Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Granola Upside Down Cheesecakes

These 'upside down' cheesecakes are so called as you start with the top on the bottom then when finished, turn them out so the bottom is on the top! I thought it would be fun to try a granola base this time and its roasty toastiness works very well with the super rich and creamy peanut butter topping. You don't necessarily have to finish with dark chocolate but I couldn't resist!

Prep time: All in, around 30 mins
Baking Chilling time: A fair few hours ;-)
100g Dark Chocolate (Melted over a bain-marie or in the microwave)
500g Mascarpone Cheese
200g Peanut Butter
125g Caster Sugar
2tbsp Double Cream
200g Toasted Granola
85g Unsalted Butter (Melted)

I make these using a 12 cup muffin tin, lining each with cling film. Pour the melted chocolate into the base of each lined cup and leave to set for an hour or so.

Once set you can start on the cheese component. In a large mixing bowl beat together the mascarpone cheese, peanut butter, sugar and double cream, until smooth and silky. Fill each chocolate bottomed cup with the peanut butter mascarpone, leaving a small amount of space at the top for the base. You should have ample filling to fill even large muffin cups! Once filled, chill in the fridge for 2 hours.

Now, you can buy toasted granola but if you find it's a little bland then you can roast in a hot oven for 10 mins or so until just brown. Once you are happy it's nice and toasted crush it in a large bowl until crumbly, then mix through the melted butter. Press small handfuls of the granola onto the chilled peanut butter mascarpone, then return to the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Once thoroughly chilled you can remove each cheesecake from its mould. Upturn the muffin tray onto a board and press the base to release each cheesecake. Very carefully peel the clingfilm from each cheesecake and they are good to go! Enjoy. :-)