I Ain't Cheesin' Ya

Ain't joshin' ya neither. Nor kidding. Nor yankin' your chain.
This is serious business, heavy-duty cheesecake. Not for the faint of heart. It's not so rich and dense in the knock-ya-dead, sleep for an hour after and unglue your jaw with water and coffee, but it packs its own sort of punch.
The creamy, crunchy, salty, sweet, nutty, fruit, caramely kind. 

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Crust:
1 c ww flour
½ c cocoa
1/3 c sugar
½ c butter
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon

Whisk together dry ingredients. Melt butter, mix with vanilla, and drizzle over the dry. Mix gently until moisture has touched everything, then empty into the base of a greased spring form pan. I used an 8” pan, but 9 or 10” would work as well, simply resulting in a thinner cake.

Parbake at 400º for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and set aside until cool to the touch.

Peanut butter filling:
½ c peanut butter
1 lb cream cheese
¾ c heavy cream
½ c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt

Plain filling:
1 lb cream cheese
8 oz ricotta
½ c heavy cream
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt

For either filling: soften cream cheese to room temperature. Beat it with sugar, then add ricotta or peanut butter, and once incorporated and smooth add the eggs, salt, and vanilla.

To finish the filling, either fold in the cream or beat—beaten will begin to whip the cream, making the cake a bit less dense.

Pour filling onto crust.

Roasted Banana Topping:
2-3 bananas, sliced
¼- ½ c brown sugar

Arrange bananas on top of uncooked filling as desired.

Bake at 450ºF for 10 minutes covered, then reduce temperature to 350ºF and bake for 1 hour. Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving, ideally refrigerate 2-3, until chilled.