Recipe Reviews & Comments for Ruggles Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake - #114907 - p1

On Dec 9, 2006

I made this for the "alternative" Thanksgiving dessert selection , for those craving something beyond the expected. To say it went over well is an understatement. One person that managed to put in a bid for a slice the Sunday following just sat there and sorta moaned while eating. Upon inquiry with our normally rather formal and gracious guest, she stated she was great and having a "cheesecake orgasm." Very difficult to reply to your guest when they say that, lol. A couple of points about preparing this, one, I used honey roasted peanuts in the crust. I found the peanut butter cups were best not cut too small but leaving some chunks worked well, about 1/8 of a full size cup or 1/4 of a mini. Adding the brown sugar is a bit of an issue though, as it tends to have small lumps or forms them when you blend it in. It is important you do not overmix the cheesecake batter, so as not to incorporate too much air, which could result in a nasty and unattractive crack in the cake. Next time I think I will blend the peanut butter, cream and brown sugar together seperately, and then add to the cheese mixture. Allow the batter to sit in it's mixing bowl for a few minutes and then sharply rap it against a counter to release some of those trapped air bubbles, which helps prevent cracking issues later. Once added to the pan, lightly shake and tap the pan to help release any last bubbles, but use care to not disturb the crust with rough handling. I am rather paranoid that water from the Bain Marie will seep into springform pans, so what I do is wrap the pan in several overlapping layers of aluminum foil and then place in a very heavy plastic bag, such as the heavy duty duty ones you get at some grocery stores, securing it to the side of the pan with a bit of handy duct tape. Don't worry, the bag will not burn nor melt at this baking temp, comes out good as new, scary thought, lol. When adding the hot water to the Bain Marie, try using very hot water that is nearly boiling, as this will help speed things along a bit, as I encountered a very prolonged cooking time with just hot tap water. Don't open the oven at all until it is truly getting close to the minimum baking time, as opening the oven provokes those dreaded cracks and slows down the baking as well. Allow for just a slight jiggle in the very center of the cake to let you know it's done with baking. Make at least a quantity and a half of the sour cream topping to make sure the top is smooth and evenly covered. Once the sour cream topping has set, DON'T REMOVE THE CHEESECAKE FROM THE OVEN. Turn off the oven and prop the oven door open slightly and leave it in there for at least an hour to allow it to very slowly cool down. Remove from oven and very gently loosen the crust from the side of the pan with a long and thin knife blade, using care not to disturb it too much. Doing this helps the crust to pull away from the pan as the cake contracts in cooling, putting less stress on the cheesecake, lessening the chance of a crack developing. Allow to cool thoroughly on a rack and then refrigerate, preferably wrapped in a kitchen towel to insulate it, so that it chills slowly. Feel free to make your cheesecake a couple of days ahead, it really does improve with a little age. When slicing your cheesecake, using a thin blade that you clean with a cool, wet towel in between EVERY slice, leaving a little moisture on the blade. This method gives you a cleaner slice of this almost heaven. I guilded the lily and plated this with homemade caramel and ganache sauces, along with some pb cup pieces and chopped honey roasted peanuts. All this sounds complicated, but in reality it takes very little actual active work, it's all pretty easy in the end and will convince people you are the Queen of Cheesecake. Btw, if you are just not able to go through the anti-crack steps, don't worry, heck with it, it will still taste awesome, even if a crack does develop. If this happens, just strategically cover any oops with pb cups, nuts and sauces, likely no one will notice and definitely won't care after they wrap their mouth around this lucious little number. Thank You Peggy for sharing