Alanna Jankov for The Globe and Mail
Chef Michael Smith’s delicious dark chocolate peanut butter cups
Michael Smith
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published
Last updated
A quick kitchen tip before you begin: Chocolate is delicate and scorches easily over direct heat. So, in this recipe, you’ll melt it using a simple insulating steam bath. You’ll need a bowl large enough to hold all of the chocolate and a pan of simmering water that the bowl can be placed overtop. No part of the bowl should touch the water and the chocolate should sit high enough over the pan that none of it sits below the pan’s rim, to protect the chocolate from the searing heat.
Servings: 8
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour
Ingredients
8 ounces (250 grams) dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (125 millilitres) peanut butter
1/2 cup (125 millilitres) cream cheese
1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) honey
1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) vanilla
1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) freshly grated nutmeg
Method
Place paper or foil muffin liners in an 8-cup muffin pan. Place the chocolate in a small bowl gently nestled over – not in – a small pot of barely simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Turn off the heat. Holding the liners steady in the muffin pan, use a small pastry brush to paint the inside of each muffin liner with a tablespoon or so of the chocolate, giving them a coating thick enough to harden into a strong container but thin enough that you have about a third of the chocolate left once all the liners are brushed. Set aside the remaining chocolate. Refrigerate the pan until the chocolate hardens and strengthens (about 15 minutes).
Meanwhile, put the peanut butter and cream cheese in your food processor and process until smooth. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the honey, vanilla and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Spoon 3 tablespoons or so of the filling into each hardened chocolate cup, taking care to level the surface of the filling to just below the top edge of the chocolate. Refrigerate until the filling is chilled and firm (about 15 minutes).
Return the remaining chocolate to its perch over simmering water and stir until smooth. Spoon a thick, even layer of the melted chocolate over each of the cups, sealing the edges and locking in the filling. Refrigerate until firm, then remove from tin and peel off the liners.
Michael Smith hosts Chef Abroad on the Food Network and is the author of the new cookbook Chef Michael Smith’s Kitchen.
