Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...On Thanksgiving day, somewhere between the assembly of the apple and pumpkin pies, my perverse nature surfaced and that small child that hides within me, became insistent in her demands for a peanut butter pie. This happens to me, in one form or another, every year. If I make turkey, she wants pork, if I make sprouts she wants beans. There is no pleasing her and it is a clear sign of my perversity. It is also as predictable as the rising sun. The yen generally passes before the holiday ends, but this year the child was relentless in her demands and I had to bake the pie to stop her nagging. The pie she wanted is the creation Of Buddy Valastro from Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, and while her timing is terrible, I must admit that mini-me has marvelous taste. The pie is bloody fantastic, and while it is a bother to make, it is so good that you won't mind the time it takes to prepare. The one downside is the cost of the guard I need to keep me away from it once I've had a slice. If you love peanut butter and chocolate dessert combinations, you are about to enter paradise. There is no need to thank me, but if you see Buddy, tell him Mary sent you. Here is how his extraordinary tart is made.

Pumpkin and Chocolate Bundt Cake with Bittersweet Chocloate Glaze

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I don't want you to think I've forgotten about Thanksgiving Day. I plan to devote this week, save for Tuesday, when I'll be featuring a new Table for Two recipe, to cakes and desserts that are perfect for the holiday. I wanted to start with this very simple bundt cake because it is just that. Very Simple. I believe the recipe first appeared in Eating Well magazine, but it has so proliferated that I can't state that as an absolute fact. The cake uses pureed pumpkin to replace much of the oil that's used to make a standard bundt cake, so it is a bit healthier for you than most. It also makes the cake incredibly moist and lends a holiday touch to what would otherwise be just another chocolate cake. I've made this cake several times and have come to the conclusion that it really needs the added flavor that a bittersweet chocolate glaze provides. The cake was originally made with a simple sugar glaze and topped with miniature chocolate chips. It was good, but my family prefers strong flavors and the version made with bittersweet chocolate was their hands down favorite. The cake stays fresh for days and it transports really well. It also makes a terrific base for "Death by Chocolate" type dessert. I hope you'll give this recipe a try. It would make a great addition to your holiday dessert table. Here is how the cake is made.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte - Away A While Recipe Favorites

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...My favorite dessert are, for the most part, European and barely sweet. I love those made with lemon, nuts or fruit and if you wrap them in a crisp and crackly crust, I'll follow you anywhere. That being said, there are also a handful of other, less classic, desserts that can cause me to fall from grace. This Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte is one of them, and, when it's in the house, my fall from grace is not a stumble, it's a free fall. I can't resist this torte. I really love the peanut and chocolate combination and when it's used as it is in this Dorie Greenspan recipe, just a bite has been known to make my socks go up and down. While there are several steps required to make this torte, they are simple and quite easy to do. I don't make it a habit to rewrite recipes of this caliber. Pastry chefs are exacting in their measurements and execution, and I have no problem following them, if the flavors being proffered are to my liking. I did make a substitution here that I want to talk about a bit. It has to do with chocolate crumbs that are used to make refrigerator pies or cheesecakes. Many of the better recipes use chocolate wafer crumbs to line pie plates or spring form pans. If you live in an area where they are available, no harm, no foul. If they are not available, most of you already know you can use Oreo cookies, sans filling, as a replacement. The problem is that there is rarely a conversion table to tell you how many cookies are required to do that. I did a quick test to determine quantities of each that are necessary for an equivalence conversion. As it turned out the magic number is eleven. Eleven Oreos, stripped of their filling, equal 1 cup of crumbs when ground. It takes about 20 famous chocolate wafers to yield that same amount. Greenspan's recipe uses Oreo cookies to make crumbs. I had none in the house, so I had to fall back on my supply of chocolate wafers. It was a novel twist. I hope you'll try this recipe. It makes a perfect dessert  for a special occasion. You'll find the recipe here.

                    

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