Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse cake with Salted Caramel Sauce

Crust
200g / 7oz chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
45g / 3tbsp butter, melted

Chocolate mousse filling
225g / 8oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
240ml / 1 cup heavy cream, cold, divided
1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut butter mousse filling
125g / 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
35g powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
120ml / 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold

Caramel sauce
100g / 1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tbsp honey or corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
30ml / 2tbsp water
60ml / 1/4 cup heavy cream
8g / 1/2 tbsp butter

Chocolate sauce

30g / 1oz semisweet chocolate

30ml / 2tbsp heavy cream

1) Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 20cm / 8inch pan with a removable bottom with parchment paper. 

2) To make the crust, mix together finely crushed cookies with melted butter and press down to he bottom of the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

3) To make chocolate mousse filling, place copped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat 120ml (1/2 cup) of heavy cream until hot enough but not boiling! Pour over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. After 1 minute, stir to make a smooth ganache. Mix in the vanilla extract. Let cool slightly while you beat the cream. In a cold bowl, add the remaining 120ml of heavy cream and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix carefully until incorporated. Spread onto the prepared crust. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

4) To make the peanut butter mousse filling, mix together peanut butter, salt, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl. In another bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently mix the heavy cream into the peanut butter mixture. Spread over the chocolate mousse filling. Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until firm.

5) To make the caramel sauce: in a medium saucepan, combine together sugar, honey or corn syrup, salt and water. Bring to boil while stirring. When it starts bubbling, stop stirring and let it turn to a light/medium amber color. At this point it will NOT look like caramel. Especially if your saucepan has a black bottom, you won't be able to see the real color so turn off the heat when it looks just slightly golden, otherwise, it will be dark and bitter. The whole browning process should take no more than 10 minutes. When you reach the desired color, remove from heat and slowly start pouring in the heavy cream. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the butter. Let cool. Once it has cooled, drizzle over the peanut butter mousse. Refrigerate.

6) To make the chocolate glaze, heat heavy cream until hot but not boiling. Pour over chocolate, let sit for a minute, and stir to make a smooth ganache. Let cool slightly and drizzle over the caramel.

7) Let the cake sit in the fridge overnight or at least for a few hours before slicing and serving.

Recipe by collecting memories

Pineapple Coconut Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Coconut Upside Down Cake 

90g / 1 cup quick cooking oats
35g desiccated coconut
125g / 1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
150g / 3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
160ml / 2/3 cup pineapple juice from a can
25g / 1/8 cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
50g / 1/4 cup soft dark brown sugar
9 pineapple rings from a can

1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Prepare a 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch silicone baking dish or line a metal baking dish with parchment paper.

2) In a small bowl, combine together oats, coconut, flour, baking powder, salt and white sugar. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add pineapple juice and melted coconut oil and stir to combine. 

4) Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. 

5) Sprinkle the bottom of the baking dish with dark brown sugar. Arrange pineapple rings on top of it. Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake in oven for 30-35 minutes or until the toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

6) Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Invert cake and let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Recipe by collecting memories

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Crust:
190g / 1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs
95g / 7 tbsp butter, melted

Cookie Dough:
113g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
100g / 1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
50g / 1/4 cup white sugar 
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
125g / 1 cup flour
2 tbsp milk
90g / 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake: 
750g / 26 oz cream cheese, room temperature
150g / 3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla

1) To make the crust, mix together graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into a 8 or 9 inch springform pan and bake in a 160C / 325F preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Do not turn off the oven.

2) Make the cookie dough: In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugars, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add milk, mix until incorporated. Finally, stir in the flour and mix just until combined. Add chocolate chips. Place the cookie dough in the fridge while you prepare the filling. (You could also make this ahead of time and leave in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.) When the cookie dough is firm enough, remove from the fridge and form little balls. Set aside.

3) To make the filling, beat together cream cheese, white sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth.

4) Pour the filling over the graham cracker crust and arrange cookie dough pieces on the top of the surface, slightly pressing them down. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cool completely before serving, preferably overnight.

Recipe by collecting memories

Mud Pie Coffee Cake

Mud Pie Coffee Cake

225g / 1 cup butter, room temperature
200g / 1 cup white sugar 
200g / 1 cup soft light brown sugar
250g / 2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
230g / 1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract


1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Prepare a 20 x 20 cm / 8 x 8 inch silicone baking dish or generously butter a metal baking dish.

2) In a large bowl with a mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

3) In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add this to the butter/sugar mixture and beat until combined. Set aside 1 cup of this mixture for the topping.

4) In a separate bowl, lightly beat together sour cream and eggs. Add to the sugar/butter mixture and stir to combine.

5) Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with the 1 cup of crumb topping mixture, slightly pressing it down.

6) Bake 50-60 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

Recipe adapted from here.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chocolate Fudge Cake

200g (14 tbsp) butter

200g (7 oz) chocolate (I used half 50%, half 70%), chopped into small chunks

225g (1 cup) caster sugar

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

15g (1 tbsp) flour

Powdered sugar/vanilla cream/whipped cream, to serve

1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Line a 23 cm / 9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

2) In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Once it melts, add chocolate, cover and let sit for 2 minutes. The chocolate will be melted. Stir with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Cool slightly.

3) Stir in the sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Stir in the flour and mix just until incorporated.

4) Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool on a wire rack and then transfer to the fridge. Refrigerate overnight.

5) Serve with some vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or dust with confectioner's sugar.

Recipe by collecting memories

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

I've been baking cheesecakes quite often recently. And the more cheesecake flavors I try, the more convinced I become that cheesecake is my favorite dessert. My last cheesecake, peanut butter flavored, was truly amazing. Just divine. I love all peanut butter desserts, but this one was probably one of the best desserts I've ever tasted. As always, I made my own peanut butter but you can also use store-bought. Of course, homemade is always better. Aaand I added a full teaspoon of salt to the filling. I wasn't sure if it was a good decision, I thought it might be too salty, but it was just perfect. You know, I love salty peanut butter. And another wonderful thing was the milk chocolate glaze. Yes, I used milk chocolate and it wasn't too sweet. It was totally my kind of dessert. I could probably eat this every day.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Filling:
500g (2 8oz blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
115g (1/2 cup) sour cream, room temperature
150g (2/3 cup) white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
250g (1 cup) unsalted unsweetened peanut butter (I used homemade)

Crust:
150g (1 1/2 cup) cookies, ground
60g (1/4 cup) butter, melted

Glaze:
23g butter (1 1/2 tbsp)
80g (2.8 ounce) milk chocolate

1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Prepare a 23 cm / 9 inch springform pan. 

2) To make the crust, mix together cookie crumbs and melted butter and press to the bottom of a springform pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling. 

3) To make the filling, in a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract, salt and eggs. Mix until incorporated. Finally, add peanut butter and mix just until combined. 

4) Pour the filling onto the crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 120C / 250F and bake for another 40 minutes. 

5) Remove from the oven and let cool completely before glazing. 

6) To make the glaze, I simply melt the butter in a small saucepan. Then I turn off the heat, mix in the chopped chocolate, cover and let sit for 1-3 minutes, until the chocolate melts. Then I mix it until it's smooth and immediately pour onto the cheesecake. 

For the best results, refrigerate overnight.

Recipe by collecting memories

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

I've been craving chocolate so much recently. I even made two chocolate cakes this week (the first one was the chocolate cheesecake).
At first, I wanted to make a flourless cake (sounds healthier + I have made one before and it was divine), but finally I decided that I want a rich, buttery, deep dark chocolate cake. And I don't regret my decision. At all.
Once you bake it, I suggest trying it at room temperature first (when the frosting is still creamy and soft). But in my opinion, it's so much better chilled. Leave it in the fridge overnight and you won't believe how incredibly fudgy it becomes after a night in the fridge. 
Well, enough said. Pictures speak for themselves.

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Frosting:

84g (3 oz) butter, room temperature

21g (3 tsp) unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

125g (1 cup) powdered sugar

35g sour cream

Cake:

90g (3/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
94g (3/4 cup) flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
170g (3/4 cup) butter, room temperature
225g (1 cup) sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
115g (1/2 cup) sour cream

1) Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Prepare a 20x20cm / 8x8 inch silicone (or greased metal) baking pan.

2) In a small bowl, combine together cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well combined. Add vanilla extract.

4) Mix in one third of the flour mixture, then add half of the sour cream and repeat the process (total - 3 additions; finish with flour).

5) Bake for 25- 30 minutes. Cool completely.

6) To make the frosting, beat all the ingredients until soft and fluffy. The longer you beat, the fluffier frosting you'll have. Don't be lazy.

Cake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart. Frosting recipe by collecting memories