Dining In - Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake - Happy. Healthy. Life. Blog

Because one cake is just never enough for your birthday, I decided for my boyfriend's birthday this month I would make not only a decadent vegan German Chocolate Cake, but also this delicious peanut buttery pie. The recipe comes from a popular vegan blogger turned cookbook author Kathy Patalsky of Happy. Healthy. Life. (link to original recipe here). I was excited about it because I hadn't yet tried my hand at a vegan cheesecake recipe and because my boyfriend and I are big fans of peanut butter! The cheesecake itself was rich, creamy, and melt in your mouth delicious. I loved my addition of chocolate to this, too. I brought the leftovers into my office the next day and it was gone in minutes. I didn't hide the fact that it was vegan, but that didn't stop anyone from diving in and the comments included "amazing...unbelievable...OMG." 

 

It was easy to make - no oven or baking required, but I did face some issues with the crust. Well, it didn't really turn out to be a crust at all, just crushed cereal powder on the bottom of the pie pan that I had to scoop up with each slice. That leaves room for improvement for next time, and I'm thinking a chocolate cookie crust instead - yum! Be prepared to use a lot of coconut oil for this one.


Crust
3/4 cup crushed peanut butter cereal (I used Barbara's Puffins brand) 
1 teaspoon coconut oil (I used the Trader Joe's brand)


Cheesecake
2 - 16 oz. containers of vegan cream cheese (I used the Trader Joe's brand)
7 oz. (or slightly less than 1 cup) coconut oil

Vegan Cream Cheese - Trader Joe's

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used salted)

3/4 cup maple or agave syrup

Peanut Butter Swirl

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon maple or agave syrup

Chocolate Swirl

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut oil


To Prepare the Crust:

This is the part that didn't work out for me; the original instructions said to grease the pan with the coconut oil generously and then press the crushed cereal into it to create a crust. 

My issue might have been using coconut oil that was too melted and didn't do the job of solidifying a crust. For a second attempt, I would trade this out for a chocolate flavored version, like the crust in this recipe. 

To Prepare the Cheesecake:

In a medium, microwave-safe bowl, add cream cheese, coconut oil and peanut butter. Heat until the ingredients are melted and at about room temperature. 

Transfer to a blender and add in syrup. Blend together until smooth. 

Pour into pie pan with prepared crust.

To Prepare the Swirl:

For both decorative purposes and added flavor, mix up a couple swirls. I had to include chocolate in mine so I added this is in myself. It might have overpowered the design, but the taste mattered more. 

Peanut Butter Swirl

Melt the ingredients for both flavors, separately, in the microwave. Stir both, again separately. Pour on the pie in a swirl motion and then use a knife or end of a kitchen utensil to blend in. I over-blended as you can tell, but the abstract marbled look still works!

To finish it up, cool and harden in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.