Written By Catherine Parrott

Peanut butter and chocolate are two very happy bedfellows (and an absolute personal favourite of mine), the naturally occurring fats in peanut butter make it an excellent ingredient for both savoury and sweet cooking, adding a punch of flavour and richness of texture. Here, I’ve used peanut in several ways to really showcase how you can use it.

RECIPE:

CHOCOLATE PEANUT PASTRY  

  • 165g PLAIN FLOUR

  • 20g COCOA POWDER

  • 2g SEA SALT

  • 40g ICING SUGAR (Sieved, you know the score by now)

  • 50ml VEGETABLE OIL

  • 25ml PEANUT OIL

  • 35ml COLD WATER

  • 25g PEANUTS (Toasted, salted and finely chopped, I mean, what’s left to do to them?)

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE

  • 100g LIGHT BROWN SUGAR

  • 450ml DOUBLE CREAM

  • 420g 70-80% DARK CHOCOLATE

PEANUT BUTTER CREAM

  • 50g SMOOTH PEANUT BUTTER

  • 1 Tsp VANILLA EXTRACT

  • 600ml DOUBLE CREAM

  • COCOA POWDER, for dusting (Not optional?)

BEFORE YOU START…

  • Preheat your oven to 170c (Fan Oven- 180c for other, less powerful ovens)

  • Set aside your fluted/non-fluted pie dish

METHODS:

FOR THE CHOCOLATE PEANUT PASTRY…  

Sieve together the dry ingredients into a bowl.Add the oil and water and mix using a spatula until combined*. Pour the pastry into the pastry case and line the bottom of pastry tin by levelling it flat and pushing the pastry carefully into the corners. Rest in the fridge for another 30 minutes until firm.

Before baking, sprinkle the surface of the pastry with the peanuts, cover with parchment and baking beans blind bake for 20-25 minutes until the surface of the pastry is dry. Remove the parchment and bake for a further 5 minutes until the surface looks dry and the room fills with the smell of bitter cocoa powder.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE…

Heat the cream, vanilla and sugar together in a pan until the sugar has dissolved and the cream begins to steam

Finely chop the chocolate, pour over the hot cream and leave to settle for a few minutes. Whisk together until smooth. Pour over the cooked and cooled pastry case and set in the fridge for a few hours.

FOR THE PEANUT CREAM…

Combine the peanut butter and about 100ml of your cream and whisk together until smooth. Whip the remaining cream with the vanilla to soft peaks then fold the two together.

TO SERVE: Once the ganache has set on top your pastry case, cover with the peanut butter cream and level off smooth. Dust with cocoa powder and it’s ready to serve! Slice with a hot, sharp knife and enjoy!

Catherine Parrott
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