Chocolate Peanut Butter Nirvana Recipes

CHOCOLATE NIRVANA CAKE

Steps:

• CAKE:.
• Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 3 round cake pans(I also line the bottom with waxed paper). Set aside.Put water on to boil.
• Mix together flour, soda and salt. set aside.
• Beat together butter and sugar until light.
• Add eggs and vanilla.
• Add chocolate and beat 1-2 minutes.
• Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, alternating with buttermilk.Beat until smooth.
• Slowly add boiling water, beating until completely smooth-batter will be thin.
• Pour into pans. Bake 35-40 mins, until tester comes out clean.
• While baking, make ganache, caramel and whipped cream.
• Cool cakes in pans for 10 mins, then unmold onto racks to finish cooling.
• CARAMEL-cook sugar, corn syrup and butter over low heat until 242*. Remove from heat and add cream and vanilla.Cool. Will thicken as it cools.
• GANACHE-Melt butter, chocolate chips and cream over low heat.Whisk in almond extract. Cool.
• WHIPPED CREAM- Whisk cream until it just begins to thicken, then add pudding powder. whisk until ready.Refrigerate.
• PECANS- put butter on a cookie sheet& melt in oven (can toast pecans while baking cake)- when butter is melted, toss pecans in pan until coated. bake @ 350 until toasty smelling (~10 mins- watch carefully, they burn easily!)Salt to taste.
• When everything is cool, assemle the cake:.
• Place first layer on cake plate. Plop 1/3 of the whipped cream onto cake. Drizzle caramel and chocolate over cream. Repeat for next 2 layers, but be a little "artistic" with the top layer-oozing the caramel and chocolate over the sides of the cake. Sprinkle liberally with pecans!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES FROM HEAVEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Cream together butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs, peanut butter and vanilla.
• Add flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Roll into balls about 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls (or use cookie scoop) and place onto ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly because they do not flatten much while cooking.
• Bake for 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE & PEANUT BUTTER PAVLOVA

Steps:

• First, make the crémeux. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a small saucepan, whisking occasionally. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a medium heatproof bowl until smooth. Pour in the hot cream mixture in a steady stream, whisking continuously until combined. Return to the saucepan, and simmer over a low heat for 3-4 mins, stirring continously until thickened to a custard.
• Put the dark chocolate into a large heatproof bowl and strain the hot custard over it through a fine mesh sieve, whisking until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Leave to cool for 5 mins until just warm. Add the butter and blitz using a hand blender until smooth. Cover and leave at room temperature until needed.
• Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. For the meringue, beat the egg whites in a large, clean bowl using an electric whisk or in a stand mixer until soft peaks form, then gradually beat in the sugar, 1 tsp at a time, until the meringue is thick and glossy. Whisk in the vinegar and cornflour.
• Spoon half the meringue mixture into the middle of one of the prepared baking sheets, and spread out into a roughly 20-25cm circle. Repeat with the the remaining meringue mixture on the second baking sheet. Drizzle the melted chocolate evenly over both circles, then gently swirl it using a cutlery knife or skewer until you have a marbled effect. Bake for 1 hr, turn off the oven and leave the meringues to cool completely inside.
• Meanwhile, make the candied peanuts. Tip the peanuts, sugar and 1 tbsp water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 mins, stirring until the peanuts start to crystallise and turn white. Continue to cook, stirring, for another 3-4 mins until the peanuts turn dark brown. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt flakes, then scrape onto a sheet of baking parchment. Spread out using a spatula, and leave to cool completely.
• For the peanut butter cream, melt the white chocolate, peanut butter, butter and 25ml cream in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool for 10 mins. Whisk the remaining cream to soft peaks, then fold in the peanut butter mixture until thick and billowy.
• To assemble, put one meringue circle on a serving plate, spoon over half the crémeux followed by half the peanut butter cream, then sprinkle with half the candied peanuts. Top with the second meringue circle, then the remaining crémeux and peanut butter cream, and the rest of the candied peanuts. Scatter over some dark chocolate shavings, if you like. Will keep chilled for up to two days.