Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake

When I saw this recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake by Candice Brown in the Sunday Times, I just had to try it. My Mother would call it ‘cutting off my nose to spite my face’ ie it’s not the most sensible idea to attempt this recipe if you are, like me, trying to lose a few pounds. But I adore chocolate and peanut butter in equal measure and so it had to be done. Candice says “This brownie needs to be slightly undercooked to ensure it is gooey in the middle. It’s delicious eaten cold as a slice or served warm with ice cream.” We’ll second that!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Cake

Ingredients serves 10
250g crunchy peanut butter
250g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
40g unsalted butter
100g soft dark-brown sugar
175g soft light-brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla-bean paste
3 medium eggs
100g self-raising flour
100g macadamia nuts, chopped

How to prepare

Grease and line a 25cm round cake tin with parchment paper. Heat the oven to 180 degrees (200 if non fan).

In a heavy bottomed pan, place 180g of the peanut butter, 180g of chocolate, the butter and both sugars. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the ingredients have combined into a thick paste. Take off the heat.

Allow the mixture to cool slightly before adding the vanilla-bean paste. Add the eggs one at a time and mix quickly until they are fully incorporated.

Sieve the flour into the mixture and fold in, making sure there are no lumps. Then fold in 3/4 of the macadamia nuts. Pour the batter into a greased and lined tin.

Warm the remaining peanut butter in a pan over a low heat until runny (or in a heatproof non metallic bowl in a microwave). Drizzle over the chocolate batter and swirl using a knife. Bake in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes. Insert a skewer into the cake, it should come out with a little mixture on it. Allow to cool in the tin.

Melt the remaining chocolate (in a microwave or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water) then drizzle over the brownie.

Crush the remaining macadamia nuts and sprinkle on top.

Lots more calorific cake recipes here…..!