Ingredients

For the cheesecake base:

• 125g digestive biscuits crushed
• 50g ground almond
• 3/4 tablespoon toasted fennel seeds, powdered
• 70g unsalted softened butter
• 1 tablespoon icing sugar

For the peanut caramel:

• 150g roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed, keep aside some to garnish
• 100g sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 40ml double cream
• Generous pinch of sea salt

For the cheesecake mix:

• 250g crème cheese, softened
• 250g mascarpone cheese
• 100g sugar
• 250g double cream
• 3 leaves of gelatine

Tools

• kMix

Method

For the cheesecake base:

1. Line the sides of a deep 8inch springform tin with greaseproof paper, this helps to remove the cheesecake easily.
2. Place all the biscuits in a sealed plastic food bag and crush with a rolling pin to a coarse powder.
3. Mix the powdered biscuits with ground almonds, roasted ground fennel seeds, icing sugar and softened butter. Add ingredients into the stand mixer bowl, attach the k beater and mix to combine.
4. Spread this crumbly mix on the base of the springform pan. Press down firmly and leave to set in the refrigerator (for half an hour or so) whilst you make the rest.

For the peanut caramel:

1. Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan and caramelise on low heat without stirring (this prevents lump formation and helps to caramelise evenly).
2. Add the crushed roasted peanuts and lightly stir to mix together.
3. Transfer 1/3 of this mix onto a silpat, place another silpat on top, whilst it’s still warm spread it with a rolling pin to form peanut brittle, once cooled and hardened break into chips. Keep aside for now, this will be used to garnish the cheesecake
4. To the remaining caramel mix in the pan, add the butter, cream and sea salt and lightly warm to form a sauce consistency.
5. Keep aside and cool to room temperature. This will be folded into the cheesecake mix.

For the cheesecake mix:

1. Place the gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water and soak for 5 minutes until spongy. Drain the water and stand this bowl with gelatin in a pan of gently simmering water until it turns transparent and clear.
2. Using the kMix with the whisk attachment, whisk together the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar until smooth. Add the caramel sauce and whisk again until smooth and lump-free. Whisk on medium speed until it is smooth and lump-free.
3. With the machine running at a low speed Pour in the double cream, increase the speed to medium and continue to whisk for a couple of minutes until it’s very thick and mousse-like. Fold in the soaked gelatin.
4. Now pour this salted peanut caramel cheesecake mixture onto the biscuit base and leave it to set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours, preferably overnight.