Delicious layers of moist chocolate cake, Reese’s cheesecake, caramel and peanut butter make up this Copycat Cheesecake Factory Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.
Welcome everyone to my week full of copycat recipes! I’ve been wanting to do a week of these delicious dishes for a long time now and I’m so excited to be sharing some with you! Today I brought you my version of the delicious Cheesecake Factory’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake. Seriously yum!
I love rich flavor when it comes to desserts and this cake is just that. I mean it’s piled high with layers of delicious goodness! There is so many different flavor profiles in this bad boy that it all ties together so well and creates one heck of a decadent dessert.
Obviously you now that I love making cakes so you had to know that I was going to be making one here again soon. But this week isn’t just desserts, we’ve got a good mix of dessert, appetizer and entrée! I’m also going to be giving you a roundup of amazing copycat recipes from around the web so stay tuned for that.
If you aren’t already a lover of copycat recipes I hope I can sway you to like them. I mean I absolutely adore going to restaurants and indulging in some of my most favorite foods! But what I find even better is when I can recreate my favorites at home. I prefer to always eat in the comforts of my own home anyways, I hate feeling miserable like I’ve over eaten in public, so this way I can still fill miserable for over eating, but I’ll be home, lol!!
I’ve been doing copycat recipes for a while now and I just can’t quit. Here are some of my faves that I have done: Texas Roadhouse Rattlesnake Bites, Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Olive Garden Lemon Crumb Cake and Applebees Honey Pepper Chicken Mac and Cheese.
I wish I could say I have a favorite restaurant, but I’m such a foodie that I just can’t. There are so many that I enjoy and so many that I have yet to try! Unfortunately we live in a rural area so most of my foodie adventures happen when we travel and then I just go wild on food! Like literally try anything and everything I can. But I think that’s acceptable since I’m on vacation right? You’re allowed to indulge!
So getting back to this Copycat Cheesecake Factory Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake. Moist fudge cake is layered with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake, then you have caramel (who doesn’t wanna add a little caramel) then a layer or peanut butter buttercream and then the cycle repeats itself. It’s then all covered in a chocolate ganache frosting and decorated with more peanut butter buttercream. Have I got your attention yet?
Not saying this thing is the easiest…I mean it can be. But it was really fun to make and seriously it was worth every second just to indulge in those delicious rich layers of chocolatey cheesecake goodness. So tighten your apron and have some fun!!
Copycat Cheesecake Factory Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cup sugar
- Heaping 3/4 cup cocoa
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs room temp
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 Tbs vanilla extract
- 1 cup black coffee hot
CHEESECAKE
- 4 8oz packages full fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 eggs
- 12 fun sized Reese's Peanut Butter cups chopped
- 1 14oz can of dulce de leche
PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar
GANACHE
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- To make chocolate cake, preheat oven to 350.
- Line bottoms of 2 9" round baking pans with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray, set aside.
- In large bowl mix together your flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
- Add your eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Fold in your hot coffee until a runny batter forms.
- Pour into your prepared baking pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pans for about 10 minutes before inverting on cooling racks.
- Once fully cool, wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate.
- To make your Cheesecake preheat your oven to 475.
- Fill large pan with about 1/2" of water and spray a 9" springform pan with non-stick cooking spray and wrap bottom in tinfoil.
- In large bowl with electric mixer mix your cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in your sugar, sour cream and vanilla until combined.
- Mix in 1 egg at a time, making sure to blend after each addition. Fold in your chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
- Pour into your prepared pan and place pan in water dish.
- Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes and reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake another 50-60 minutes or until cheesecake is just set.
- Remove from oven and let cool, once cool cover and refrigerate at least 4-6 hours if not overnight.
- Once cooled trim off about 1/2-1" of the top of the cheesecake to make level and then using a cake leveler or serrated knife split cake in half, chill until ready for use.
- Before you begin to construct your cake make your peanut butter butter cream by creaming together your butter and shortening, once fluffy add your peanut butter and vanilla.
- Adding one cup at a time add in your powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached, set aside.
- Add your dulce de leche to a bowl and add a few tsp of milk to thin out.
TO ASSEMBLE
- On a turntable or cake stand add 1 of your layers of chocolate cake and top with half of your dulce de leche.
- Top your dulce de leche with 1 layer of your cheesecake.
- Spread with about 1 cup of your peanut butter buttercream and top with 2nd layer of cake.
- Spread the rest of your dulce de leche and top with other layer of cheesecake.
- Trip outside of cake if need be to make even and spread a thin layer of your peanut butter buttercream to do a crumb coating and seal any gaps or spaces in the cake.
- Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes to harden up slightly.
- Meanwhile to make your ganache add your chocolate chips to heat proof bowl and add your heavy cream to sauce pan and heat until it just starts to boil.
- Pour your cream over chocolate chips and cover for about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove cover and stir until chocolate melts into cream.
- Let sit until it starts to thicken slightly but not too thick.
- Remove cake from freeze and pour some of your ganache over the top and spread down the sides of your cake (ganache should slightly harden once it hits the cool cake).
- Repeat until top and sides of cake are covered.
- Place your 1/4 cup peanut butter in small bowl and heat until liquid and drizzle over top of your cake.
- Decorate top and bottom of cake with remaining buttercream.
Notes
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Linked up at: Meal Plan Monday
Rhonda Terrell
I made this for a dinner party I was having for my husband’s birthday. It was one of the best desserts I have made; everyone loved it! I will definitely be making it again!
Angela
I have a question. Is there anything I can use instead of the shortening in the peanut butter icing?
Tornadough Alli
Butter
Gretchen
So yummy! I’ve now made this twice!
Jayme
I made this at the request of my daughter for her birthday! I was excited for the challenge & myself & all who ate it were glad I did! It was a 2 day labor of love but I wld make it again! Thanks for sharing it!
Boun
I’ve made this recipe several times because it’s the most requested by friends and family! The chocolate cake recipe is also my go to for any chocolate cake. I was wondering, could I substitute the cocoa powder for espresso powder to make an espresso cake?
Tornadough Alli
Espresso powder would be super potent to be substituted, you can add some alongside it, or you can add some coffee or espresso for the liquid.
Dede
This was amazing! I use an app to save my recipes in and it switched the order for layering the cakes so I had two cheesecakes in the middle. I should have gone back and checked this original text, dumb mistake on my part. But it didn’t matter it was so delicious!
Sara
Wow! I made this for my brother’s 30th birthday at his request. I am an inexperienced baker so had never made a cheesecake before; I did struggle but I don’t think the recipe is to be blamed. My first cheesecake came out well overbaked and I think that is due to my oven being too hot. I baked my second cheesecake at a lower set temp and for less time and pulled out when my thermometer read 150. I think it could have stayed in slightly longer because it was too soft to cut in half even after chilling overnight. That said I plopped that baby in the middle of the cakes and it was all good. I got so many compliments on the cake and my brother said it was better than the restaurant version. The chocolate cake recipe is now my go to and I sent it to everyone at the party who bakes. This was a lot of work but it was so worth it.
Carolina
how do you measure the coffee?
Tornadough Alli
In a liquid measuring cup.
Brenda
Best cheesecake recipe EVER!!! Yes it is a two day project but it’s definitely worth it! The only trouble I had was after slicing the cheesecake in half I was stumped on how to transfer it onto the chocolate cake layers. I ended up cutting the layers into fourths but that made the cake unstable and it was lopsided and started to fall over after slicing into it. Would love some tips on how to do it right!
Daniel
Brenda i always bake two thin layers of cheesecake and freeze them before assembly.
Erin
Why do t you state that in your recipe??
Brenda
This recipe is SO worth the time and effort!!! I had family members telling me it was the best cake they ever had! The only trouble I had was after you slice the cheesecake in half, how do you transfer it onto the cake layer? I ended up cutting it in half and using a large spatula. The finally product was lopsided and slowly started to topple:( I would love some advice on this issue for the next time I make this!
RM Kazzy
A lot of work, it so worth it!
Darlene Morton
I made 2 layers of chocolate brownie cake instead of the chocolate cake…well you might as well really do it up right🤣
Lisa Huff
This recipe has been a favorite of my son for years. He has requested that I make it each year for his birthday for 4 or 5 years running. He absolutely loves it and guests are always impressed by how decadent it is. It takes a bit of time, but if you are a peanut butter cup or cheesecake lover, than this is the recipe for you. Tomorrow is his 17th birthday, so I will be making it for him shortly. He loves it so much, that he has made it a requirement that his someday future wife must be able to make it for him too. 🥰
Jennifer Stromberg
This was a great recipe. I cut the cheesecake ingredients in half and just did 3 layers: 2 chocolate and 1 cheesecake. It’s a 2 day cake process, but worth it. My ganache didn’t chill as I wanted, but I only had room to chill the cake in my fridge, not the freezer. I dumped Reece’s pieces on top and edged the bottom with fun size peanut butter cups cut in half. Everyone loved it, 5 stars.
Rebekah
Would I use my own chocolate cake recipe for this? We don’t drink coffee so we don’t have any in our house.
Tornadough Alli
You could yes
Kim
Hot chocolate is a great substitute for coffee
Mike
Are the dollops in the picture made from the buttercream?
Tornadough Alli
Yes
Ladonna
I cannot find anything called Reese’s “Fun Size” at my local store. Is it possibly called something else now? And do you how many ounces each fun size cup weighs, so I can make sure I’m buying the correct amount?
Thank you so much!
Tornadough Alli
I think they are calling them Snack Size now, just think of the little individual ones you give away at Halloween, those are the size you need 🙂