Topping for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Asked by YonchiPonchi. Answered on 5th July 2014

Full question

Hello! I just wanted to know if I can replace the sour cream in the topping of the recipe Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with mascarpone ? I love this recipe, the cake is perfect, but I'm not a big fan of the "bitter" taste that the sour cream brings to the chocolate topping. Thanks!

Our answer

Nigella's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake (from Kitchen and on The Nigella website) has a ganache-type topping made from sour cream and melted chocolate that is put on the the top of the cheesecake for the final part of baking. The sour cream is there to slightly offset the richness of the chocolate and also of the peanut butter cheesecake itself.

If you don't like the acidity of the sour cream then it is possible to use mascarpone, but we would suggest substituting double cream (heavy cream/whipping cream) as an alternative to the sour cream. Use a very low heat to warm the cream, chocolate and sugar and stir regularly. Remove the mixture from the heat just before all of the chocolate has melted and stir until it is smooth, before pouring the mixture over the cheesecake.