PEANUT BUTTER, CHOCOLATE & HONEYCOMB BAR
MAKES 16 / PREPARATION 3-4 HOURS / COOKING 4 MINUTES
The peanut butter chocolate bar is a take on a childhood favorite of mine, the classic Snickers chocolate bar. You’ll be biting into layers of peanut butter brownie, chocolate rice crispies, peanut butter fudge and honeycomb mousse dipped in a rich dark chocolate glaze, topped off with salted potato chips.
HONEYCOMB
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
50ml water
80g glucose
240g caster sugar
Line a tray with baking paper and set aside. Sieve the bicarbonate of soda and set aside. Take a medium-sized saucepan and put in the water, glucose and sugar, in that order. Place the pot on a medium heat (do not stir). Boil the sugar mixture until it’s a light amber colour, tip in the bicarbonate of soda and quickly whisk. The mixture will double in size and turn honeycomb colour. Keep whisking until the bicarbonate of soda is mixed in then pour onto the tray. Put aside until set, then use for the honeycomb whipped ganache.
HONEYCOMB WHIPPED GANACHE
100g honeycomb, broken up
530ml full fat cream, cold
20g glucose
200g white chocolate, melted
Place the crushed honeycomb in a bowl and set aside.
In a medium-sized pot, put 230ml cream and the glucose and bring to the boil. Once boiled, pour it over the honeycomb and let stand for 10 minutes to infuse and let the honeycomb break down. Once the honeycomb has broken down, strain the mixture back into the pot and bring back to the boil. Once boiled, pour it over the white chocolate and with a hand blender (or spatula) blend until mixture has emulsified. Pour 300ml of cold cream over the mixture and mix well. Pour into a container and place in the fridge to cool down (about 3 hours).
PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE
105g unsalted butter
135g crunchy peanut butter (I use ETA as it contains less oil and is thick)
235g brown sugar
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
135g Valrhona milk chocolate, melted
135g gluten-free flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
100g plain yoghurt
100g Valrhona Ivoire white chocolate, chopped
100g flaked almonds
Heat the oven to 150℃. Spray and line a square 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper, making sure you spray the sides of the tin well.
Place the butter and peanut butter in the bowl of a standard mixer with a paddle attachment and beat until soft and smooth. Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the milk chocolate and mix until smooth. Fold in the flour, baking powder, salt and yoghurt. Fold though the white chocolate and almonds. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl, then scrape the brownie mixture into the prepared tin, spreading it out and making sure the mixture is smooth and even.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. When testing the brownie, a skewer should come out slightly moist. Once baked, take out of the oven and press the brownie down slightly to make it flat. Set aside.
CHOCOLATE CRISPY LAYER
160g milk chocolate
75g rice crispies (crushed up slightly)
Melt the chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl, in bursts of 20 seconds. Pour over the crushed rice crispies and mix well. Pour over the peanut butter brownie and use a spatula to spread evenly. Put aside to set.
PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE LAYER
200g crunchy peanut butter (ETA brand)
200g salted peanuts, roasted, chopped
200g hazelnut praline (or hazelnut paste)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour into the tin on top of the chocolate crispy layer and spread out evenly. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
CHOCOLATE DIPPING GLAZE
600g dark chocolate
80g cocoa butter
120g ghee (clarified butter)
100g peanuts, roasted, chopped small
Melt the chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl, in bursts of 20 seconds. In a pot, melt the cocoa butter and ghee. Pour the butter mix over the melted chocolate and stir until combined. Mix in the chopped peanuts. Set aside till needed
TO ASSEMBLE
Salted potato chips, store bought
Take the brownie out of the freezer, pop it out of the tin and place on a chopping board. Dip a knife in hot water, then cut the brownie into bars of 10cm x 2.5cm. Place the bars onto a tray and place in the fridge.
Take the honeycomb whipped ganache and whip until stiff peaks form. Place the ganache in a piping bag, cut a small slit on the angle and pipe the ganache onto each bar moving from side to side to cover.
Stick two toothpicks into each bar 3cm from each end and place in the freezer until the ganache has frozen.
Heat up the chocolate dipping glaze (no hotter than 38℃). Once the ganache has frozen, dip each bar into the chocolate glaze covering the whole bar. Take out and shake off any excess chocolate. Slide the base of the bar on the edge of the container and place onto a tray lined with paper. When the chocolate dip is just about to set, stick the salted potato chips along the top of the bar. Repeat until all bars are dipped.
Then tuck in and enjoy this epic peanut butter bar.
SERVED WITH COCKTAIL #17 SERVES 1
50ml white rum, preferably Flor de Caña 4 year
15ml coconut-washed Campari
60ml fresh watermelon juice
15ml lime juice
15ml grenadine
30ml aquafaba (chickpea water) or egg whites
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Dry shake vigorously for two minutes. Add ice and shake for another minute. Strain into a highball glass with ice.
FOR THE COCONUT-WASHED CAMPARI
40g coconut oil
200ml Campari
Heat the coconut oil in a hot bain marie (or a double boiler or a metal bowl placed over a pan of boiling water), until it becomes liquid and is completely clear. Pour into a plastic container with the Campari and stir. Allow to macerate for a minimum of 5 hours, stirring (or shaking) occasionally.
Place in the fridge overnight (while the coconut oil can solidify within an hour or two, the best results happen overnight). Remove the solidified coconut oil and discard. Strain through a mesh strainer and keep until needed.
IT’S A COSY, SOPHISTICATED ENVIRONMENT AND THE ELEGANT BRASS BAR WITH A TIMBER TOP GLOWS AT CENTRE STAGE.