Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease the bottom of a 9 1/2 inch springform pan well with soft butter or shortening. First, prepare the crust. Set up a food processor and put the peanuts in its bowl. Run the processor to turn the peanuts into crumbs. Add the graham cracker crumbs, cocoa powder and sugar and pulse them all together to mix them well. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the melted butter until it all resembles wet sand. Transfer the mixture to the bottom of a pan and pat it down firmly into an even, solid crust. Use the bottom of a glass to really press it down firmly. Bake the crust for 15 minutes, then set it aside to cool.

While the crust bakes and cools, make the peanut butter cheesecake batter. Combine the cream cheese and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl and beat them together thoroughly with a hand mixer. Add the sugar, followed by the chocolate liqueur and vanilla extract. Then the eggs go in until they are fully incorporated. Lastly, add the flour and make sure the batter is perfectly smooth. Set the batter aside.

Make the brownie batter next. Whisk the flour, baking powder, espresso powder and salt together in a bowl to aerate the dry ingredients. Set the bowl aside. Fill a small saucepan almost halfway with water and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Combine the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl and set the bowl over the simmering water. Let them melt together while you stir it with a heatproof spatula. Once it completely smooth and shiny, take it off of the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Then whisk in the sugar, followed by the liqueur and the eggs. Lastly, whisk in the dry ingredients just until it disappears in. Set the batter aside.

Time to assemble the cheesecake! Grease the sides of the pan well, then pour in the cheesecake batter. Then pour in the brownie batter. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the brownie batter into the cheesecake batter. Then bake the cheesecake for 35 to 40 minutes. It should be puffy and set, but not cracked on top. Let the cake cool for at least half an hour, then release it from the springform pan.

While the cake cools a little more out of the springform pan, prepare the toppings. Microwave the chocolate for a minute to a minute and a half to get it completely melted and shiny. Then transfer the peanuts into a zip top bag and seal them in. Crush them with a rolling pin until they are a really coarse crumb. Drizzle the melted chocolate all over the top of the cake, then sprinkle the crushed peanuts on the very top. Cover the cake with a cake dome and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours before serving. Slice it into pieces and enjoy once it has chilled!