Peanut-Caramel Candy Bar Chocolate Cheesecake

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A dense, truffle-dark chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate cookie crust, studded with chopped peanut-caramel nougat candy bars that go soft and gooey in the oven. Baked low and slow in a water bath for a crack-free top, then chilled overnight and finished with warm salted caramel, roasted peanuts and one more shower of chopped candy. It's the steakhouse dessert-cart slice — the kind that arrives at the table tall, cold and slick with caramel — built from a candy aisle shortcut instead of a pastry station.

Ingredients

• 28 cookies chocolate sandwich cookies, filling included
• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate (60% cacao), chopped
• 32 ounces full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (four 8-oz blocks)
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 10 ounces peanut-caramel nougat candy bars (about 6 full-size), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, warmed
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 3/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt

• 5 ounces peanut-caramel nougat candy bars (about 3 full-size), chopped
• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream, cold (optional, for whipping)
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 325°F. Wrap the outside bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan in two layers of heavy-duty foil, crimping tightly at the top rim so no water can seep in. Lightly butter the inside of the pan.
2. Make the crust: pulse the chocolate sandwich cookies and 1/2 cup peanuts in a food processor to fine crumbs, about 30 seconds. Add the melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt and pulse until the mixture clumps when squeezed. Press firmly into the bottom of the pan and 1 inch up the sides, using a flat-bottomed glass to compact it. Bake 10 minutes, then cool on a rack while you make the filling. Leave the oven on.
3. Melt the semisweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second bursts, stirring between, until smooth. Set aside to cool to just barely warm (about 5 minutes) — hot chocolate will seize in cold batter.
4. In a stand mixer with the paddle (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese on medium-low for 2 minutes until completely smooth, scraping the bowl and paddle twice. Add the sugar, cocoa powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt and beat 2 minutes more, still on medium-low, until no cocoa streaks remain.
5. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla, then the melted chocolate, scraping down the bowl well. Add the eggs one at a time on the lowest speed, mixing just until each disappears — about 15 seconds each. Stop mixing the moment the last egg is incorporated; overbeating whips in air that cracks the top.
6. Fold the 10 ounces of chopped candy bars into the batter by hand with a flexible spatula. Pour into the cooled crust and smooth the top. Rap the pan gently on the counter 5 or 6 times to release large air bubbles.
7. Set the foil-wrapped pan in a roasting pan and pour boiling water into the roasting pan to come 1 inch up the sides. Bake at 325°F for 70 to 85 minutes, until the outer 2 inches are set and puffed and the center 3 inches still jiggle as one soft mass when nudged (an instant-read thermometer 1 inch from the edge reads 150°F).
8. Turn the oven off, prop the door open a few inches, and let the cheesecake cool in the water bath for 1 hour. Lift it out, peel off the foil, and cool on a rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.
9. Make the caramel: stir the sugar and water in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat until dissolved, then stop stirring. Boil, swirling the pan occasionally and brushing down any crystals on the sides with a wet pastry brush, until the syrup is a deep amber — the color of iced tea — 8 to 12 minutes. Off heat, whisk in the warm cream (it will bubble up hard), then the butter, one cube at a time, and the flaky salt. Cool to room temperature; it will thicken. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
10. To serve, run a thin knife dipped in hot water around the edge and release the springform ring. Whip the cold cream with the powdered sugar to soft peaks if using. Pour about 2/3 cup caramel over the chilled cheesecake, letting it drip down the sides, then scatter the remaining chopped candy bars and the chopped peanuts over the top.
11. Slice with a large knife warmed under hot water and wiped dry between every cut. Serve cold, with extra caramel and a spoonful of whipped cream alongside.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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