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Celebrating with Food: Cheesecake Edition

In our house, celebration tastes like cheesecake. It’s the dessert I bake for birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones. Over the years, it’s become our family tradition—one that feels both grounding and joyful.

This week, Chris celebrated five years of sobriety. That’s a milestone worth the richest, most decadent dessert I could dream up. When I asked what he wanted, his request came without hesitation: peanut butter cheesecake with a sourdough discard brownie crust.

Cheesecake takes patience. From the slow baking to the long chill, it’s a dessert that insists on being intentional. And maybe that’s why it’s the dessert I return to again and again when we have something big to mark. Each cheesecake carries a story, a memory, a reason to pause. This one, especially, will always remind me of strength, resilience, and the beauty of traditions you build yourself.

🍫 The Brownie Crust

This cheesecake starts with my sourdough discard brownies—rich, fudgy, and deeply chocolatey. Once baked and cooled, it's fit into the base of a 6-inch springform pan to create a chewy, flavorful crust.

🥜 The Peanut Butter Cheesecake

The filling is simple and classic: cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. Baked low and slow, it comes out silky and decadent, balancing salty-sweet peanut butter with the tang of cream cheese and the depth of chocolate below.

Here’s the full recipe:

Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Discard Brownie Crust

Yield: 6–8 servings (6-inch springform) Prep: Bake: Total:

Brownie Base

  • 113 g (1 stick / ½ cup) unsalted butter
  • 170 g (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 95 g (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
  • 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
  • 40 g (½ cup) cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp espresso powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 120 g (½ cup) sourdough discard

Cheesecake Filling

  • 450 g (16 oz / 2 blocks) cream cheese, softened
  • 120 g (½ cup) creamy peanut butter
  • 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 60 g (¼ cup) sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Optional Toppings

  • 60 g (½ cup) chopped peanuts
  • Chocolate ganache drizzle (50 g / 2 oz chocolate + 60 ml / ¼ cup cream)

Instructions

  1. Make brownies: Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F. Line a 6" springform pan. Melt chocolate, stir in vanilla. In a mixer, cream sugar & butter mixture until really creamy (at least 5 minutes). In a seperate bowl mix flour, cocoa, espresso, & salt. Into mixer, add chocolate with vanilla, Slowly spoon in the dry mixture into the mixer, then add eggs one at a time, then stir in discard. Spread in pan and bake 20 min. Cool completely.
  2. Make cheesecake filling: Beat cream cheese & peanut butter until smooth. Add sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Mix until smooth.
  3. Bake: Pour filling into crust. Bake 55–65 min at 160°C / 325°F, using a water bath if desired. The edges should be set, center slightly jiggly.
  4. Cool & Chill: Rest cheesecake in oven 1 hour with door cracked. Remove, cool to room temp, then chill at least 4 hours (overnight best).
  5. Finish: Top with ganache drizzle & peanuts if desired. Or a light chantilly cream. Slice and serve.

🌿 Tradition: In our home, cheesecakes mark every big celebration. This one is especially meaningful for Chris’s 5-year sobriety milestone.
🍫 Brownie base: Sourdough discard keeps the crust chewy, fudgy, and low-waste.
❄️ Storage: Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze slices up to 2 months.

Rooted Thought: Traditions aren’t always inherited. Sometimes you create them yourself, one cheesecake at a time.

Flour on my hands, dirt under my nails — Kim

Location: California, USA

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