Finally, Something My Husband Will Eat…
“What is the stuff in the fridge that looks like raw cookie dough?” My husband asked with hopeful anticipation.
“It’s a Peanut Butter Torte…you’ll like it.”
And with that my husband finally got to eat something he liked…peanut butter and chocolate.
As you can see from the pictures I changed mine up a bit. First off I did not use Oreo cookies like the recipe called for, I used Mother’s Peanut Butter Gauchos…I was going for more peanut butter than chocolate on this one. I also omitted the cinnamon, nutmeg and chopped peanuts on the inside of this dish because I knew my hubby would not be going for that. And for presentation I did a couple smaller ones in mini spring forms but the one you are seeing was made using a cylinder.
The Peanut Butter Torte chosen by Elizabeth of Ugg Smell Food is extremely easy and other than the refrigeration time can be put together fairly quickly. This dessert is very rich. I really could only eat a few bites each time I went to eat it. And you know if I think it is rich, it is rich! 
Be sure to check out the other TWD Peanut Butter Tortes.
Peanut Butter Torte
¼ cup unsalted peanuts
½ c. mini chocolate chips (or finely chopped semi sweet chocolate)
24 Mother’s Peanut Butter Gaucho cookies, finely crumbed or ground in a food processor or blender
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Small pinch of salt
2 ½ c. heavy cream
1 ¼ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ c salted peanut butter – No surprise…I used Jif
2 tablespoons whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate finely chopped
Getting ready: center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch Springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
Put the Peanut Butter Gaucho crumbs, melted butter and salt in another small bowl and stir with a fork just until crumbs are moistened. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the spring form pan (they should go up about 2 inches on the sides). Freeze the crust for 10 minutes.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a rack and let it cool completely before filling.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, whip 2 cups of the cream until it holds medium peaks. Beat in ¼ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and whip until the cream holds medium-firm peaks. Scrape the cream into a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Wipe out (do not wash) the bowl, fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment if you have one, or continue with the hand mixer, and beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, and the milk.
Using a large rubber spatula, gently stir in about one quarter of the whipped cream, just to lighten the mousse. Still working with the spatula, stir in the crunchy peanut mixture, then gingerly fold in the remaining whipped cream. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
Scrape the mouse into the crust, mounding and smoothing the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight; cover with plastic wrap as soon as the mousse firms.
To Finish The Torte: put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave the bowl over the water just until the chocolate softens and starts to melt, about 3 minutes; remove the bowl from the saucepan.
Bring the remaining ½ cup cream to a full boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and , working with a a rubber spatula, very gently stir together until the ganache is completely blended and glossy.
Pour the ganache over the torte, smoothing it with a metal icing spatula. Scatter the remaining ½ cup peanuts over the top and chill to set the topping, about 20 minutes.
When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the Springform pan; it’s easiest to warm the pan with a hairdryer, and then remove the sides, but you can also wrap a kitchen towel damped with hot water around the pan and leave it there for 10 seconds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Source: Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan
May 6th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Fabulous interpretation! I love the idea of using peanutbutter cookies in the base. I was not overly fond of the oreo cookie base and actually it didn’t work well for me, my fault completely. I will make this again though, except next time I will use a different cookie for the base. you are so right in saying it’s rich! But, wow, what a delicious creation. Your’s looks absolutely wonderful! Well done!
May 6th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Gorgeous! I agree that it was incrediby rich. I can’t believe that Dorie said it was feed 6-8 people! I am now afraid of her friends! Great job!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:04 am
Beautiful looking cake!!! Love the presentation!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:09 am
my heart rate went way up when seeing these. oh. my.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:26 am
What a lucky husband! I have to admit pb & chocolate is one of my favorite combos too, though I am willing to experiment.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:37 am
Just beautiful. Not only the food itself but the presentation and photography. So enjoying your site.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:37 am
ooooh! I love your tortes! After I tried it, I wish I remembered to omit the spices. I wasn’t too keen on the flavor when the DB tart came around. But, it was all yummy, nonetheless! Lucky hubby to have such a fabulous chica to bake for him!
May 6th, 2008 at 4:51 am
My husband would definitely eat that too. he would like that much better than my macarons, no doubt about it! Decadent to say the least!
May 6th, 2008 at 4:58 am
My husband loves Nutter Butters, so I love your idea of switching out the Oreos. Lovely presentation!
May 6th, 2008 at 5:11 am
I like the form you did on these! I need to get some small cylinders or tubes to play with in my kitchen!
May 6th, 2008 at 5:28 am
Peabody, your pictures are always so pretty. How’d you get so good?
May 6th, 2008 at 5:30 am
love the smaller size (note to self: please go bakeshop shopping!) your photos look amazing, this torte looks delish! the poured ganache is just classically beautiful!
May 6th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Peanut butter cookies as the crust? Wow, talk about peanut butter overload! Beautiful!
May 6th, 2008 at 5:32 am
Almost speechless. You put us all to shame! Glorious pictures and tortes!
May 6th, 2008 at 5:49 am
OMG, that’s a wicked torte! Scrumptious and beautiful! I’m drooling…
Cheers,
Rosa
May 6th, 2008 at 5:52 am
beautiful torte and photos! i like the tall one, it looks great with the layers
May 6th, 2008 at 5:54 am
Holy Moly this looks incredible.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Stunning! You definitely stepped this one up a level.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:14 am
This is something my husband would love to eat too!
To be honest, all of us here would love it!
Hoping this comment works this time…:)
May 6th, 2008 at 6:15 am
I love your interpretation! The cylinder torte was amazing! Love the pics
May 6th, 2008 at 6:16 am
It worked! I took the url of my website off & that made it work. Hmmm…maybe it doesn’t accept blogspot url’s ?
Anyway, I’m glad I can comment on your beautiful works of art now!
May 6th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Oh that just looks so yummy and delicious! It almost looks like one of those ice cream cone drumsticks we used to get as kids!
May 6th, 2008 at 6:31 am
It looks great! I love the two different versions too. Beautiful!
May 6th, 2008 at 6:38 am
My husband loved this dessert too! Yours look fabulous of course.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:39 am
I love the tall cylinder idea and using the pb cookie base. The spices in it were faint, but I would probably leave it out next time anyway. Great job!
May 6th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Wow, that’s beautiful and SKY HIGH!!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:01 am
This is the recipe that made my husband forgive me for the figs and polenta.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:04 am
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again - your husband has great taste, haha. Gotta love the classic chocolate & peanut butter combination!!
That torte is positively breathtaking - my jaw dropped when I saw it!!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:23 am
I’m assuming you’ve heard the term “food porn.”
This is a stunningly fine example of it…
May 6th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Your husband must be thanking his lucky stars
What a delicious looking torte!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:13 am
ooh, how beautiful.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Looks delicious!
I think if your husband DIDN’T enjoy it, you’d have to trade him in!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Wow, they look amazing! I love the photos (as usual…. I love looking your site). I like the idea of taking the peanuts out of the filling… I might do that next time. Great job, glad your hubby liked it!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I love the way you did your tortes! I’m glad your husband was able to enjoy it!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:33 am
It’s like the leaning tower of peanuts!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Gorgeous - I love these little mini versions. What a great idea to use peanut butter cookies in the crust. I agree that this dessert was incredibly rich. I think we got about 16 servings out of ours!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:44 am
I often look at the picture of this in the book and I read over the ingredients and I contemplate making it but haven’t done so yet. Yours looks awesome!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I’ve been eyeing this recipe since I got the book. Great idea with the PB cookies.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Very, very pretty pictures. : )
May 6th, 2008 at 10:49 am
It looks delicious but honestly I’d still have been happy with just the cookie dough
May 6th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
oh yes this looks like something my husband would dive into face first!
May 6th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I showed my daughter the picture of your gorgeous torte and she said, “Mom, please don’t make it. I have to fit in my wedding dress!”
May 6th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I always love looking at your mouth watering drool fest photos - great job on the torte!
May 6th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
This looks so yummy , Peabody. That chocolate syrup is simply enticing!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
My husband would love this, too. Of course he’ll have to make it himself, as I’m not the baker in this family!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
You never cease to amaze me. Again, a beautiful, creative job well done!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
wow, that looks so decadently rich… I LOVE IT!
May 6th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
how is it that you make all these fabulous things and your husband won’t eat them?? better for his physique, i guess. love those tall tortes with the ganache dripping down the sides!
May 6th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
rich, I agree - but divine! Your photos are fantastic as well
May 6th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
WOW!!! This sounds and looks awesome. I’d love the not so much chocolate version. Glad that hubby is happy!
May 6th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
As always, your creation is beautiful! Aren’t picky husbands the greatest?! Ha! This was a combo my picky husband would eat too.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
This looks divine…something else to make…and eat!
j
May 6th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Your presentation = gorgeous!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
ooohhh loving the idea of pb cookie crust. The dripping chocolate off the sides just adds to the drama of this dessert. Great job!
Clara @ I♥food4thought
May 6th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
love your version of the torte - you didn’t say - how did your husband like it?
May 6th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Your torte looks so regal! It’s beautiful. Oh, and your husband sounds an awful lot like mine
May 6th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I have to admit that your blog is one that I always check with anticipation on Tuesday. Amazing and beautiful!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Looks wonderful! My husband is a picky eater too…
May 6th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Great idea to use peanut butter cookies for the crust. I also love the smaller version of the torte. Great job!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Oh my goodness, this looks really rich! I love how tall the cylinder-ed torte looks. And what a great idea for the peanut butter cookie crust!
May 7th, 2008 at 2:57 am
Your cylinder torte is just a wonderful presentation. The ganache looks like it wants you to try and catch a drop. Fabulous.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:45 am
Gorgeous! I love the mini version of this torte. It looks so fancy. I’m glad your hubs enjoyed this one.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:58 am
If your hubby wouldn’t eat this, I would start to worry about him!
Beautiful photos!
May 7th, 2008 at 6:10 am
I absoulutely LOVE the cylinder shape…it looks like a fancy, plated restaurant dessert. Perfect!!!!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 8:14 am
That is out of sight beautiful Peabody!
You say it’s rich, I’m comfortable that it’s really rich!
May 7th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Oh my gosh..my list of ‘must have pans’ is growing by the MINUTE as I surf these sites. LOVE the cylinder…!! I did individual springforms too.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Wow I can fell my arteries furring up by just looking at it. So wrong but sooooo good. Wonderful picture by the way.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I think the whole neighborhood would be after these! Delicious!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Peanut Butter Gauchos for the crust sounds good. I love how your torte looks like a tower with the yummy drips of chocolate on the sides. Amazing!
May 7th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
You made it EXACTLY how I would love it. Absolutely beautiful!
May 7th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
amazing! Can you tell us more about the cylinders…
May 7th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I am starving now thanks to this post.
This torte looks INCREDIBLE!
I love the one in the cylinder!
May 7th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
OK so i spent a while trying to find a cylinder pan for this dessert next time, what exactly did you use?? i’m at a loss!
May 7th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
What an impressive tower- I really like the presentation!
May 7th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
If your husband likes PB & chocolate, he would LOOOOVE the cookies that I have made about 5 batches of in the last few weeks. (even sold some, tee hee) Milk chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies. They are to die for. I really didn’t know if I was going to like the milk chocolate, but it works in these cookies. I am about to have one for dessert… right now. Let me know if you would like the recipe. Have a great day!
May 8th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Amazing presentation! Love the cylinder effect!
I’ll have to get me one of those babies!
Looks luscious too. Glad your husband loved it.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Oh my, what a picture - off to look at Baking, if I didn’t already have it this picture would lead me to clicking the button
May 8th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I love the change with the peanut butter crust! You can never have TOO much peanut butter! I also love your presentation and how you made it into a smaller version! Simply Gorgeous!
May 8th, 2008 at 9:20 am
who doesnt love the idea of all that peanut butter
May 8th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Sounds so good! Yummy!
May 8th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Holy……! I mean salivating here Peabody! So want a taste!
May 8th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Oh man, I’m only starting to find all these Peanut Butter Torte posts and I am drooling over them. These are the most unique ones I found and I love your idea of maximizing the peanut butter content =). I would love some of this right now and perfect timing too because it’s allllmost midnight!
May 9th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Looks amazing! Do you keep it in the refrigerator just like that?! I’d be curious too!
May 9th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Is there one left for me?
May 9th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
This sounds like the delicious thing I had last week at a restaurant and can’t get out of my head. I’m pretty sure I need to make this tomorrow
May 10th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
With those ingredients it can only be delicious! Congratulations, you have a great blog.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:15 am
Your presentation of the torte is fantastic. A true feast for the eyes.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:48 am
Wowser. As soon as I get my kitchen back, I am SO making that. And eating it, obvy…
May 11th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Sin on a plate, that’s what this is…… I love the individual portion.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Beautiful presentation! When I make this I will have to keep the idea in mind about using peanut butter cookie crumbs instead.