Homemade peanut butter

I’m not really sure how the idea of making my own peanut butter entered my mind, or where it came from. All I know, is once the thought of homemade peanut butter hit me, that was pretty much all I could think of. And I cursed myself for not thinking of this sooner. But then again, peanut butter is actually a rather new acquaintance in my life, so I guess it was soon enough. We don’t go back that long, PB and I, only about a year. Of course I knew about this product, but I didn’t buy it or eat it on a regular basis. Meaning never. And you know, if a product isn’t part of your grocery shopping routine, you pass it in the aisles, and unless it is presented right in front of you, you forget that it exsits. That’s the way it works around here anyway, and that’s exactly what happened to peanut butter and me. But luckily, we reunited. For life. I will never forget you again, PB!

What made me approach the peanut butter shelf in the store, was a blog post about oatmeal and peanutbutter. I love oatmeal, and I found this combination intrigueing enough to actually buy pb. And then it was done. Iwas in love. With oatmeal and peanutbutter, and peanutbutter itself. It’s now officially on my breakfast list which consists of a few chosen items. I am extremely predictable when it comes to breakfast. I think it goes back to the days when I was a little girl, and all I liked was mayo and cucumber or mayo and tomato on my bread. But that’s another story…

Anyway. I made my peanut butter without a recipe, but there are some out there if you want to do it right. Some recipes requires oil and salt, some only oil and some only peanuts. Roasted or unroasted. I figured it couldn’t go all wrong, as long as I had the main ingredient – peanuts. And I was right, it didn’t go all wrong! I forgot to roast the peanuts (though that was the ONE thing I was going to do) but it still turned out delicious. But next time I’ll be sure to roast them, for extra flavour.

Peanut butter

Peanuts (roast for 30 minutes on 175 C)
Vegetable Oil
Salt

Place the peanuts and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Place the lid back on and continue to process while slowly drizzling in the oil and process until the mixture is smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Take a spoon, or better yet, a finger and do a taste test. If approved, place the peanut butter in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Enjoy!

Oreo peanutbutter chocolate torte

I cannot tell you how long I’ve been dreaming about this cake. When it first appeared to me, I was what you could call cake-struck. I mean, just take a look at this. It looked sooo good, and was immediately bookmarked on my baking-list. 10 syllables titles are always a good sign. But I began to realize that it would be a little too much to throw together on a regular weekday, just because of a sweet craving. It was even too much for a weekend dessert – after all, there are just 2 of us in this household. And though we’ve eaten our way through entire cakes before, this was different. Just a quick look at the ingredients, (32 oreos, 2,5 cups heavy cream, 350 g cream cheese and 1,5 cups peanut butter….to name some) I knew 2 things about this cake. 1: this had to be good. I mean, oreos, peanut butter, sugar, cream cheese and chocolate – how could so many calories possibly fail? and 2: this was a cake for special occacions and more than 2 people.

So it was put on hold. For a long time. The right occasion never seemed to appear. Until now! New Years Eve! What better day for some cake-extravaganza? Maybe I should have opted for something lighter after dinner, but screw that, I was making this cake while I had the chance. If not now, when would I ever make this cake? Well my birthday I guess, but that’s far away, and this had been put off for far too long already. Finally, I would be making the delicious oreo-peanutbutter-torte that I first set my eyes on at annies-eats, but originates from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home To Yours. (Which I’ve tried to purchase online, but seems impossible as Amazon will not ship this book to Norway, so I guess I have to travel myself to the US, go to a bookstore, purchase this book, and return. Unless anyone out there will help me getting this cookbook?) Until then – I always have the internet. Here’s the recipe!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

For the crust:
32 Oreo cookies, finely processed into crumbs
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt

For the crunch:
1 1/4 cups salted peanuts, finely chopped, divided (for the filling, crunch and topping)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. espresso powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the filling:
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (not natural)
2 tbsp. whole milk

For the topping:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

(I would maybe increse the amount of oreos- yes, really- as I found it a little hard to cover the sides completely. And I think I would leave out the cinnamon next time, I don’t think that flavour blended well together with the rest. But that’s just my humble opinion.)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Combine the oreos, salt with melted and cooled butter. Crush everything together until it resembles small crumbs. I found it best to put the oreos in a plastic bag and go at it with a rolling pin! When you’re done, press everything into a springform pan covering the bottom and the sides. Freeze the crust for 10 minutes, then bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely before filling.

To make the crunch, combine everything in a bowl, but using only 1/2 cup of the chopped peanuts. Toss with a fork to mix, and set aside.

To prepare the filling whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in 1/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Scrape the cream into a separate bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Wipe out (do not wash) the mixer bowl, replace the whisk with the paddle attachment, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, whole milk, and 1/4 cup of the chopped peanuts until well combined.

Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about 1/4 of the whipped cream just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then fold in the remaining whipped cream. Scrape the mousse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (Eventually put it in the freezer for a frozen version, or to speed the freezing process, as I did.)

To finish the torte, put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan. Bring the 1/2 cup of cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and, working with a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and smooth.

Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, at least 20 minutes. When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the springform pan. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Or you can freeze it and thaw in the fridge a few hours before serving. I decided to give mine a little freeze as I think it’s much easier to slice when frozen – besides, I like slightly frozen cakes. Either way, it’s delicious. Satiny smooth mousse like or the colder version; snickers ice cream-torte, only with added oreos! You have to try this some time. I know I’ll be making this again! This is what I call cake. Or torte. What’s the difference anyway? Who cares. Capitol C, capitol A, capitol K, capitol E. CAKE. Cakealicious is what this is. Or torte. This is confusing. Next subject, please!

Unfortunately I didn’t get to photograph it until today. I forgot to bring my camera on New Years Eve, but luckily there was a lot cake left. That much that me, my mother and my sister each got 1/4 cake to share with our respective men… So needless to say, today, 3 days later, after spending too much time in room temperature plus travelling around the city, through the snow, beeing sliced and shared, it lost some of it’s glory. But not its taste. So don’t judge by it’s slightly messy apperance! Make this cake as soon as you get the chance – you will regret if you don’t. Be realistic and have only this new year’s resolution – make this in 2010.