Chocolate peanut butter pie

Peanut butter can be so sticky to eat. Yes, I know, it’s sweet and salty, smooth or crunchy, but the thickness of it makes me feel like a dog playing with a Kong. That said, mixing peanut butter with honey and cream cheese and folding in glorious whipped cream then letting it chill on top of a deeply chocolatey homemade wafer base is (think saltier Oreos), perhaps, the best way to avoid the perils of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. I’m not boasting… but the peanut butter filling in this oh-so American pie barely hit the sides of my mouth. 

Chocolate peanut butter pie

Makes one 8 inch pie

Ingredients

For the wafer base

• 295g plain white flour
• 75g cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp fine salt 
• 225g butter, softened plus 100g , melted 
• 100g caster sugar
• 25g light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp honey

For the filling

• 250g cream cheese
• 340g natural smooth peanut butter 
• 40g light brown sugar
• 4 tbsp honey
• 220ml double cream

For the topping

• 380ml double cream 

Note: Use 450g chocolate wafers such as Oreos if you don't have time to make your own. 

Method

1. To make the wafers, sieve the flour, cocoa powder and salt and set aside. Cream the butter, sugars and honey with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the dry ingredients, taking care not to over mix. Dump on a large piece of cling film and use it to shape the dough into a 30cm log, then wrap it up and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 160 Fan and line 3 large baking trays with greaseproof paper. Use a sharp knife to make an incision in the wafer log every 1/4 inch, then slice the cookies using the guide and place each wafer 2cm apart on the trays. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the cookies are firm to the touch. 
2. Let the wafers cool completely on a wire rack. Whiz them in a food processor until broken down, then pour in the melted butter and whiz to a fine crumb. Tip into an 8-inch loose bottomed cake tin and use your hands or metal spoon to evenly smooth the crumbs up the sides and bottom. Place in the fridge to set.
3. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar and honey in a bowl with an electric whisk for 2 minutes, until the mixture is pale and smooth. If using a freestanding mixer, transfer the peanut butter mixture to a large bowl and use the whisk attachment to whisk the double cream to soft peaks. Spoon all of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture and gently fold it through with a spatula. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the chilled wafer crust and smooth the top, place in the fridge to set, then whip the remaining cream to soft peaks. Dollop the cream on top of the filling and smooth off with a spatula. Leave to set in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight, then serve. 

Love Em xx

Peanut Butter Crack Brownies & Shortlisted for the Cosmopolitan Awards!

I was finishing up my last bits at work on Monday when it got to 6pm and I remembered something.

I opened a new window, tapped into Twitter and nervously scrolled through to find that tweet. The one with that link that would take me to the Cosmopolitan Blogger Awards 2013 Shortlist.

As I pressed the link, my stomach sank. It sank further when I saw a blank page. 

Oh god. Oh god.

 I made a quick scurry to the loo’s moments later to see if the link worked best near toilet facilities (obviously this had to be an option in my desperate state). 

A few taps later and I was prancing around the workshop, jeans at my thighs, jumping like a loon with Nat (she had no idea what was going on). I had been shortlisted again!!!! Er. Mah. GAAAAHD.

Who better to thank than the person reading this right now? Seriously, thank you so much!

If you would like to, you can vote for me here by heading to the 'Best Food Blogger' category, voting closes on 31^st August so there is no rush, but I would be super grateful if you did! (Eventually....)


Orrrrrrrr you could just click on the picture on the right ;)

To celebrate I have made something close to crack. I couldn’t think of a better way to emanate my excitement and show thanks to you all. Really I couldn’t. Luckily this stuff wont kill if you get hooked, you might gain a few but hey – see them as happy pounds.

This brownie/rice crispie cake on steroids is jam-packed with every single confection known to man – it’s salty too so it's right on trend.

The recipe uses a brownie packet mix, but only because there is so much going on that I defy you to taste the difference.

Here’s why you can use packaged brownie mix without losing your credentials as a foodie; the crack brownie contains: 

smooth peanut butter
double stuffed Oreos
rice crispies
chocolate
peanut butter cups

And whatever the heck you put in the brownie itself. In my case:

marshmallows
white chocolate
crunchy biscuits.

To continue the celebrations (I don’t go out much), I will be hosting a special little giveaway next week! So keep posted, I reckon you’ll like this one :)

The Recipe:

Adapted from Cookies & Cups Peanut Butter Cup Crack Brownies 

1 brownie mix, boxed or homemade
230g bag mini peanut butter cups
1 packet 'Extra Stuff' Oreos
1 + 1/2 cup rice crispies
1 + 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or bars
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tbsp / 15g butter, un/salted

Makes 20 bars 

Note: Grab the most indulgent looking Brownie mix i.e. the one that says ‘Indulgent Brownie Mix’ so people don’t think your skimping on quality even though it only cost you £1.78 – the price of a good chocolate bar. If you’re still not sold, have a look here and here for sole brownie gooooo-oooo-ooodness.  

The Method:

Start by making brownies in a lined rectangular pan according to directions and roughly chopping Oreos and peanut butter cups.

Take the brownies out of the oven 5 minutes before the required baking time and sprinkle chopped peanut butter cups & Oreos over the top. Return to the oven to complete baking.

Once brownies are baked, remove from oven and immediately spread the melted peanut butter cups & Oreos around the entire surface of the brownie using a spatula.

Evenly spread half a cup of peanut butter on top of the chocolate layer and set aside.

In a large microwaveable bowl add the remaining peanut butter, milk chocolate chips and butter and microwave in 30 second bursts until just melted, making sure to stir each time.

Pour in rice crispies and stir until combined. Evenly spread over the brownie. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set. The brownies will last for up to 5 days.

We managed to raise £370 for Race For Life! And I crossed the finished line! Wooohooo. Thank you to all those who sponsored us, Blackheath, you nearly killed me but it was for the worthiest of causes so I'll let you off.

Love Em xx

I am really sorry but all comments for this post have been lost in Blogger's system/archive/brain somewhere and I cant retrieve them! Please forgive me x

Brown Butter Buckeyes

Brown Butter Buckeyes 

I am a lazy girl. 

If you’re lazy too, peanut butter balls might just be the key confection you’ve been looking to make all your life, to fill in the gaps between waking up at 1pm and dinner – on your day off, and not the one you called in sick, of course.

I first lay my eyes on these big balls of beauty a year ago here, I luuuurvved the idea of digestives adding an extra crunch to a sweet peanut butter candy, it works especially well for anyone who is not a fan of crunchy peanut butter.

After a scant bit of research I was fully ready to create my own delicious peanut butter balls (not to be mistaken for the overly sweet cake pop). The name ‘Buckeye’ comes from the Ohio buckeye tree in America and the balls are made to look like an actual buckeye which falls off the tree in the autumn/fall. If you’re having trouble placing an Ohio buckeye tree into your imagination, just think of a conker. So famous buckeyes are to this state, that they have even named a football team after it!

The traditional recipe for a buckeye calls for 6 cups of icing sugar. My recipe has a quarter of that, more cream cheese and a whole lot more of digestives.

Lastly, if you want an even richer nutty flava then it is absolutely necessary to brown that butter! It will add just 20 minutes to your assembly job (because it would be a crime to call this sort of think baking) but you won’t regret it I promise, lazy being. 

Buckeyes with brown butter

The Recipe
Makes 26 Buckeyes 

100g cream cheese
390g smooth peanut butter
145g brown butter* or plain unsalted, melted
300g icing sugar
14 digestive biscuits/350g
For the coating:
350g good quality melted chocolate of your choice

Special Equipment
Toothpicks
Vegetable oil (to thin the melted chocolate out)
Electric scales

Note* if you're gonna go ahead and brown the butter, all you need to do is put it in a saucepan on medium heat and whisk away until the frothy goodness turns a light shade of golden brown.

The method

Start with the digestives; there are two ways to get a shardy yet fine-ish crumble with these - which is exactly what you want. You can either give them a 30 second whizz in the food processer (my preferred method, do this if you're lazy and own a dishwasher), or put them all in a sturdy plastic food bag and beat them up with a rolling pin.

In the bowl freestanding mixer or a large bowl and an electric whisk, beat the peanut butter and cream cheese until the mix has lightened in colour - about half a minute.

Add all of the digestive crumbs to the peanut butter, remembering to scrape down the sides of the bowl for even distribution.

Alternately add the brown butter (it doesn't have to be cold when you add it in!) and icing sugar until you get a huge bowl of thick golden crumbly looking stuff. Set aside. The buckeye filling will last in the fridge for 3 days so you can always wrap it in cling film and come back to it when you're ready.

Next, line a fairly large baking sheet with parchment. Depending on how anal you are, grab a pair of scales and weigh out pieces of peanut butter dough at 43-45 grams each. This weight gives a big buckeye.

With each piece of buckeye, stretch out both your palms with the dough in the middle and gently roll it around until eventually, you have a round ball. Do this until you have no dough left and put in the fridge to set for at least 20 minutes.

Melt the chocolate over a ban merie. Add no more than a tablespoon vegetable oil to the melted chocolate and stir in to give a smoother consistency.

Pick up a buckeye with a toothpick and gently immerse the ball 3 quarters the way into the chocolate and roll around until you have what looks like a 'buckeye' (a bit of peanut butter showing at the top).

Put back on the baking tray and take the toothpick out.

Leave to set until the chocolate coating hardens and enjoy for 3 days!

BEFORE I FORGET! Keep your buckeyes in the fridge for ultimate freshness. Although...I highly doubt they will last long enough for that!

Love Em xx

Double Chocolate and Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Border

As most daughters with a baking obsession would, I took it upon my 'humble' self to bake my old papa's birthday cake. When I asked him what he wanted, he instantly requested chocolate so I went with lots and lots of the stuff. I wanted it to be extra special so I decided to incorporate all of the intensely delicious combinations of chocolate I possibly could. So obviously I'm thinking chocolate...cream cheese... and peanut butter!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

 I searched around for a good chocolate cream cheese frosting but in the end I decided to whip up my own concoction, and it worked very well! Below you will find the recipe I used for the frosting! For the cake, I went for the age old legend Martha Stewart's Devils Food Cake. For the peanut butter piping and center, I resided back to my Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake for the recipe. 

Each element of the cake made for a scrumptious birthday treat. It also made me realise that buttercream's are a subjective matter, as there is no initial baking (or science) involved you can literally whip to your taste's desire! What a revelation. 

Mbakes Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

The Recipe:

1 packet cream cheese (150g)

2 tbsp cocoa powder 

1 packet 60%  dark chocolate, melted (150g)

200g butter (at room temperature) 

500g icing sugar

The Method:

• Start by mixing the butter for at least half a minute and then gradually add all of the icing sugar until completely smooth. 
• Throw in all of the cream cheese till you have a pale frosting. 
• Alternately add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder and mix until well combined and you have a glossy thick-ish frosting ready for icing your cake!

Mbakes x

Devils Food Cake Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream

The idea to make these cupcakes was quite a spontaneous one, I knew I just had to incorporate my Italian goodies into a baked treat pretty damn soon, and what better day for baking to fall on but a rainy, miserable English Sunday? Provided that it was a successful bake, these cupcakes were destined to taste great. Simply because it is a universally known fact that chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven, please eat a Reese's peanut butter cup before you objectify! I adapted Nigella Lawson's Devil's Food Cake recipe for the sponge, and whipped up my very own peanut buttercream for the topping, please be warned that it is VERY heavy on the palette.

Kenwood Mixer

The Recipe:
2 eggs
Half tsp baking powder
Half tsp bicarb of soda
50g good quality cocoa powder
2 tsp chocolate liquor
250ml boiling water
2 tsp vanilla extract
100g dark muscovado sugar
125g stork margarine
250g caster sugar
225g all purpose flour (or plain)
The Buttercream
1 whole tub of smooth peanut butter, aprox 300g
1 tsp vanilla extract
500g icing sugar
200g unsalted butter at room temp
The method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line 1 muffin tray.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, muscovado, liquor and boiling water and set aside. 
• In a freestanding mixer, begin to whisk the margarine and sugar until light, and slowly add in each egg. 
• Whilst the ingredients are mixing, pour in the vanilla extract. 
• Now reduce the speed and throw in flour, baking powder and bicarb and mix lightly to incorporate air. 
• Lastly pour in the chocolate mixture and beat sparingly till the mixture is consistently dark in colour. 
• Fill your cupcake liners with chocolatey goodness and bake for 18 minutes. 
• For the frosting - whisk the butter and vanilla till smooth and add the icing bit by bit till thick. 
• Now slowly add the tub of peanut butter tbsp at a time, and continue to add until you get your desired flavour. 
• Once the cupcakes have cooled, ice them as you like!

Level amount of cake batter each time

Wilton 1M Piping Nozzle

One last thing, I am very honoured to say that my Jubilee Celebration Cake was given a special mention in the Jubilee Baking Competition run by Homemade By Fleur! How exciting!

Mbakes x

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and her Chocolate Chip Cookies, these proved to be soft, gooey and rich! Both recipes called for soft light brown sugar but I used dark brown for a deeper tasting cookie. This cookie is much different from my previous cookie post, its about 10 times taller in size and more soft and crumbly as opposed to chewy. You can always make it a totally chocolate chip cookie by using chocolate chips instead of peanut and adding 300g of flour and removing the cocoa powder. 

Before I forget, I have two posts to come this week that I'm already planning for! The first is a Miette Ginger Cake, which will be sold in Old Street. Second is a charity bake sale at Queen Elizabeth hospital this Wednesday!

The Recipe:

125g dark brown sugar 

100g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 bag of reeses peanut butter chips

1 egg - cold

1 egg yolk - cold

150g melted butter 

40g cocoa powder 

260g plain flour 

The Method:

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
• Combine both sugars with melted butter till smooth, then add cold eggs and whisk till creamy.
• Whilst mixing, pour in vanilla extract.
• In a separate large bowl, sieve cocoa powder and add in flour.
• Bit by bit, fold in dry ingredients into wet batter and mix at a minimum.
• Stop mixing stir in peanut butter chips till incorporated. 
• Using an ice cream scoop, plop the dough on the baking trays 5 cm apart.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes.
• Eat warm!

Mbakes x

American Goodies! Baking Essentials #3

Betty Crockers Sprinkles

I mentioned a few blog posts ago that my boyfriend went on holiday to Florida this week, upon his arrival he showered me in these gifts. I thought I’d share them with you Britons just so you can all see the sheer difference between our baking products and Americas…America wins. Hands down.

Reeses peanut butter baking chips

 Mr Cormick food colouring

Take a look at this month's Blog Giveaway to win some baking essentials of your own!

Mbakes x

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Usually when i bake a sponge cake i find it very difficult to truly enjoy the buttercream/frosting, for some reason it always tastes better when bought from a specialist bakery (without sarcasm, i wonder why). When you make it at home it always tastes too rich, to the point where you find it difficult to suck the cake off until there's none left. 

This recipe excited me. Both the peanut buttercream and chocolate ganache (with a touch of peanut butter included) were so damn good and just downright eatable. This is a rarity in my kitchen when it boils down to frosting. There are so many positive attributes to this triple layer delight that my brain is unable to reiterate them into typed words.

This is an American adaptation from the Smitten Kitchen, i spent hours converting cups to grams and was surprised to get it on point - especially when i discovered that cups vary according to the specific ingredient.  

A moist sponge, coated in a creamy buttercream with thick chocolate plopped on top. Go on, have a go. 

The Recipe

Sponge

250g plan flour

500g sugar

94g cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

236g/ml (it bears no difference) vegetable oil 

230g/ml sour cream

354g/ml water

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp white distilled malt vinegar 

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

Peanut butter frosting

284g cream cheese

112g unsalted butter

Icing sugar (use as much as you see fit, but do not exceed 500g)

172g peanut butter (preferably Skippy's as it will not split)

Ganache 

227g milk chocolate or dark chocolate - depending on your preference 

3 tbsp peanut butter 

2 tbsp golden syrup

125ml double cream

The Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170 degrees, grease and flour three cake tins. 
• Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix together till well incorporated. 
• Measure out vegetable oil and sour cream and whisk in till you have a fudge like and grainy consistency.
• Gradually add in all the water. Do not threat, the sponge is moist so the watery consistency is needed. 
• Add in vinegar and vanilla extract. 
• Whisk in the eggs and the pour into the pans. 
• Bake for 30 minutes, and then cool in the pans before you turn them out. 
• Place the cakes into the freezer whilst you prepare the frosting's, this makes for a firmer cake to work with whilst icing. 
• On top of a double boiler melt the chocolate, syrup and peanut butter together. 
• Off the boiler, mix in the cream till thick. Set aside. 
• In another bowl, beat the cream cheese with the butter until creamy. 
• Gradually add in the sugar and then the peanut butter. 
• Take cakes out of freezer and frost the layers and sides - don't forget to begin with a crumb coat. 
• Now pour the warm chocolate on top of the cake, use a spatula to create drips on the side.
• Hey presto.