Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

from My Baking Addiction

1 cup butter, melted, plus more for pan
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
10 individual Reese’s Cups, chopped

For the filling:
1/4 cup peanut butter, heated in microwave at 10 second intervals for easy spreading

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus more if needed

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round pans and line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl combine the 1 cup melted butter and cocoa and stir until the cocoa is dissolved.
3. Add the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and mix well. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla, flour and salt and combine until the flour is no longer visible. Fold in the chopped peanut butter cups and divide the mixture between the pans. 4. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Run a knife around the edge of each pan and turn out onto a work surface.
5. Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate or a round platter. Spread the 1/4 cup of peanut butter over the first layer and top with the second layer. In a bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and heavy cream until a glaze forms. Add more half and half, if needed, to achieve desired thick glaze consistency. Pour the glaze on top of the torte, spreading it out with a small knife allowing it to drip over the sides. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler and drizzle over the glaze. Cut into slices and serve.

{cooks note}

About a month ago, I was asked to donate a dessert for a political party auction.  The desserts were starting at $50, so I knew I had to make something worth it.  After searching my archives, I decided on this Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte that is to die for. I like it because it doesn't have a cakey texture.  It's definitely more on the rich brownie side.  I used homemade peanut butter (the color of your glaze may vary from mine since I used homemade) and lot's of chocolate peanut butter cups.  I cooked one torte in 9 inch round cake pans (it was my test one that I made one week before) and the final one in 8 inch round pans.  They both turned out great.  I used an 8" round plastic cake container that I purchased from a local grocery store to deliver the cake in.  The torte fit perfectly in it and it was easy for people to view since there was a clear plastic dome covering the top.  My family and friends absolutely loved the dessert (from when I made a tester) and I will definitely be making this again.  I topped the final torte with chopped pieces of chocolate peanut butter cups because you can never have enough chocolate and peanut butter in one dessert.  

*The auction was this past Saturday and I'm not sure what my dessert auctioned off for...I'm not sure I want to know.  At least I know it went for $50.

Add lot's of chocolate peanut butter chunks.  They definitely add to the richness of the dessert.

The first layer of the cake topped with homemade peanut butter.

Top the first layer with the second round cake (more like a giant rich brownie).  

Spread the glaze over the entire cake and push over sides.

Heat semi-sweet chocolate in a double boiler and drizzle over the top.  I like to put the melted chocolate in a plastic sandwich bag and cut a small tip off the corner and use it to drizzle the chocolate. 

After I cut the first piece out.  So moist and good.  

Really, you can't go wrong with serving this dessert.  It's completely easy and quick to make...despite it's complicated looks.  :)

The torte I auctioned off with the chocolate peanut butter chunks on top.  

This is how I packaged the dessert.  I spent .30 on the cake dome and already had the ribbon.  

We were supposed to include a small card describing what our dessert was.  Hopefully it sounded appetizing to someone.

If you make this, the only thing you'll regret is the slightly larger gut it may or may not give you.

Fresh Raspberry Sour-Cream Crumb Cake

Fresh Raspberry Sour-Cream Crumb Cake

from Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:

For the crumb topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted 

For the cake:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups fresh raspberries
2 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar 

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch round springform pan.

To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

To make the cake, in a bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the sour cream mixture. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Cover evenly with the raspberries. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the berries.

Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 38 to 42 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan. Dust the cake with the confectioners' sugar and serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges. Makes one 10-inch cake.

{cooks note}

I made this a few months ago when I got fresh raspberries at Costco.  I had forgotten about it, and was reminded of it this weekend.  You still have time to make it while the berries are still in season.

Flour a springform pan.  I sometimes add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom.

The batter just before the fresh berries and crumble are added.

Aren't those the most beautiful raspberries ever?  I wish I could say I picked them from my garden, but I can't.

The crumble topping.  I loved how this got nice and crunchy on top.  It gives an added texture to the moist cake.

Dust with powdered sugar.

Whip up some fresh whipped cream (with vanilla bean paste of course) and enjoy.

French Pastry Puffs

French Pastry Puffs

from my friend Kiersta

4 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs

In your mixer cream shortening and add sugar and blend well and then add eggs (it is best if you use room temperature eggs, but it will work if you don't) one at a time until blended.

Then alternate adding dry ingredients to creamed mixture with 1 1/2 cups milk (whole is best). Keep alternating between the wet and the dry...ending with milk until all is blended. Grease mini muffin tins well with shortening. Spoon batter into tins. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. These will not get really dark brown on top so use a toothpick to check if done.

Melt in a bowl 1 cup of salted butter. In another bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3 tsp cinnamon. After muffins are out and cooled for a few minutes out of the pans, dip tops in butter and then roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture. This recipe makes 8 doz mini muffins 

{cooks note}

I love summer a lot, but with these high temperatures and not wanting to go outside and melt after 10 seconds, I am SO ready for fall. Too bad we really don't have a fall here.  Either way, I was craving something that reminded me of fall and these are one of the things that came to mind.  They are essentially mini donuts in my eyes.  I like using a mini muffin tin because then you can pop one whole one into your mouth...if you are into that sort of thing. 

Peanut Butter Bars and a Giveaway

 

Peanut Butter Bars With Chocolate Fudge Frosting

from Brooke at Cheeky Kitchen

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Bars

1 c. peanut butter

1 egg

1/2 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. Coach's Oats

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. white flour

1/2 tsp. soda

In a large bowl, cream together peanut butter, egg, butter and brown sugar until light an whippy. Add remaining ingredients, then press into a small cookies sheet. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for exactly nine minutes. Don't overcook it! It might look a little soft and gooey, but it will set as it cools. Allow to cool before frosting & cutting into bars.

Whippy Cocoa Fudge Frosting

2 sticks butter, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. milk

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips just until barely melted. Using and electric beater/mixer, beat in the butter, then slowly add the powdered sugar and just enough milk to make the frosting a nice, spreadable consistency. Frost cooled bars. Allow frosting to set up for about 30 minutes before cutting. ENJOY!

Remember when I had Melissa on from Krema and Crazy Richard's Natural Peanut Butter?  Well, when they sent me some of their peanut butter, I got right to work in my kitchen.  This is the Crazy Richard's brand.

This is the Krema brand.  

All N.A.T.U.R.A.L baby!

The ingredients.  I love how there are oats, natural peanut butter and whole wheat flour in these.  That makes them totally healthy, right?

Mix all of the wet ingredients together.  

Next, add the dry ingredients.

Press into a small cookie sheet.  I used my sheet that is half the size of my regular cookie sheets.  Otherwise known as a quarter sheet pan.

Do not overbake.  These are supposed to be moist.  I cooked mine until I could just barely see it browning on the top.

The whippy cocoa fudge frosting ingredients.  

Oh, la, la!

These are easy and fast to put together for an impromptu summer party or picnic outside.

The folks at Krema and Crazy Richard's Natural Peanut Butter would like to do a giveaway for my readers.

Here is the deal:

Go to their blog.  In your comment on my blog, state what your favorite "Sammy of the Week" from their blog would be and why.  There are many to choose from, so good luck.  They want three winners...how can I argue with that?  Each winner will have two jars of natural peanut butter sent to them.  One creamy and one crunchy.  

The giveaway ends Monday night at 11:59 pm.  

Strawberry Shortcakes

Strawberry Shortcakes

from The Food Librarian

Biscuits

2 1/2 C + 2 T (12 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 c sugar

3/4 t salt

7 T unsalted butter, very cold

1 C heavy cream, very cold

Extra cream and sugar for the tops

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.

3. Cut butter into small pieces, and cut butter into dry ingredients. I used a pastry blender, but you can use two knives or your fingers to get pea size pieces of butter.

4. Make a well in the center and pour in the cream. Gently mix the dough together with a wooden spoon or your hands. Don't overmix...it'll look shaggy.

5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and roll out to 1-inch thick. I didn't have time for a roller so I just patted it out. Tartine uses a 4-inch circle cutter (for 6 circles). I used a small 2-inch circle cutter and got 15 biscuits.

6. Place biscuits on baking sheet (I placed on a Silpat) and brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.

7. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

For my shortcakes, I cut about a pint of strawberries and macerated them in some sugar - amount of sugar depends on the sweetness of your strawberries. I whipped some heavy cream (about 1 1/2 cups) and with sugar and vanilla (to taste). Assemble and serve immediately or within a few hours.

{cooks note}

These were a huge hit.  Not too sweet, but sweet enough with the sugar on the strawberries and the whipping cream.  Just make sure you do not overbake the shortcakes.  You want them to be moist, not dry.

Sift all dry ingredients together.

Cut butter into small pieces and add to the dry ingredients.

Once the butter is cut in, make a well in the center of your dry ingredients.  

Place the 1 cup of heavy cream in the center and gently mix the two together.

I used a small biscuit cutter to shape my shortcakes.  You can make them any size you want.  I was serving individual strawberry shortcakes for dessert, so I wanted mine to be larger than a bite size shortcake.  Don't forget to sprinkle sugar on the tops.

Not too light and not too dark.

A wonderful summer treat to serve after dinner.

Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream: Guest Blogger Lindsey Johnson

Lindsey Johnson, blogger at Fresh Clean Start, is a pro when it comes to making homemade ice cream.  She put together an awesome step-by-step tutorial for all of you.  Lindsey has amazing recipes, ideas and photography.  We share a love for the Bosch too!  

It's June.  Time to pull out that ice cream maker and get going.  You don't have one?  Get one.  Preferably as soon as possible.  But, I warn you, you will probably never go back to store-bought ice cream again.

Let's talk about homemade ice cream.  Some of us have better memories of homemade ice cream than others.  Remember how sometimes Grandma's ice cream was a bit too sweet and icy?  Or it would leave that greasy film on the roof of your mouth?  Mmm-hmm.

I'm going to show you how to make a perfect French-style custard base that makes a luxurious ice cream that is not too sweet and doesn't leave you feeling like you just ate a gazillion calories, even though you did.  (I've included variations at the bottom of the recipe.)

Custards can be tricky, but not impossible.  All it takes is a bit of patience and a bit of babysitting.

You'll need a few special tools:  a fine mesh sieve or strainer and an instant read thermometer.  Why?  Well, you'll see here in a minute.  (If you don't, it's okay, there are a few ways around it.)

Our cast of characters:  whole milk, heavy cream, egg yolks, granulated sugar, a vanilla bean.

Pour 2 cups each:  whole milk and heavy cream into a heavy-duty pot or pan.

Then you're going to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise.

Open it up and use the knife to scrape out the little seeds.

Both the vanilla bean and its innerds go into the milk/cream and the pot goes onto the stove.

Turn the stove on to a moderate heat.  We don't want this to boil, but we want it to get hot.

Little bubbles will form around the edge of the pan and steam will rise from the surface.  Take the pot off the heat and let it steep for at least 30 minutes.

After you've let it steep for a bit, bring it back up to temperature, making sure not to let it boil.  Meanwhile you'll start prepping the eggs and sugar.

Whisk the egg yolks into the sugar.  Don't do this step more than a few minutes in advance because the sugar will "burn" the eggs.

Keep whisking until you have a thick, light yellow mixture.

While you are whisking, slowly ladle or drizzle a bit of the hot milk/cream into the eggs/sugar.

This is called tempering, which brings the eggs up to temperature and helps prevent them from scrambling or curdling.

Once all the milk and cream have been added, pour the mixture back into the pot.

Place it on the stove and turn the heat on to medium.

Stir constantly and cook until the temperature reaches 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Side note:  get an instant-read thermometer.  They cost about $10 and are invaluable in the kitchen.  The old "trail on the back of the spoon" trick for custard isn't always so reliable.  A few degrees can also make the difference between a perfect custard and one that is full of scrambled eggs.

Pour the cooked custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.

Side note:  get a sieve.  They are also pretty inexpensive.  If you don't have one, you can use a splatter screen.  It works fine.  The reason you want to do this step is that you want to take out any lumps that could get in the way when the custard is churning.  Also, those little white things in eggs....not so tasty.

Let the custard cool a bit and then chill it for at least 2 hours or until it's very cold.  I usually try to let it chill overnight or for the whole day.  I find that the ice cream turns out better that way.

Pour the chilled custard into your ice cream maker.  (I love my Cuisinart.  I will never go back to salt and ice again.)  Churn it according to manufacturer directions.

When your ice cream looks like this, it's ready to be transferred or eaten.  It will be pretty thick--about like soft serve ice cream.

Make sure you put it into an airtight container.  If you know you won't be using it right away, put some waxed paper on the surface to prevent hoar frost from forming.

If you want to scoop the ice cream, give it a few hours in the freezer to firm up.

This recipe makes about 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream.  If you are going to use one of the big ice cream makers, then you'll want to make three times this recipe, and you'll have a bit of extra custard leftover.  (Which is fine, my husband is always willing to pour it over fruit or something.)

Full recipe:

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream, preferably not the ultra-pasteurized kind
2 cups whole or 2% milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4-8 egg yolks (depending on how rich you like it)
1 vanilla bean*
a pinch of salt

Pour the milk and cream into a non-reactive saucepan.  Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.  Heat the cream and milk until very hot, but not boiling and add the vanilla bean to the pan.  Remove from the heat and let steep for about 30 minutes.  The longer you let it steep, the stronger the flavor will be.

After the vanilla pod has steeped in the milk/cream, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until very thick and light yellow.

Bring the milk/cream back up to temperature--hot, but not boiling.  Steam will start to rise from the surface and small bubbles will form around the edge of the pan.

Slowly dribble a bit of the hot milk into the eggs and sugar to temper the eggs.  Once you've added all the milk, pour the custard mixture back into the pan.

Turn the heat on to about medium.  Constantly stir the custard as the temperature rises.  Be sure to get the corners and bottom.  You don't want it to burn.  As you stir (this might take up to 10 minutes or as little as 3 depending on how hot the milk was), periodically check the temperature using the instant read thermometer.  Take care when you've reached 160 degrees F.  You want to get it to 170, but not over 180.

Remove it from the heat and pour it through the fine mesh sieve.  This will remove any bits of egg or other lumps.  You'll end up with a perfectly smooth base.

Let it cool to room temperature and then cover it with plastic wrap and chill for several hours or preferably overnight.  You want it to be super cold.

Pour the base into your ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer directions.  Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Makes 1 1/2 quarts.

*Kelsey Nixon posted about her love of vanilla bean paste last week.  I love it too.  And it would be the perfect thing to add to this ice cream in place of the vanilla bean.

Variations:

We steeped the vanilla bean to infuse the custard with vanilla flavor.  You can do this with just about any whole spice or herb.

My favorites are lavender, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, and citrus peel.

Chopped nuts are also fabulous choices--almond, pecan, pistachio.  The longer you let the herb, spice, or nut steep, the more pronounced the flavor will be.  Try fresh rosemary, thyme or basil for an interesting accompaniment to a summer fruit pie.  Just be sure to strain the custard before you churn it.

You can also play around with the sweetener--try brown sugar or natural sugars.  Use part honey or maple syrup.  Caramelize the sugar to make caramel ice cream.  (This is a great recipe.)

You can also add 1 tablespoon of your favorite liqueur or a 1 tsp. of a flavoring of your choice--brandy, rum, coffee, coconut, etc.

Of course, you can throw in chopped candy or chocolate a few minutes before the ice cream has churned completely.  Swirl the ice cream with fudge, caramel, or fruit sauce.

The possibilities are truly endless.