 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 to 2 tbsp orange zest
Decor
- 1 Devon toffee (melted)
- Strips of orange rind
Instructions
Biscuit base
- Blitz the cookies in the blender until you get crumbs. Add the melted butter and mix till wet sand texture. Pour into the baking tin and compact well to form the crust base. Freeze fro 30 minutes.
Cheesecake layer
- Whisk cream cheese and sugar till softened and smooth. Whisk eggs and add in two parts to the cream cheese, incorporating well. Switch to a spatula, add in the orange juice and lemon juice and mix gently by hand, removing air bubbles as much as possible by gently pressing the batter against the side of the bowl.
- Sieve in the rice flour and corn starch. Mix in till smooth. Sieve the batter through to get a really smooth consistency with minimal air bubbles. Finally add in the heavy cream and salt and mix well. Mix gently by hand until the batter is smooth and silky. Take a few scoops of batter and mix with 1 tbsp of orange chocolate peanut butter (or peanut butter) until well combined and smooth. Dribble in the orange chocolate peanut butter mix into the batter (no need to mix).
- Preheat oven for 30min to get it very hot @240C. Line the base and grease the sides of a 6 inch spring form tin, then transfer the batter into the tin. Run through the batter with a skewer to remove air bubbles and to create nice swirls with the peanut butter batter. Tap the tin a few times on the tabletop to remove air bubbles.
- Bake @ 240C for 30min. The top will be burnt but the cheesecake should still be slightly jiggly (check the recipe video @5:16 min to see what this looks like). Remove from the oven and cool for 5-10min.
Peanut butter ganache
- Microwave the peanut butter chips and white chocolate chips with the heavy cream in 30 sec bursts until melted. Stir till smooth and add in half the orange zest reserving the rest for garnish on top.
- Pour in the peanut butter ganache on top of the burnt cheesecake. Garnish with the remaining orange zest and chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight to set.
Toffee leaf
- Melt a toffee on low heat in a pan, watching carefully as it melts (it usually only takes about a couple of minutes). Some parts could be more charred as the toffee may not melt evenly. Once completely melted, it will be flat like a thin wafer and slightly roundish. Switch off heat and remove gently with a spatula whilst it’s still soft. Set aside to cool completely and the toffee will harden as it cools.
Serving
- Once the cheesecake has set, un-mould carefully and if you like, decorate with the burnt toffee leaf (*optional*) and some orange rind strips. Serve chilled and enjoy.
Video
Notes
If you like this recipe tutorial and like to see more, subscribe to my YouTube channel here
#1 Grease and check your baking tin
Unlike the usual Basque cheesecake which is baked in several layers of parchment and has rustic wrinkled sides, I decided to bake my Orange Chocolate Peanut Butter Burnt Cheesecake directly in the tin without parchment. Instead I used a 6-inch springform tin with well greased sides for easier un-moulding. If you do not grease the sides of the tin, the process of releasing the cheesecake later on will become a tad more difficult and complicated so do grease the sides well.
I used an old springform which had become loose and some of the batter leaked as a result. This is easily resolved if only I had checked. If you are similarly using an old tin where there may be some gaps, wrap the base of the tin tightly with tin foil before baking and this should help to prevent leakage.
#2 Remove the air bubbles
Air bubble is the bane of any creamy cheesecake and they can also cause cracks during baking. Therefore do not over-mix or introduce too much air when whisking the cream cheese and mixing in the ingredients. For this reason, once the cream cheese is whisked to a smooth consistency and the eggs added, I like to switch to a spatula and mix in the rest by hand.
Mixing by hand allows me to remove any air bubbles by gently pressing the cream cheese against the side of the bowl. You will see the batter get smoother and smoother as this gentle hand mixing continues. Sieving the batter and running through with a skewer before baking are also good ways to get rid of air bubbles and any lumps. Be patient to do this well and you will be rewarded with a beautiful smooth creamy cheesecake.
#3 Orange chocolate peanut butter
One might ask why Orange Chocolate Peanut Butter? Well, inspiration came from a limited edition orange chocolate peanut butter hand delivered by dot when she came back from the U.K.
But not to worry if one does not have this limited edition peanut butter. Simple creamy peanut butter will be just as indulgent combined with the fresh orange flavor in this burnt cheesecake. So try and be inspired!
I like to use fresh orange for this Orange Chocolate Peanut Butter Burnt Cheesecake because the wonderful zesty flavor comes from the freshly grated orange zest in the ganache.
The fresh zest not only brings out the sweet tart fragrance of the fruit; it also looks amazing when spruced exuberantly on top of the ganache like brilliant gold specks. Freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice added to the softened cheese gives a nice citrus lift to its creaminess, a perfect complement. So don’t skip the fresh orange.
#4 Watch for the wobble
Always check the cheesecake as it bakes so that it’s not overdone (I usually check around the 20-25 minute mark). The cheesecake should be nicely burnt but still with a little wobble when it’s done which should set nicely after it is cooled and chilled. If the cheesecake is totally firm when baked, it’s overdone. To know how to watch for the wobble, watch the recipe tutorial @5:16 minute.
#5 Flour substitutes
I used rice flour for a gluten free cheesecake. The rice flour can be easily substituted with all purpose flour. Likewise, the corn starch can be replaced with wheat starch. The small amount of flour helps to give structure and minimizes any cracking that may occur during baking. Using a little flour also gives a lighter texture and balances out the thick creaminess of the cheese.
#6 Un-moulding
Be patient and take care during un-moulding to keep the cheesecake intact and pristine. Use a hot towel and wipe down the sides to slowly disengage the chilled cheesecake from the tin.
Alternatively use a hair dryer on low heat to gently blow the sides to help the process. I used a 6-inch round spring form tin which made un-moulding relatively easy. Watch the video @ 6:33 minute for the un-moulding.
#7 Toffee leaf
I crowned this Orange Chocolate Peanut Butter Burnt Cheesecake with a melted burnt toffee which was IMHO perfect. I used a Devon toffee melted on low heat and as it melted, part of the toffee burnt giving a beautiful graduated ombré color with a tributary of lines radiating outwards. I simply call it my toffee leaf!
The key to this toffee leaf is to use low heat and to monitor the melting throughout. The toffee did not melt evenly so the part that melted first became more charred, producing that ombré effect. Once the toffee is completely melted, switch off heat and gently remove with a spatula. If you like, shape it delicately as preferred whilst it’s still soft. The toffee does harden quite quickly, so work fast if you want to play with the shape. More importantly, have fun!
#8 Storage
This Orange Chocolate Peanut Butter Burnt Cheesecake is best served chilled the next day after setting in the fridge overnight. It keeps well for 4-5 days, stored airtight and chilled in the refrigerator.