There's no hiding my adoration for peanut butter. If I had a genie, my first wish would be to make peanut butter calorie-free so I could eat it by the tonne, it simply is my superfood. Let's be clear though, not all peanut butters are of equal measure. When it comes to the peanut butter aisle, there is definitely a case of the good, the bad and the ugly.
For my general kitchen use, I use Fix & Fogg Smooth peanut butter, it has the best roasted, saltiness that brings great flavour to your bakes as well as savoury cooking. For toast, my go to is Fix & Fogg Super Crunchy, because texture is everything. For second best, I award Pics, but alas, you didn't come here for the peanut butter awards.
In general, I suggest you choose a peanut butter with no added ingredients, other than peanuts and salt. American-style peanut butter is for kids and people without taste buds and I would never recommend it, not only because of the flavour (and usually additives) but it's unique texture won't actually work in some baking.
With all that being said, I've based this recipe on the use of my favourite brand but salt can differ drastically between peanut butters, so you may want to have a taste before sprinkling flaky salt on your slice.
Makes 20+ slices Base 1/4 cup peanut butter 150g butter 200g plain flour 50g cocoa powder 100g brown sugar 1/4 tsp salt Peanut Butter Caramel 1 can (395g) condensed milk 2 Tbsp golden syrup 30g butter 1/2 cup peanut butter Topping 50 dark chocolate, melted 25g chopped peanuts Flaky sea salt (optional) Preheat oven to bake 180°C. Line a baking dish with baking paper (about 25x25cm). In a small pot on medium heat, melt together butter and peanut butter. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, brown sugar and salt. Add peanut butter and melted butter and stir until mixture is combined and looks like a dough. Transfer mixture into prepared dish and flatten out into an even layer using a measuring cup or the back of a spoon. Bake in oven for 25 minutes. While base bakes, prepare caramel. Place all caramel ingredients into a small pot on medium heat. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until bubbling and starting to thicken. It is important you stir continuously to prevent the mixture sticking to the pot. Don't worry if you get some bits in your mixture from the bottom of the pot, you wont notice them when baked. Once base has baked, very carefully pour caramel on top of base, smoothing into an even layer with a spoon. Bake for a further 20 minutes, until caramel is golden. Once caramel has baked, top with melted chocolate by drizzling over with a spoon, then finish with chopped peanuts and salt. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Store covered in the fridge.
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