Just in case you didn’t eat enough peanut butter eggs over the weekend, I’m slamming an intense peanut butter mousse torte in your face today. I made this for my brother’s birthday awhile back, and he is an absolute peanut butter fanatic so I knew it would be perfect. Plus the crust is made of Oreo’s so there’s really no way it can disappoint. I have seen this recipe made over and over by different bloggers, and now I understand why. Peanut butter can make desserts overly rich, especially in a torte like this, but the mousse keeps things light so you can take a bigger slice without a problem. And if you’re wondering what makes a “torte” a torte, as I was questioned earlier this week, it’s usually a rich cake filled with whipped cream, buttercreams, mousse, jams, or fruit. So according to Wikipedia, this is definitely a torte, and a really, really good one at that.
As I tend to do these days, I adapted the recipe for my 6″ springform pan. I just love the look of the smaller cakes/tortes and since they’re taller than 9″ I think they look more proportional. Plus, my family of five doesn’t really need a 9″ peanut butter mousse torte, although I’m sure we could finish one off if forced to. And as you can see from the photos, I made my crust very thick again (like I did with my mini strawberry cheesecakes too) because I love, love me a good Oreo cookie crust. But you can totally do it how you like! I also really liked the chopped peanuts folded into the mousse – it added such a nice crunch and more of that true peanutty flavor. And with the chopped peanuts on top, I think it makes the dessert seem more sophisticated than something slathered in peanut butter cups (as I did, and very much enjoyed, here). But of course I also added some some chopped peanut butter cups to the mousse just because it’s hard for me to not incorporate them into something like this. Oh, and then there’s the chocolate ganache topping. Because what would a chocolate torte be without that silky smooth goodness??
Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte
Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats
Yield: 1 6" torte
Ingredients:
for the crust:
26 Oreo cookies, finely processed into crumbs
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Pinch of salt
for the crunch:
1/3 cup salted peanuts, finely chopped
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup peanut butter cups, roughly chopped
1-1/3 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp espresso powder
Pinch of cinnamon
Dash of ground nutmeg
for the filling:
1-1/3 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup + 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1-1/3 tbsp whole milk
for the topping:
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup salted peanuts, finely chopped
Directions:
for the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 6" springform pan with baking spray and place it on a cookie sheet.
- Combine the Oreo crumbs, melted butter, and salt in a small bowl. Toss with a fork to moisten all of the crumbs. Press mixture onto the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Freeze the crust for 10 minutes and then bake in the oven for another 10 minutes. Once baked, allow crust to cool completely on a wire rack before filling.
for the crunch:
- In a small bowl, combine the chopped peanuts, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, and nutmgeg. Toss with a fork and set aside.
for the filling:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fit with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on high speed until it forms medium peaks. Add in 2 tbsp of confectioners' sugar and whip until the cream forms medium-stiff peaks. Transfer the cream into another bowl and refrigerate until needed.
- Wipe the mixer bowl clean and fit with a paddle attachment. Beat the cream cheese with the remaining 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, and whole milk until well combined.
- With a rubber spatula, gently incorporate about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Then fold in the crunchy mixture, and then the rest of the whipped cream. Scrape the mousse into the crust and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight covered with plastic wrap.
for the topping:
- Put the chopped chocolate in the bowl of a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water) and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Then remove the bowl from the stove and bring the 1/2 cup of cream to a full boil in another saucepan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and gently stir together until the ganache is smooth.
- Once the torte is set, pour the ganache over and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle on the chopped peanuts and return to the fridge for another 20 minutes to set the topping. When the ganache is firm, remove the sides of the springform pan and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the 9″ recipe, please see the instructions on Annie’s Eats blog. And one more glamour shot just because…
This looks amazing! One question – do you think it would work without the peanuts?
Erica — April 4th, 2013 @ 2:26 am
Yup! Should be fine :) Just a little less crunch and a bit less peanut flavor
This looks absolutely amazing. I like the 6″ pan. It makes the torte so tall and heavenly. I will have to try.
OMG, that looks INCREDIBLE!!!!
OMG! Amazing! And on my birthday too! thank you :)
and one more question how do you adapt recipes from a 8 or 9 inch to a 6 inch? Can I do the opposite?
Erica — April 4th, 2013 @ 2:26 am
Happy Birthday!! You can find the 9″ recipe here: http://www.annies-eats.com/2009/04/10/chocolate-peanut-butter-torte/
Enjoy!
This sounds amazing.
Oh my goodness…the last photo is so beautiful– the lighting especially. I actually didn’t eat any peanut butter eggs over the weekend, so that gives me an excuse to make this mousse torte. mmmmm :)
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try this recipe. I made something similar for my son’s birthday and everyone loved it. Can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter! :)
Oh my goodness, I’m in heaven just thinking about this. I need to eat this.
I love that you made this in a 6 inch spring form pan. Which means I now need to buy one haha.
Erica, this cake looks freakin’ fantastic! I’m pretty sure I could eat 1/2 of it in one setting! Wow, good thing it’s in YOUR kitchen and not mine. {Good for my waist line, that is!}
I’m drooling all over my keyboard. OMG this looks amazing!
Oh wow yum, your torte looks absolutely divine!
Hi Erica,
Did you use the oreo filling in your crust? Or was it the cookie portion only? Thanks!
Debbie
Erica — April 8th, 2013 @ 1:20 pm
The filling too! Good luck :)
Thank Erica! I bookmarked it, hopefully get a chance to try it soon!! I too was inspired to start a blog, check it out please :)
I found your blog through Pinterest , and Oh My Oh My what GOODIES you have here !! I can’t read through your blogs fast enough to get to the next yummy treat !!! This Torte looks absolutely DELICIOUS !!!! This is a must make here ! Making my mouth water just looking at the yummy pictures. I Love peanut butter and peanut butter mousse well I just have no words for that yummy fluff. Your writing is superb ! I will be a follower for sure. Thanks so much for sharing your yummy recipes with us !!
I think I just went to heaven!!! YUMMMMMMM!!!
cake looks lovely …if you dont mind can you pls tell me how do you modify ur recipe for 6 inch cake can u pls share with us …
Erica — May 13th, 2014 @ 1:54 am
Hi Sami, the recipe above is for a 6″ version. If you want a larger one (9″), check out this recipe: http://www.annies-eats.com/2009/04/10/chocolate-peanut-butter-torte/
Hi Erica,
Thanks for the response . yes i see that you modified ur recipe which fits for 6 inch version . larger version annie made for 9 inch . my question is how did u modified the recipe by checking 9 inch recipe .
do you mind sharing that trick with us .. thanks again for yummy cake
Erica — June 14th, 2014 @ 11:11 pm
It doesn’t work for all recipes, but for this one I multiplied all of the ingredients by 75%. So basically you’re just using 3/4 of the ingredients instead of all of them to go from 9″ to 6″. Doesn’t always work but did for this one!