Week15: Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies

Brownies were never my favorite growing up, but I think that was because most people just used mixes and overbaked them. The one brownie recipe I enjoyed was where peanut butter cups were placed on top of the freshly baked brownies and allowed to melt (this is also possible with peppermint patties).  I wanted to do something similar to this, but more advanced flavor. So instead of peanut butter cups, I put peanut butter cheesecake batter on top!  Gooey chocolaty bottom layer, smooth peanut butter creamy layer on top, with some marbling in the middle. 

Start with butter (duh) and sugar.

I melt the butter in a double broiler so it doesn't burn or get to hot for the eggs that come next, and mix the sugar and butter together.

Eggs are added.

As well as flour and cocoa powder (this is where the brownies get their flavor, so I use Cadbury's)

Mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder in with the egg/butter/sugar mixture.

The final brownie batter. It's very important to mix it slowly so no air is incorporated. The texture is halfway between a fudge and a cake, and too much air will cause it to be overly cake like.

Now the cheesecake batter. Eggs, cream cheese, and sugar.

Mmmmm, peanut butter!

Here is the peanut butter sitting in the cheesecake batter before mixing.

Now you can see the texture after incorporating. Delicious! It has a bit of salt and vanilla extract added for flavor.

Brownie batter goes in first.

Peanut butter cheesecake batter comes next.

Marble the two with a knife if you want distinct layers, or the butt of a spoon (moving through front-ways, not sideways like you are cutting) if you want the marble to be very mixed.

Bake

Allow to cool (or not) and it's delicious! This is like a grownup peanut butter cup, the peanut butter is smooth and nutty with just the right amount of salt, and the chocolate is gooey and gives it a firmer texture.

Here you can see the layers. This one wasn't marbled too much, but I intend to do more marbling with the actual deliveries for a nicer look and texture mixing. 

Week14: Raspberry Pie Bars

This is one of my favorite recipes. It combines a Pie like experience with brownie like serving style. It has a crust, a smooth creamy filling, and a crumble top, but you serve it in squares. How great is that? Raspberry is the main taste, but it also has almond extract and lemon zest to round out the flavor. 

Everything starts with flour and butter, right? As well as a bit of sugar. This will be the crust.

Pulse until crumbly.

The crumb is distributed into the container,

and pressed flat with a rounded spoon,

Till it's smooth and compacted all over.

Then it's baked briefly, this is to keep it from soaking up too much of the liquid of the next layer.

It comes out a nice toasted brown.

I set out the raspberries, don't they look amazing?

Eggs are the first step of the filling.

They are whipped till blended,

Then to the eggs I add almond extract,

fresh grated lemon zest,

flour, sugar, and sour cream! The sour cream is what gives it a smooth and rich creamy flavor to the pie filling layer.

Blend it all till smooth,

add the raspberries and gently fold in.

This pie filling goes on top of the crust layer I already baked,

And some of the original pie crust crumble was reserved to sprinkle on top.

Here it is baking in the oven, slowly rising a little from the eggs.

When it comes out, it has a nice golden color to it, with flecks of red berries showing through.

Delicious looking when cut, you can see the three distinct layers. The bottom and top are both firmer, and the middle layer is very creamy and smooth with that delightful raspberry tart flavor. 

Cut in and enjoy! Delicious cold, or can be heated in a toaster oven.

Week13: Date-fruit Cake with Butterscotch Icing

One of my favorite recipes is a Date-fruit cake, served warm with warm, made-from-scratch butterscotch sauce poured over top. I thought of it right away when starting Hveiti og Smjör, but having no way to transport the cake warm, nor a container of sauce, I gave up. However when I saw and tasted some dates recently, I figured I needed to try harder on how to bring this great dessert. By changing from a butterscotch sauce to an icing, it transports fine, and can be toasted or microwaved should you like it warm. :-)

I love how this recipe starts. Pit the dates.

Then I chop them to be fine, and prepare all the initial sauce ingredients so they are ready at hand. Water, chopped dates, butter, and sugar.

First I boil the chopped dates and water.

Then melt in the butter and sugar.

After fully melted, I add baking soda, stir, and allow to cool.

After cooled, it goes in the mixing bowl, and flour, an egg, and vanilla are added.

And beaten into a batter. While that's in the oven, I start on the icing.

Whereas Caramel is caramelized white sugar, Butterscotch is caramelized brown sugar. This particular icing starts with brown sugar, butter, and whole milk, and a bit of golden syrup to keep it from crystallizing after it's added to the frosting base later.

Add to the pot.

Bring it to a boil on medium high heat, stirring constantly till the boil starts.

Once boiling, I add a candy thermometer to ensure it goes to the right temperature (hard ball stage).

While it's boiling, I start the frosting base. I add butter and a bit of salt to the mixer and start to mix.

And start to add sifted powdered sugar.

A little at a time, so it gets properly incorporated.

Till it's almost all a fine white powder that would stick together if pressed.

Next, I pour in hot milk, and it creams together. The hot milk helps dissolve the powdered sugar.

Look at that beautiful texture. Now it's ready for the butterscotch. 

Here I am pouring the butterscotch into the frosting while still warm. If it's allowed to harden, it won't incorporate.

Mmmmm, the drizzles look so inviting, and it really does taste just like butterscotch, because it's made out of real butterscotch!

The cake comes out of the oven and is allowed to cool.

Meanwhile I roast some whole walnuts.

The walnuts have a delicious nutty roasted flavor and go on top of the icing.

Absolutely delicious. Moist, with the sweetness of the dates, while not being overpowering, and the salty sweet butterscotch icing is the perfect compliment.

Just look at that texture, with the bits of dates shining through. :-)