Playful yummy bakes for modern home bakers
No bake peanut butter bars. So so yummy. Salty sweet bars crammed full of peanut butter, nuts and chia seeds and then topped with a delicious layer of dark chocolate. (Milk chocolate if you prefer). I just love recipes that don’t require too much putting …
Chocolate peanut butter bites. Goodness, do I love these. I know you should play favourites but I’ve got to say, I make these no-bake snacks more often than anything else and they are such a winner with my husband, he absolutely loves them. Salty, sweet …
Chocoholics, the time has come to try these gorgeous beasts. Honestly this chocolate peanut butter fudge is an easy peasy recipe I come back to way too much because it tastes just sooooo good. So simple, no sugar thermometers in sight and just a handful of ingredients. You have to give this one a go. You can’t ignore the indomitable combo that is peanut butter and chocolate; all that salty sweet goodness.
These are naturally gluten free which is always handy having a few GF treats up your sleeve and the even better news is that it’s so easy to make this vegan and dairy free friendly too; love an inclusive bake, or a no-bake in this case. Woop!
These beauties were actually inspired by Nigella’s pistachio fudge, which I make a lot, particularly around Christmas time and just had to adapt here.
350g dark chocolate (or vegan friendly dark chocolate)
1 tin condensed milk (or vegan friendly alternative – I use Carnation for both)
1 tsp ground coffee powder
2 tsp vanilla
100g peanuts (roughly chopped) plus a few extra for topping later
10 tsp (approx) blobs of smooth peanut butter (this really doesn’t need to be exact, just enough to top and swirl over the fudge before it sets)
Chop the chocolate and add to a saucepan. Pour in the condensed milk and add the coffee and vanilla.
On a low heat gradually melt and combine all of the ingredients together.
Take the pan off the heat just before the last pieces of chocolate have melted and stir until everything is lovely and smooth. (I find that it is best to gently combine everything otherwise the mixture can get a little greasy looking if overheated, so just be patient with it)
Add in the chopped peanuts and stir to combine.
Add to a 2lb loaf tin and use a spoon to evenly cover the whole tin and make it as smooth as possible.
Then blob in the peanut butter across the fudge.
Using a bamboo skewer/toothpick or knife, gently swirl the peanut butter into the fudge, adding a little more after the first swirl if you really want to accentuate that beautiful contrast between the chocolate and peanut butter.
Top with a few extra peanuts and pop in the fridge to chill for a few hours or you can leave overnight.
Cut the fudge into pieces.
This is best stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place or cupboard and it will keep for about a week.
Want other simple chocolate recipe ideas? Check out my Chocolate Banana bread muffins or Chocolate truffle no churn ice cream or even my Chocolate nutella muffins – with a crunchie topping delicious!
These vegan chocolate peanut butter scones are so decadent, loud and over the top they’d make the classic afternoon tea scone blush and run for cover. Richly filled and topped with chocolate and peanut butter, these scones are the perfect party food and great for sharing. …
These PB&J thumbprint cookies are seriously good, well with such a classic pairing why would you doubt it. Peanut butter and jam (I just can’t say jelly, sorry) – are a great example of a simple partnership that is far greater together than apart. Salty …
I may be late to the no churn party but now I’m here I’m not going anywhere; flicking the lights on and off, walk of shame, into it.
I do have an ice cream maker but rarely use it. Not that its complicated its just the forward planning that goes into it – making and chilling the ice cream mixture in advance as well as the bowl. The psychological can often be the biggest barrier sometimes. No churn ice cream in comparison feels far easier and friendlier somehow. As long as you have the right ingredients you can whip it up any time you fancy, which is the point of comfort food after all.
I’ve tried out a few recipes recently and after some trial and error I think I’m learning some of the do’s and don’ts to ensure you get a velvety smooth texture, a good set and super flavours to match. Here’s one of my favourites so far.
This is such a treat. Rich peanut butter ice cream layered with intensely dark chocolate shavings and a smidge of Irish cream liqueur, to help everything along nicely. This will make enough to fill a one litre tub and should last 2-3 months in the freezer.
300ml double cream
½ tin condensed milk (just under 200g of the 397g tin)
90g finely chopped dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or higher if you prefer)
30g chopped salted peanuts (for topping)
2 tbsp chunky peanut butter
4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
Pinch salt
2 tbsp of your favourite Irish cream liqueur
½ tsp cinnamon
Chop the chocolate and peanuts separately and leave to one side.
Pour all of the ingredients into a mixer and whip until it is soft but thick and does not move when you lift up the whisk attachment. This will take between 3-5minutes.
Place a layer of chocolate shavings in the bottom of the airtight container.
Layer in the ice cream mixture, alternating with 2 layers of chocolate as you go. Once all of the ice cream mixture has been added, add a final layer of chocolate and the peanuts.
Put the lid on the container and freeze for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight before digging in.
Adding alcohol is a great way to make sure you get a soft set texture, as it freezes at a much lower temperature than the rest of the ingredients. It can be left out; it just won’t be as soft so you might need to wait a bit before scooping.
Jams, curds, spreads and sauces are excellent ingredients to use in no churn ice cream. They help give maximum flavour without adding too much extra liquid. Initially I tried pureeing fruit and adding that but found that it just water logged the cream and when frozen, although very tasty, had quite a few ice crystals, which you don’t want.
Concentrated milk and caramel are fab ingredients to use as a base for ice cream in addition to your flavourings.
Chocolate is not a social creature. By that I mean, I tried a few times to make chocolate ice cream and after quite a few curdled attempts, I learnt that it just doesn’t like to be whipped into the cream like other ingredients. To get round this, like in the peanut butter ice cream, I decided to incorporate chopped chocolate instead which works very well. Cocoa powder, hazelnut spread, and other chocolate sauces work well too. Where there is greed there is always a solution.
Love peanut butter? Try my PB&J thumbprint cookies or my Vegan chocolate peanut butter scones. Looking for other indulgent chocolate recipes try my Double Chocolate Baked Doughnuts
Looking for some ice cream inspiration? Olive Magazine has some simple ice cream toppings recommendations that I think you’ll love.