Happy Monday! How’s your day at work? Not too good? You know what, cheesecake can always make you feel happy, if you are into cheesecake of course. What about peanut butter cheesecake? Of course, if you are into peanut butter.

Sounds great? Yay! One more thing about this cheesecake. This is one simple cake to make. No waterbath. No worry about cracking. All you have to do is to whip up your batter and bake. Cracked? Cover it with as much as chocolate ganache and peanuts as you want. You like peanuts, right?

Ingredients (7-inch cake):
Crust
1 cup Oreo cookie crumb
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
100 grams dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup peanut, toasted and roughly chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven at 350F. Grease a 7-inch spring form pan.
Make the crust by mixing all the crust ingredients together in a food processor or with a fork.
Press the mixture onto the bottom of the spring form pan. Bake crust for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Turn down oven temperature to 250F.
To prepare filling, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter on medium speed until smooth in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add brown sugar and beat to combine. Then add egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract, mix for 2 minutes or until well blended.
Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Tap the pan on counter a few times to release all the air in the batter. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the edge of the cheesecake is puffed but the centre is still wobbly and wet looking.
Turn off the oven with the door slightly opened, let the cheesecake sit in the oven to cool completely, at least an hour.
Chill for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
Before serving, leave the cake in room temperature for 30 minutes. For the topping, place the chocolate and heaving cream in a medium heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir the mixture using a wooden spoon until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes.
Pour the ganache on top of the cake. Working quickly, spread the ganache with a large metal spatula or knife, using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake.
Sprinkle toasted peanut on on top as garnish.