Peanut Butter Cheesecake Topping

Asked by sareshep. Answered on 26th October 2015

Full question

Is the chocolate layer of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake supposed to bubble in the oven? I'm a bit concerned my oven was up a bit high or I melted the sour cream/chocolate/sugar mixture too quickly. It does appear to be cooling smoothly, although slightly crusted at the sides around the cake tin. I'm just wondering how the top layer is supposed to appear while cooking and upon cooling. Thank-you!

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake (from Kitchen) has a topping made from sour cream, chocolate and brown sugar. The topping is poured over the cheesecake once it has been baked and the topped cheesecake is returned to the oven for 10 minutes just to help set the topping. The topping is likely to have a slight crust around the very outside edge and should be smooth and set once the cheesecake has been chilled. As this cheesecake is not baked in a water bath it will have a slightly more "claggy" texture, but if the filling is very dry than it is possible that the oven was slightly too hot.

If the topping is bubbling up during baking then it is most likely that there is some air trapped in the mixture. This could be from whisking the melting sour cream and chocolate mixture a little too vigourously, or from some air being trapped when the topping is poured over (especially if the cheesecake splits slightly). Whisk the topping gently while it melts and then rap the bowl gently on a worktop a couple of times to bring any bubbles to the surface. These can then be pricked with a skewer before the topping is poured over the cheesecake.