Char's Decadently Rich PB/Choc Chunk Cheesecake

[Charski]

This is a major tweakage of several recipes found on these boards!

Char's Decadently Rich PB/Choc Chunk Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup SF smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup almond or hazelnut meal
1 tsp. (equivalent to 3/4 cup) liquid Splenda
1 extra-large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temp (you want it very soft)
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons DaVinci Sugarfree Peanut Butter syrup
1 teaspoon (equivalent to 3/4 cup) liquid Splenda concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup SF smooth peanut butter
4 whole extra-large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk, all at room temp
4 ounces chopped SF chocolate - white, milk, or dark

Preheat oven to 350*. Use a 9" springform or removable bottom pan. Spray pan insides well with nonstick cooking spray.

Crust:

Mix together all crust ingredients, press into bottom and about 1" up sides of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until barely starting to brown around the edges. Let cool.

Put pan in center of 2 large pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil; fold up around pan sides to prevent seepage while in the water bath.

Reduce oven temperature to 300*. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold the springform (water bath).

Filling:
With a wire whisk, combine the cream cheese and Splenda until well blended, scraping sides often. Add the vanilla and sour cream. Add peanut butter and whisk til well-blended. When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, whisking only until incorporated. Don't overmix - this is a leading cause of cracked cheesecakes and why I prefer the wire whisk to a mixer. Gently blend in your choice of chocolate. Don't overmix - this is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes!

Then place the springform pan into the larger roasting pan and place on oven rack - fill the larger pan about halfway with the boiling water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake. You can skip this but your cheesecake will be MUCH more likely to crack and will not have the same dense rich texture!

Bake for 1 hour at 300*, then reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off, prop door ajar with a wooden spoon, and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. Remove foil, and refrigerate at least 12 hours - cheesecakes continue to "age" into their flavor so don't be tempted to eat it too soon!

This is a very rich, very dense, moist cheesecake. I made it with SF white chocolate chunks but next time I'd use SF milk or dark for more contrast.

[trish6103]

That looks good!
I made Beachgirl's PB Cup Cheesecake last week and I really didn't like the flavor. I think it was because I used natural peanut butter. It was not sweet enough. I used unsweetened chocolate for the chocolate layer and that part was kinda bitter. Next time I will use Hershey's SF chocolate chunks.

[shawneesioux]

Hey Char...nice presentation, GF!..sure looks smooth and creamy/dreamy. The 12 hr. waiting period must be tough-but worth the wait!

Nice to see ya back in dessert land.

I have a set of various sized Wilton springforms..and doggone if they don't sometimes absorb a tad of water from the bath...so I wrap a coat of tinfoil around the outside bottom, extended up the sides a bit.

Shawnee

[Charski]

Yep Shawnee, that's what I did too - TWO layers of HEAVY DUTY foil! I don't take NO chances with MY cheesecakes!!

I've been so good with my eating since January, practically nothing in the way of "goodies" but my Dad and stepMom are coming for dinner tonight so it was a good enough reason to get out the ol' baking pans and rattle 'em around a bit!

Char

[Charski]

Oh yeah, and Trish, I always taste the batter before I add the eggs and add sweetener if needed. This is an adaptation of Beachgirl's PB cheesecake, but I always like sour cream in mine so I ditched one package of cream cheese in favor of a cup of sour cream, amongst a few other tweaks! LOL!

[mom2twoboys]

OH yum! It looks great my DS is allergic to peanuts so unless someone invites me to their house I will only be able to dream about it!

[mamagiff]

That looks fabulous!

[Charski]

Originally Posted by mom2twoboys

OH yum! It looks great my DS is allergic to peanuts so unless someone invites me to their house I will only be able to dream about it!

How about almonds or macadamias? You could certainly substitute almond or macadamia nut butter wherever this one calls for peanut butter - in fact I was eyeballing the jar of macadamia nut butter in the cupboard when I made this, and if DH hadn't scarfed up all the macadamia nuts, I'd have done that for the crust!

[shawneesioux]

Char...YAY for you, being extra-good for so long ..I'm SO ready for some cheesecake; haven't made any since Christmas.

Now I'll wipe the egg off my face ..while I was printing out your Recipe, I caught the TINFOIL instructions...

....I promise to take up Reading vs merely scanning eventually.

Great idea, the Almond or Mac Butter.

Have a fun dinner party!

...I keep thinking about some toasted coconut in a crust...

Shawnee

[Sweeteater]

oh, yummy! How pretty! Thanks for sharing the pic and recipe.

[rowdy1]

Char...BTW, great name LOL! What's the calorie count on this recipe per slice? Ohmygoodness it looks so good and I happen to have all the ingredients but.....the calories must be outta 'dis world right?

I've been trying to hold my sweets at bay too. Made a pan of the low carb peanut butter fudge. Gone in 3 days.... Although, in my defense, I did use the fudge as meal replacements..... The kicker...it wasn't even TOM!!

Muaaaaahhhh! (true story)

[Charski]

Hi Char!!

I haven't a clue. I know it's gotta be sky-high on calories! I seldom make desserts any more so when I have one, I know it's LC-safe ingredients and I just don't worry about it.

Maybe some nice person with MasterCook will happen along and plug in those ingredients for us though.....

Char

[Deannie]

Sounds wonderful, Char. I printed it out for when I get to goal.
Right now I'm not doing ANY baking, trying to figure out what works for this "old body".

[bprieto]

PB&J Cheesecake
See below with the following tweeks

skip chocolate
following the 12 hour "aging" period top with SF all fruit jelly/jam. (My family likes strawberry)

Originally Posted by Charski

Char's Decadently Rich PB/Choc Chunk Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup SF smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup almond or hazelnut meal
1 tsp. (equivalent to 3/4 cup) liquid Splenda
1 extra-large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temp (you want it very soft)
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons DaVinci Sugarfree Peanut Butter syrup
1 teaspoon (equivalent to 3/4 cup) liquid Splenda concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup SF smooth peanut butter
4 whole extra-large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk, all at room temp
4 ounces chopped SF chocolate - white, milk, or dark

Preheat oven to 350*. Use a 9" springform or removable bottom pan. Spray pan insides well with nonstick cooking spray.

Crust:

Mix together all crust ingredients, press into bottom and about 1" up sides of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until barely starting to brown around the edges. Let cool.

Put pan in center of 2 large pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil; fold up around pan sides to prevent seepage while in the water bath.

Reduce oven temperature to 300*. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold the springform (water bath).

Filling:
With a wire whisk, combine the cream cheese and Splenda until well blended, scraping sides often. Add the vanilla and sour cream. Add peanut butter and whisk til well-blended. When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, whisking only until incorporated. Don't overmix - this is a leading cause of cracked cheesecakes and why I prefer the wire whisk to a mixer. Gently blend in your choice of chocolate. Don't overmix - this is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes!

Then place the springform pan into the larger roasting pan and place on oven rack - fill the larger pan about halfway with the boiling water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake. You can skip this but your cheesecake will be MUCH more likely to crack and will not have the same dense rich texture!

Bake for 1 hour at 300*, then reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off, prop door ajar with a wooden spoon, and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. Remove foil, and refrigerate at least 12 hours - cheesecakes continue to "age" into their flavor so don't be tempted to eat it too soon!

This is a very rich, very dense, moist cheesecake. I made it with SF white chocolate chunks but next time I'd use SF milk or dark for more contrast.

[twyx]

Charski, how do you think this would work if you used Chocolate DaVinci's? I really want to make this and have nowhere to get the PB flavor. And I guess if you use all Splenda, you're going to have significantly more carbs?

Or do you have any other spectacular cheesecake recipes?

[Charski]

Rose, I'm sure the chocolate syrup would work fine, or for that matter, vanilla or probably even caramel or Dulce de Leche or whatever you have. It's not much volume in the total of the cheesecake.

Yes, granulated or packets of Splenda would impact the carb count - granular is 24 grams per cup.

HTH!

Char

[decodiana]

Bumping because I tried this recently and it was incredible. Thanks for a great recipe, Charski!

[xavier_grad]

*thud*

[Charski]

Was that a fall off the wagon?! LOL!

[SugarPop]

Wow, Charski..............This looks yummy.

When you call for liquid splenda do you means sweetzfree? One teaspoon?

Confused


B

[mac24312]

Next on my list to make!!

HUGS!

[Charski]

Originally Posted by SugarPop

Wow, Charski..............This looks yummy.

When you call for liquid splenda do you means sweetzfree? One teaspoon?

Confused


B

Use whatever liquid sweetener you have, make it equivalent to 3/4 cup sugar. I never had Sweetzfree, I had some very very concentrated liquid sucralose I got from a guy in Australia, so I used the equivalence of 3/4 cup sugar sweetness and it was fine. I believe LindaSue has a conversion chart on her website for various forms of Splenda!

[PalmTreeGal]

Yow, looks wonderful. I have been making a lot of LC sweets lately. Life has been stressful and my strategy for staying on plan has been to have free access to LC sweets. I'm not losing weight but I'm not gaining either. May have to give this one a try! I hate the PB syrup though and tossed the bottle I had. Got lots of vanilla and caramel around though.

Charski, do you have a hard time maintaining if you make LC treats like this?

[fieldofroses1]

where do you get the SF white chocolate?

[Charski]

Originally Posted by PalmTreeGal

Yow, looks wonderful. I have been making a lot of LC sweets lately. Life has been stressful and my strategy for staying on plan has been to have free access to LC sweets. I'm not losing weight but I'm not gaining either. May have to give this one a try! I hate the PB syrup though and tossed the bottle I had. Got lots of vanilla and caramel around though.

Charski, do you have a hard time maintaining if you make LC treats like this?

Well, confession, a few years back, when Shawniesioux and Magnamater and Scott123 and others were here - we all had so much fun making LC treats - and I got to the point where I thought I NEEEEDED dessert EVERY night - and yes, I DID gain, 12 pounds! I went back on induction and got it off, plus more, so that was OK in the end. But now, I generally don't make baked goodies unless we are having company or we are going someplace where I am requested to bring dessert. So - beware and watch the scales!

Originally Posted by fieldofroses1

where do you get the SF white chocolate?

I found some online by Googling. Things have changed a lot in the past couple years though, as far as what is available, so not sure how readily available it is!

[PalmTreeGal]

I think I have gained while eating all these sweets, and I am 30 pounds from goal! But it is still better than going face down in the white flour. Now MIL has gone home, I am not so stressed.

[Charski]

You're right, it is FAR better, IMHO, to at least eat low carb treats than to go back to that crappy old stuff we used to love!

I'm glad some of your stress has now left the premises...

[mac24312]

I made this will some few Tweaks of my own...

I forgot to add the SF DaVinci to it...Instead of chips I melted about 2 oz of Lindt bar into the mixture...

Let it ripe overnight...Its GREAT!! Its the best Cheesecake I have ever fix..LC or not! Very rich..just can eat a little slice...My son at a bite and seem to like it..My DH does not like cheesecake so its all mine!! Taste like a favorite Candy..Peanut Butter cups!!

I dont make cheesecakes much but will make this again when I want it..
TY!
HUGS
Christina

[Monkee]

Originally Posted by Charski

This is a major tweakage of several recipes found on these boards!

Char's Decadently Rich PB/Choc Chunk Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup SF smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup almond or hazelnut meal
1 tsp. (equivalent to 3/4 cup) liquid Splenda
1 extra-large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temp (you want it very soft)
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons DaVinci Sugarfree Peanut Butter syrup
1 teaspoon (equivalent to 3/4 cup) liquid Splenda concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup SF smooth peanut butter
4 whole extra-large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk, all at room temp
4 ounces chopped SF chocolate - white, milk, or dark

Preheat oven to 350*. Use a 9" springform or removable bottom pan. Spray pan insides well with nonstick cooking spray.

Crust:

Mix together all crust ingredients, press into bottom and about 1" up sides of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until barely starting to brown around the edges. Let cool.

Put pan in center of 2 large pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil; fold up around pan sides to prevent seepage while in the water bath.

Reduce oven temperature to 300*. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold the springform (water bath).

Filling:
With a wire whisk, combine the cream cheese and Splenda until well blended, scraping sides often. Add the vanilla and sour cream. Add peanut butter and whisk til well-blended. When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, whisking only until incorporated. Don't overmix - this is a leading cause of cracked cheesecakes and why I prefer the wire whisk to a mixer. Gently blend in your choice of chocolate. Don't overmix - this is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes!

Then place the springform pan into the larger roasting pan and place on oven rack - fill the larger pan about halfway with the boiling water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake. You can skip this but your cheesecake will be MUCH more likely to crack and will not have the same dense rich texture!

Bake for 1 hour at 300*, then reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off, prop door ajar with a wooden spoon, and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. Remove foil, and refrigerate at least 12 hours - cheesecakes continue to "age" into their flavor so don't be tempted to eat it too soon!

This is a very rich, very dense, moist cheesecake. I made it with SF white chocolate chunks but next time I'd use SF milk or dark for more contrast.

Wow. That sounds and looks amazing.

[Suzie]

This sounds like it could become a new addiction! I will have to try it soon.