Tuesday, April 19, 2011

7 Reese's Gluten Free Cheesecake

gluten free, gluten-free, chocolate, Reeses, cheesecake

Earlier this week I received some 4.5 inch spring form pans. Spring form pans are pretty neat little tools that appear like a round cake pan, only the bottoms can be removed from the sides. This makes spring form pans useful for desserts (especially cheesecake) and deep dish pizzas.

I've never been a large fan of traditionally sized cheesecake. Cheesecake is a rather rich dessert, so eating an entire slice from a 9 inch pie does not sit well with me. That's why I was excited to make cheesecake in 4.5 inch pans. I wanted the opportunity to get the delicious taste and texture of cheesecake without it being a chore to finish eating. Also, in this recipe I leave some chunks of chocolate and peanut butter in the batter before placing it in the oven. I enjoy doing this because it produces tiny pieces of chocolate and peanut butter in the cake that simulates peanut butter cups. I hope you enjoy!

Yields: 4 4.5 inch cheesecakes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 4 hours

Ingredients:
Crust
1.5 cup gluten free graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp butter, melted
.25 cup sugar

Filling
3 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1.5 tsp espresso, room temperature
5 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
5 oz Reese's peanut butter chips

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In 2 bowls, microwave the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips at 15 second intervals, stirring in between. Do this until each is melted and creamy.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the crumbs, butter, and .25 cup sugar until combined. Press into the bottom of each spring form pan.
4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until combined and creamy.
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla. Separate the batter in half into two bowls.
6. If the melted chocolate or peanut butter has started to solidify, place back in the microwave for approximately 10 seconds or until smooth again. Pour the chocolate and espresso into one batter and stir until combined. Pour the peanut butter into the other batter and stir until combined.
7. Place the spring form pans onto a cookie sheet. Pour the peanut butter batter into each of the pans, filling halfway. Top with the chocolate batter, 1/4 inch from the top of each pan. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the centers are set.
8. Cool on a rack for about 10-15 minutes, and then let set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

When ready to serve, draw a kinfe around the perimeter of the pan to separate the cake from the side.

I hope you enjoy! What's your thoughts on the recipe? Also, what's your favorite flavor of cheesecake?

7 comments:

  1. I'm so happy I found this blog, everything I think it couldn't get better it does!

    Also, I absolutely <3 chocolate cheescake.

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  2. I love the chocolate spots on this photograph! You're getting to be quite an amazing food photographer!!!

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  3. Thank you! I was trying to think of how to make it more artistic and add more to the photograph. Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

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  4. I want that cheesecake. It looks tasty. I agree with the other comment, your food photos make me want to lick my screen! My favorite cheesecake is citrus cheesecake.

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  5. I made this cheesecake last night and it was AMAZING! LOVE IT! I added a few pieces of peanut butter cup to the cake and it made it even better. Thank you for sharing this with us.

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  6. So cute! I want a slice of this right now!

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  7. Thank you for the compliments, and I'm glad you enjoyed making them Alice! Did you use traditionally sized spring form pans, or did you use smaller pans? Also I like the idea of adding peanut butter cups, I didn't have any when I made them, but leaving pieces of chocolate and peanut butter in the batter was a great simulation!

    Thanks for sharing!

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