Description
This recipe can be made dairy or dairy-free, both will be delicious. This cheesecake is more of a peanut butter mousse type cake. It’s rich, peanut buttery, chocolatey, a little crunchy but completely irresistible.
These days you can find Bamba in many local grocery stores, including Trader Joes and Walmart.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
- 120g Bamba (around 4.25 ounces)
- 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- 1/4 cup cream cheese - can be plant based (around 113g)
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup peanut butter (I used 1/4 cup smooth and 1/2 cup chunky)
- 2 tablespoons milk - can be plant based
- 2 tablespoons chopped dry roasted peanuts
- 2 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream - can be plant based
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 6 ounces chocolate chips (around 170g)
For the Crumb Coating
- 1 cup peanuts
- 60g Bamba
For the Salted Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce (via Plant Based Jess)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for serving if desired
- additional (plant based) milk to loosen if necessary
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.
- Lightly grease and line with parchment a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
- Cover two sheet pans each with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- If you have a pair or two of disposable gloves, set them aside.
- In the bowl of an electric food processor, chop the peanuts until coarsely ground.
- Add the Bamba and process until fine crumbs are formed.
- Add the peanut butters and process until a thick, crumbly “dough” is formed. Transfer to the prepared springform pan.
- Carefully press the crumbs around an inch up the sides of the pan, then press the remaining onto the bottom of the pan. You can use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to evenly press the crumbs into a crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool completely.
For the Peanut Butter Filling
- In an electric mixer with a whip attachment, whip the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add the peanut butter, milk and nuts and whip for 1 minute.
- Transfer the peanut butter mixture into another bowl.
- Whip 2 1/4 cups of the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, then fold 1 cup into the peanut butter mixture to lighten. Fold the lightened peanut butter mixture into the remaining whipped cream.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust, cover with a silicone cover or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or until the cake is set.
- This can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to two days.
For The Bamba/Peanut Crumb Mixture
- Place the peanuts and Bamba in the bowl of a food processor.
- Process until chunky coarse crumbs are formed, then transfer to a large bowl.
For the Chocolate Ganache
- Warm the whipping cream in a double boiler until hot. You can also warm the whipping cream in a large (4 cup or larger) glass measuring cup for around 45 seconds in the microwave until hot to the touch.
- Add the chocolate chips to the hot whipping cream. Do not stir. Wait one minute then gently stir the chocolate and cream with a small whisk until smooth.
For the Salted Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce (via Plant Based Jess)
-
Add the peanut butter, maple syrup and salt to a bowl and warm up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (do not boil).
-
Whisk until combined (it should look pretty thick and even lumpy at this point).
-
Add a small amount of (plant-based) milk (about 2-3 tablespoons) and whisk again. Add more (plant based) milk, small amounts at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
- It will thicken as it cools. Rewarm and add additional (plant-based) milk as necessary.
To Finish
- Remove the set cake from the refrigerator. Run a long thin knife or offset spatula around the edge of the filling to loosen. Unlock the ring and remove from the pan.
- Using an (offset) spatula, smooth any filling that remained on the ring on to the edge of the cake. Scrape/smooth any “sticking up” parts on the top to the center to flatten the top of the cake.
- Place the cake on a cake plate (I left it on the bottom of the springform pan because it was way easier) then set that on a one of the prepared sheet pans. A cake turntable is very helpful at this point.
- Pour around a third of the Chocolate Ganache over the cake. Gently smooth over the top and let a little drip over the sides. Carefully smooth the ganache on the sides using an (offset) spatula or a dinner knife.
- Continue adding ganache until the top of the cake is completely covered and the sides are mostly covered.
- If you have a cake decorating comb or a bread knife, gently run it around the edges of the cake creating grooves on the sides of the cake. If you don’t have either skip this step.
- Place the bowl of crumbs on the second prepared sheet pan. If you have, put on a pair of disposable gloves.
- Lift the cake over the bowl of crumbs and carefully press crumbs onto the sides and a little over the top of the cake, by hand, over the bowl so that any crumbs that don’t stick to the cake will fall back into the bowl.
- Continue pressing crumbs onto the cake until the sides and a little of the edges of the cake are completely covered. Sprinkle a little of the crumbs onto the center of the cake.
- Serve the cake with the Salted Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce and leftover warmed Chocolate Ganache.
- The finished cake can be stored up to two days in advance of serving.
Equipment
Buy Now → 
Wilton Advanced Select Nonstick Round Springform Pan, 9 Inches, Pack of 2
Buy Now →
Wilton Aluminum Springform Pan, 8-Inch Round Pan for Cheesecakes and Pizza
Buy Now →
Wilton Aluminum Springform Pan, 9-Inch Round Pan
Buy Now →
Fat Daddio’s Offset Spatula, 4 Inch
Buy Now →
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless Steel – Silver
Buy Now →
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt Head Stand Mixer, Metal, KSM150PS, Empire Red
Buy Now →
KitchenAid KITCH K45SSOB Mixer 4.5, 250watts, Onyx Black
Buy Now →
KitchenAid 7 Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer
Buy Now →
Philadelphia Plant-Based Dairy Free Original Cream Cheese Spread, 8 oz Tub
Buy Now →
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, 8 oz
Buy Now →
Buy Now →
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, Chocolate Chips, Gluten Free 12 oz
Buy Now →
Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips – Dairy Free, Kosher
Buy Now →
Pack Of 3 Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate & Peanut Butter Morsels Baking Chips, 11 oz
Buy Now →
SKIPPY SUPER CHUNK Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter Spread
Buy Now →
SKIPPY SUPER CHUNK Peanut Butter, 28 oz
Buy Now →
Bamba Peanut Butter Puffs – Family Box
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
Trader Joe’s BAMBA puffed peanut & corn snacks 3.5oz 100g (2 Bags)
Buy Now →
FISHER Snack Lightly Salted Dry Roasted Peanuts, 14 oz
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
FISHER Snack Lightly Salted Dry Roasted Peanuts, 14 oz
Buy Now →
Amazon Grocery, Powdered Sugar, 2lb
Buy Now →
Buy Now →
Buy Now → 
Kootek 22 Pcs Cake Decorating Kit Supplies, 12 Inch Cake Turntable
Buy Now →
Cani 12″ Rotating Cake Stand Cake Decorating Turntable – Cake Decorating Supplies Kit
Buy Now →Notes
I used a combination of super chunk peanut butter and smooth peanut butter. One of the reasons is because the super chunk peanut butter here is Israel was dryer than that in the US. I happen to LOVE super chunk peanut butter, but if you prefer smooth, just substitute the super chunk with smooth.
You can add additional chopped peanuts to the cheesecake mousse if you like a chunkier mousse.
Here in Israel the roasted peanuts are very different than those outside of Israel. I recommend using the salted Dry Roasted peanuts that you can get in the US if possible. They add a little more flavor, and the salted contrast is awesome.
This cake may seem like it takes a long time, however, most of that time is refrigeration. Start making the cake a few days in advance and then finish it at your leisure.
The Bamba Peanut Butter Cheesecake is fabulous dairy or plant based. It’s totally up to you how you make it. Outside of Israel, Shavuot is two days, and this year the second day is Shabbat. Making the Bamba Peanut Butter Cheesecake dairy free for your Shabbat meal is a great nod to the holiday.
The Salted Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce will thicken. Add a little more milk/plant based/hot water to it to loosen it when serving if this should happen.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice of Bamba Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- Calories: 336
- Sugar: 13.5 g
- Sodium: 366.3 mg
- Fat: 29.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.4 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 43.4 mg