Birthday Cheesecake

About 6, maybe 8, months ago I was testing cheesecake recipes for a wedding and my boys were really bummed that they couldn't eat the cheesecake.  I would have been upset, too. 

A peanut butter cheesecake with a pretzel crust?  It's like heaven.  So they made me promise that for their 9th birthday I'd make them a peanut buttter cheesecake.  And I totally forgot.

So last week when I asked what kind of cake they wanted for their birthday, they both immediately responded that they wanted "that different kind of cake that has peanut butter that they didn't get to eat last time I made it".  My suggestion: let's add a layer of chocolate!

Of course, promptly after suggesting this idea I realized that it was not a new one- Lori from Quirky Cupcake make a cheesecake like this just last month that looked incredible.  It must have been lurking in the back of my mind.  But this one will be vegan and I'm pretty partial to my recipe.

First the crust:

2 cups of pretzel crumbs (if you can find gluten free pretzels, then everyone can eat it!)

1/2 tsp salt (reduce if PB is salted)

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. canola oil

3 Tbsp. peanut butter

I usually start with a clean food processor and make the pretzel crumbs by whizzing the pretzels in there for a while.  Then I add the remaining crust ingredients right in there and pulse until it starts to clump together slightly.  The little bit of PB with the pretzels tastes like a Butterfinger bar.  Don't leave it out!

Press the crust into the bottom of a springform or tart pan.  Mine is a 10" size and this is plenty of crust.  
Then make the chocolate layer:

In a double boiler-type set up, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips and 3 Tbsp non-dairy milk together, stirring frequently.  Then pour over crust and smooth evenly.
For the cheesecake:

12 oz. silken tofu

2 x 8 oz packages non-dairy cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 250F.  You'll need to clean out that food processor for this part.  Whiz together the tofu and cream cheese until completely smooth.  Really, don't settle for ANY lumps!  Add sugar, vanilla, and peanut butter and process until fully incorporated.  I think this is plenty sweet, but feel free to add a little more sugar if you want.

Pour cheesecake batter over the chocolate-covered crust and smooth with a spatula.  I like to place my cheesecake pan on a baking sheet to make it easier to handle.  Then put the pans in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.  The cheesecake should be moderately firm when it is done.  It will still juggle slightly if you shake it, but it should be definitely solid.  Chill completely before serving.  Really.  Like overnight.

And now I'm not even going to post the inside shot becaust it turned out really blurry and bad.  But you can imagine it, right?  And, yeah, it's as good as you imagine.