Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

What could be better than chocolate peanut butter goodness? How about chocolate peanut butter goodness with raspberry sauce topped with whipped cream?! This cake will blow anyone away. It was inspired by a jar of Dark Chocolate Dreams - peanut butter blended with rich dark chocolate made by Peanut Butter & Co., a cozy little sandwich shop in New York City. This company makes a bunch of amazing natural peanut butter blends without trans fats or cholesterol. 

Couple the Dark Chocolate Dreams with Galaxy Nutritional Foods' deliciously rich cream cheese alternative then top it with MimicCreme Healthy Top, a nut-based cream, and voila! you have an amazingly rich chocolate peanut butter cheesecake!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
Serves 12

Ingredients 
Crust

• 5 T Earth Balance buttery spread
• 14  chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Late July dark chocolate sandwich cookies)

Peanut butter/cream cheese filling

• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter
• 1 8-ounce container of Galaxy Nutritional Foods cream cheese, softened
• 1.5 T Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 2 T water (equal to 1 egg)

Chocolate/cream cheese filling

• 1.5 cups chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 65% dark chocolate chips)
• 2 T cane sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 T Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 4 T water (equal to 2 eggs)
• 1 8-ounce container of Galaxy Nutritional Foods cream cheese, softened

Raspberry filling and sauce

• 1.5 cup frozen raspberries
• 3 T powdered sugar
• 2 T water

Whipped cream layer and topping

•  1 cup MimicCreme Healthy Top
•  7 chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Late July dark chocolate sandwich cookies)

TIP: One box of Late July sandwich cookies provides enough cookies for the crust and topping.

Instructions
Since we are using an entire box of Late July chocolate sandwich cookies for two different things, I think it is easier to just process them all together. To make the crust, put all 21 of the chocolate cookies in a food processor and process until they become crumbs. Place 1/2 cup in one bowl and set aside -- these will be used as a topping later. Put the rest of the crumbs in a large bowl. Then, melt the Earth Balance buttery spread in a covered dish in the microwave for about 45 seconds until liquid. Pour the buttery spread into the large bowl of crumbs and stir. Press this mixture firmly into a 9" pie dish until the crust covers the bottom and sides of the dish. Set aside.

To make the peanut butter/cream cheese filling, mix the peanut butter, cream cheese, and egg replacer (already mixed with water) in a bowl. We mixed it by hand with a whisk, but you can also use an electric mixer.

To make the chocolate/cream cheese filling, place chocolate chips in a double boiler over medium low heat until melted. Alternatively, if you don't have a double boiler, you can put some water in a saucepan and place another saucepan or metal bowl on top of it. Put the chocolate chips in the saucepan on top and allow the steam from the water to melt the chocolate chips. Remove from heat once completely melted and pour the chocolate into a bowl. Then stir in the sugar, vanilla extract, and egg replacer (already mixed with water). Then, add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth.

To make the raspberry sauce, mix the raspberries, powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of water in a food processor. Process until chunky.

Then add 1 more tablespoon of water and process again until smooth. Put the sauce in a bowl and place in the refrigerator until needed.

To make the whipped topping, whip the MimicCreme until it is smooth and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes by hand. Whip it good. When you take your whisk out, it should peak.

 

Put the remaining cookie crumbs in a large bowl, then mix in half of the whipped MimicCreme 2 spoonfuls at a time until it looks like the picture below.  Put the other half of the MimicCreme aside to use as a topping. Put both bowls in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 300-degrees. To assemble, begin by pouring half of the chocolate/cream cheese filling over the crust and spread until smooth.

Then, spread the entire peanut butter/cream cheese filling over the chocolate.

Take 1/3 of the raspberry filling and spread a thin layer over the peanut butter layer.

Spread the other half of the chocolate/cream cheese filling on top. 

If you have some left over cookie crumbs, you can sprinkle some on top of the cake.

Place it in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Pull it out and let it cool for another 45 minutes. Take the MimicCreme that is mixed with the cookies out of the refrigerator and place it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Spread it on top of the cake. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips around the circumference of the cake.

V for Veracious Vegan!

Place it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Serve with any remaining raspberry spread and the whipped MimicCreme Healthy Top.