Peanut butter swirl Chocolate brownie

For as long as i can remember, jars of peanut butter has been a staple at home, all the way through growing up years, hostel life, and even now. And the best part, it was/is always home made, and by that i mean, mom-made. Creamy (and being the health conscious person that she is, my mother adds absolutely no oil/butter, so the guilt is in check), crunchy with tiny bits of roasted peanuts in every sticky mouthful and with the sweet quotient just right, that yummy spread has done wonders. Needless to say, it is the thing that has seen me (and many friends) through many, many breakfasts/lunches and dinners.  i cherish my jars of peanut butter and love to see how others love it too, but imagine my surprise+incredulity when i saw Oreo sniff and swallow it by the tongueful! :) Apparently, she loves peanut butter!

Getting back to the topic on hand, and then peanut butter brownie/bars happened. This recipe combines the goodness of peanuts, peanut butter, brownie and chocolate ganache, without going overboard. I took some to my office colleagues, and i'm happy to say, they haven't stopped raving about it or asking for the recipe (it is day III since i took it). So go ahead, spread the joy.

 

Recipe adapted with slight changes from here:

For the Brownie:
140 g unsalted butter

3/4 cup cocoa powder

pinch of salt

3 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

little less than 1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 eggs

1 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts

Peanut butter layer:

1/2 cup peanut butter (i used unsweetend)

4 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons sugar (or as per taste)

Ganache:

150 g milk chocolate

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar (or as per taste)

First, to make the brownie layer, prepare a rectanguar or square tin with baking paper and a couple of inches of over hang. Preheat oven to 175 C.
Melt the butter in a thick bottomed saucepan. Let it stay over the flame till it stops foaming, solids start depositing at the bottom of the pan, and those solids start turning brown and start emanating a nutty flavor.
Set aside to cool.
In the meanwhile, sift together the sugar, salt, cocoa powder and water. Add the beurre noisette with the browned bits to the dry ingredients and mix. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Mix till incorporated and then fold in the flour half quantity at a time. Fold in the peanuts.

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 15 min or till cooked, but crumbs still stick to the skewer when pulled out during the skewer test. Keep aside to cool.

To make the peanut butter layer:
Heat the milk till warm in a saucepan/microwave and add the sugar. Take off the flame and add in the peanut butter. Mix till creamy and smooth. Pour oven cooled brownie and spread it evenly. Pop in the freezer to set.

To make the Chocolate ganache layer:
Melt the chopped chocolate over a double boiler. In a separate saucepan, heat the milk till warm and mix in the sugar. Pour the warm milk into the melted chocolate and mix till smooth. Pour over the set peanut butter layer and make sure to spread it out evenly using anoffset spatula. Return it back to the freezer to set.

Remove the brownie from the pan by holding onto the overhang. Using a very sharp and long knife, trim the edges, and cut into bars. Serve!
P.S: Remember to keep it refrigerated as the ganache can get runny if sitting out in room temperature for too long.

On another note, i had the good fortune to meet the talented Aparna Balasubramanian of My Diverse Kitchen fame, and spend a day with her courtesy her photography workshop. Apart from being a powerhouse of info, Aparna is kind, extremely helpful and takes her photography so serious, it rubs off on those around her. it certainly did on me, because here i am experimenting with other modes in my DSLR and learning! Her blog is legendary, because of her pictures and the recipes she posts and meeting her was brilliant.
This was also a lovely opportunity 'cos i got to meet some other like minded folks - food bloggers, who else!! It was fun, fun, fun all the way and we finished the day with some yummy food and a hands-on session. Kettle, Anna Nagar graciously hosted the workshop, and they even declared a contest for us budding photographers: click pics of their famous tea bewing and kettle and the best pic wins a gift from Kettle! SO exciting! Add to that, we had some pretty little takeaways with the ceramic stuff being sponsored by Urbandazzle. Woohoo!!