Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine graham wafer crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Stir until well combined. Press the graham crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9″ spring form pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl using the paddle attachment of your mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a small microwave safe dish, melt the peanut butter for 20 – 30 seconds until it turns liquid and then stir until smooth. With the mixer running on low speed, add the melted peanut butter to the cheesecake batter, then add the whipping cream.

Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat the mixture for several minutes (3 to 4) to incorporate some air into the batter. Add the cornstarch and beat for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the cheesecake filling over the graham crumb base, smoothing the top with an offset spatula or knife.

In a shallow baking dish (I used a 9″x12″ glass dish) add about 1″ of water. Place the water filled dish on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven and bake it for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (depending on your oven) or until the center of the cheesecake is very slightly jiggly, or almost completely set. The cheesecake will continue to bake slightly once removed from the oven, but make sure you don’t remove the cheesecake too soon. Cool the cheesecake on a wire rack.

Once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate the cheesecake for several hours or overnight to set it completely. When ready to decorate the cheesecake, remove it from the spring form pan and set it aside on your serving platter.

To make the chocolate ganache, put the finely chopped dark chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the whipping cream in a small microwave safe dish for 25 – 30 seconds, or until just before boiling. Pour the hot whipping cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth and shiny. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cheesecake and use an offset spatula or a knife to spread the chocolate over the surface of the cheesecake. Leave the ganache to set before adding the peanut butter drizzle.

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the peanut butter (20-30 seconds in the microwave) and drizzle it over the cooled ganache layer.

The cheesecake can also be frozen by tightly wrapping with plastic wrap.