Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

Source: Chocolatier, November 2002 (posted on CLBB by britneyelise)

Yield: 12 servings
Difficulty: *** (out of 3)
Prep: 2 1/2 hours plus chilling

Chocolate Cake:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/3 cup boiling water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (recipe posted does not list this, but does mention it in the directions, so I guessed)

Crunch filling:
4 ouces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cup crushed piroutte cookies or toasted rice cereal (I used Rice Krispies)

Chocolate Mousse:
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

Peanut Butter Mousse:
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Ganache Glaze:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream

Garnish:
2/3 cup peanuts

Make chocolate cake:
Position rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom of a 9" round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment. (I baked the cake layer right in the springform pan and it seemed to work fine. One less pan to wash!)

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In another small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and boiling water until smooth; set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer, using paddle attachment, beat butter and brown sugar at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until blended, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as necessary. Add flour mixture at low speed and mix until blended. Add cocoa mixture and mix at low speed until blended. Scrape down sides of bowl again. Add sour cream and mix until blended. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake cake for 18-22 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Un-mold cake and cool completely.

Butter bottom and sides of 9" springform pan. Place cooled cake in the bottom of pan (there will be a gap between the sides of pan).

Make Crunch Filling:
Place chocolate and peanut butter in top of double boiler over barely simmering water. Heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and fold in crushed cookies or rice cereal. Spread filling over top of cake in pan just up to edge of cake. Refrigerate cake while you make mousse.

Make chocolate mousse:
Put chocolate in food processor until finely chopped.

In a small saucepan, combine milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and milk comes to a boil. Remove from heat.

With motor of food processor running, pour hot milk through feed tube. Process until chocolate is completely melted. Scrape down sides of bowl and add vanilla; process until blended. Scrape mixture into large bowl and cool for 5 minutes, until tepid.

In bowl of electric mixer, using whisk attachment, beat cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold one-third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining cream. Remove cake from refrigerator and scrape chocolate mousse over crunch filling, letting it fill gap between cake and sides of pan.

Make peanut butter mousse:
In bowl of electric mixer, using whisk attachment, beat cream until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

In another bowl of mixer, using paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and confectioner's sugar until creamy, about one minute. Add peanut butter and mix until blended, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Gently fold in whipped cream. Scrape peanut butter mousse on top of chocolate mousse layer, smoothing it into an even layer. Freeze cake for at least 3 hours, until firm.

Make Ganache glaze:
Place chocolate in medium bowl. In small saucepan, bring cream to gentle boil. Pour over chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds, to melt chocolate. Whisk until smooth.

Assemble cake:
Run paring knife around side of pan to loosen cake and remove side of springform pan. Remove bottom of pan and peel off paper. Transfer cake to plate or cardboard cake round. Pour ganache glaze over top and sides of cake and spread using a small, offset metal spatula. Pat chopped peanuts onto sides of cake. Refrigerate cake for at least one hour, until softened, before serving.

To serve cake, use a hot knife to cut into 12 slices, garnish with peanut brittle if desired.

I talked about this recipe HERE.