Trust me here, it only seems complicated. I made it for Halloween and it turned out great. If you I can do it so can you. And hey, if it really is the last pie you'll ever make, you might as well shoot for the moon right?
Thanks to Martha Stewart for the recipe! My comments are in bold.
Ingredients
FOR THE CHOCOLATE CRUST
1 box (9 ounces) chocolate wafer cookies, finely ground (2 1/3 cups)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup creme fraiche (I couldn't find Creme Fraiche and imagine most people won't either. Plain sour cream works perfectly)
1 cup roasted salted peanuts
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Salt
1 1/4 cups smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
7 ounces semisweet chocolate (preferably 56 percent cacao), chopped
1 cup heavy cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the chocolate crust: Combine cookie crumbs, granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Stir in butter. Press mixture into bottom and 2 1/2 inches up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Bake until dry and firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.
2. Make the caramel sauce: Heat granulated sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming (I was not able to prevent sugar crystals from forming and it did not seem to matter) until medium amber, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and carefully add heavy cream (mixture will bubble and steam). Return to heat, and bring to a boil, making sure caramel that seized up when cream was added melts. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in creme fraiche. Refrigerate until cool but still pourable, about 45 minutes. Fold in peanuts.
3. Meanwhile, make the peanut butter mousse: Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add peanut butter and vanilla, and beat until combined. Whisk heavy cream in a separate bowl until medium-stiff peaks form. (It seems like it'd be easier to use store bought whipped cream, but I'd refrain as it would be too sweet. And besides, making your own whipped cream feels like magic!) Fold one-third of the whipped cream into peanut butter mixture. Fold in remaining whipped cream in 2 additions. (If you've never folded it's kind of like a very delicate stir. Here's a great video on how to do it.)
4. Assemble the tart: Pour caramel sauce into cooled chocolate crust. (Then let cool in fridge or freezer until caramel is nearly solid. I found that if the caramel is at all liquid the mousse will push it out of the way and your won't get two nice layers) Gently spread peanut butter mousse over caramel in an even layer, making sure they don't blend together. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Make the chocolate ganache: Place chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour cream over chocolate, and let stand for 1 minute. Whisk to combine. (Use immediately.)
6. Remove tart from refrigerator, and pour in ganache to cover surface. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
So there you have it. Dig in without remorse! If by some chance you make this and the apocalypse does not come the next day, fear not, this freezes very well.
Oh, and for all of you non peanut butter lovers out there, a variation that occurred to me would be to axe the peanut butter mousse entirely and substitute your favorite ice cream for that layer. Just let the ice cream thaw until it's spreadable, spread over the caramel and then freeze until it's hard enough to top with ganache.
Let me know how it goes if you all make this. Or just tell us about what you make when calories don't matter!
The Eleventh Plague
Coming from Scholastic, Fall 2011
Find me at jeff-hirsch.com and @jeff_hirsch
17 comments:
The mouth is watering. I'm impressed with your culinary skills. This looks amazing.
Oh my goodness, I love you. The apocalypse might just be worth that pie!
Beth- I'm arming the missiles now! You have twelve hours to get this done and shut the door to your bunker.
Um…YUM. THANK YOU for posting this recipe! We're in the process of moving to a new city—this will be the perfect you-TOTALLY-burned-a-bazillion-calories-and-need-to-reward-yourselves! pie! (Oh, and the perfect nice-to-meet-you-I-make-yummy-pies-please-let's-be-friends sort of pie, too.)
:) Kayla
I'm a huge peanut butter fan. Must try this!!
Jeff, I love you with all my heart and liver right now. Yum!
Ha! I had a feeling everyone might like this. I'm telling ya guys, as good as it sounds it tastes even better! Happy cooking!
Oh my waistline! Yes, this is what I'd like for my death row meal--along with a couple pounds of rock shrimp (dripping with butter) from Dixie Crossroads in Titusville FL. (Yes, they are that good.)
Peanut butter and chocolate! Now, you can't go wrong there. Slurp!
I think I better make this one several times before the apocalypse comes, because if I found out I only had one day left and then it didn't turn out, that would be a big disappointment.
I might start today. ;o)
Very prudent Jenn. There's little room for error when it comes to apocalyptic pie making.
I already made this delicious pie the first time you mentioned that you made it for Halloween :)
It really is easy to make, it just takes some time (took me much longer than the 2 hours 30 mentioned on the Martha Steward homepage) but you can do other things while the layers are cooling.
I also noticed that it's no problem if there are some sugar crystals forming in the process of making caramel. What I changed is the amount of cacao in the chocolate for the ganache. I really don't like bitter chocolate so i mixed milk chocolate with dark chocolate that in the end I had 40% of cacao. That was just right for my taste :)
OK--I'm slow--but I just noticed your title change! Love it--The Eleventh Plague sounds amazing (and I love that it's coming out in 2011, too, lol)
That's so awesome that you already made it from last time I talked it up, Doria. You're right, it definitely takes time. I just put on some good music and made a day of it! Did the peanut butter/caramel layers work out for you? Mine were pretty smushed.
Hey Beth! Yep got me a brand new title. Can't wait to show you guys the cover. It's awesome! Hopefully soon.
You know I totally missed the 11th plague/2011 connection. I'm dim.
That's pretty much the most delicious looking thing ever aside from Jared Leto.
Thank you Martha Stewart.
And Jared's mom and dad.
The apocalypse rocks!
Putting on music definitely helped, Jeff! Also the fact that I didn't have anything else to do the afternoon I made the cake.
My peanut butter/caramel layers turned out okay but I did refrigerate the caramel layer before spreading the peanut butter mousse over it (there was a comment about this on the Martha Steward website).
I'm making this for my next birthday!!! Yummmy!
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