Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Cheesecake

This was an excellent 2012 birthday cake! A crumb crust is topped with peanut butter mousse, then chocolate mousse, then finished with a dark chocolate ganache. It's worth the extra effort!

Ingredients:

Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate or vanilla wafer (or Oreo) crumbs
- 1/4 cup butter, melted

Mousse:
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 5 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, whipped and divided
- 5 oz bittersweet or dark chocolate, chopped
- 1 milk chocolate candy bar (3.5 oz), chopped
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ganache:
- 6 oz bittersweet or dark chocolate, chopped
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Crust: In a bowl, combine wafer crumbs and melted butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.

Peanut butter mousse: In a bowl, beat the peanut butter, cream cheese, and softened butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar; beat until smooth. With a spatula, fold in 1 1/4 cups whipped cream. Spread over the crust.

Chocolate mousse: Place 5 oz bittersweet chocolate and milk chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and milk just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Gently fold in remaining whipped cream. Spread over peanut butter layer. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm.

Ganache: Place 6 oz bittersweet chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cool until ganache reaches spreading consistency, stirring occasionally. Spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate until set.

With knife, loosen cheesecake from pan, then remove rim. Top with shaved chocolate if desired.