Snickers chocolate bar is one of my favorite bars in the whole world, especially because of the chocolate and peanut combination, that is simply the best to my taste. Salted peanuts and caramel go just perfectly with chocolate!
This Snickers chocolate cake is some kind of a homage to the popular candy – layers of chocolate and peanuts cake filled with chocolate and peanut cream, caramelized peanuts and shiny chocolate ganache on top.
This is the perfect cake for peanut lovers’ birthdays and other special occasions, and whenever you want to surprise people with a cake that would make them say WOW!
Photo: Natalie Levin
Snickers Chocolate Cake
For chocolate and peanut cake:
- 2 large eggs
- 200 grams (1 cup) sugar
- 240 ml. (1 cup) milk
- 125 ml. (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. fine salt
- 240 ml. (1 cup) boiling water
- 1 tsp. instant ground coffee
- 30-40 (1 heaping tbsp.) grams peanut butter
- 280 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 60 grams (6 tbsp.) cocoa powder
- 7 grams (1 1/2 tsp.) baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
For chocolate and peanut cream:
- 250 ml. (1 cup) heavy cream
- 80 grams (2 heaping tbsp.) smooth peanut butter
- 60 grams (1/2 cup) icing sugar
- 10 grams (1 tbsp.) instant vanilla pudding powder
- 100 grams dark chocolate (very finely chopped)
- 50 grams roasted peanuts (very finely chopped)
Caramelized peanuts:
- 75 grams (1/3 cup) sugar
- 125 ml. (1/2 cup) heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
- 10 grams (1 tbsp.) butter
- 40 grams roasted peanuts (chopped)
For chocolate ganache:
- 150 grams dark chocolate
- 125 ml. (1/2 cup) heavy cream
Decoration:
- Peanut butter chips
- Dark chocolate (coarsely chopped)
- Chocolate and peanut cake: preheat oven to 170c degrees and grease the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, milk, oil, vanilla and salt until mixture is smooth.
- In a small glass mix boiling water, coffee and peanut butter until blended.
- Add the coffee mixture into the batter while whisking until smooth.
- Add flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda and beat well until you get a smooth, dark chocolatey batter. The mixture is very sparse and that’s fine.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
- Cool completely at room temperature and then cool of an hour in the refrigerator.
- Using a long serrated knife cut the cake into 2 layers.
- Peanut cream and chocolate cream: in a bowl of a mixer, whip cream, peanut butter, icing sugar and pudding until creamy.
- Towards the end of whipping add chopped chocolate and peanuts and continue to whip until creamy and stable.
- Transfer the cream into a piping bag fitted with 2-3 cm round piping tip.
- Put the bottom layer of the cake on a serving plate and pipe peanut cream and chocolate cream on top.
- Add the second layer of the cake and press down gently. Cool in the refrigerator.
- Peanut caramel: in a large skillet put sugar and cook to a caramel.
- Meanwhile, heat cream and salt in a small saucepan to simmering point.
- When the caramel is ready, pour in the cream and whisk carefully. Cook over medium heat until you get golden and smooth toffee.
- Add butter and cook together for another 1-2 minutes until melted and incorporated.
- Add chopped peanuts and stir until coated with caramel.
- Pour the hot caramelized peanuts on top of the cake and spread within a very thin layer gently. Refrigerate until set and cooled.
- Chocolate ganache: chop the chocolate and put in a bowl.
- Add heavy cream and melt together in the microwave or over double boiler until everything is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Cool the ganache for about 30 minutes at room temperature until it thickens slightly.
- Pour the ganache over the caramelized peanuts and let it drip over the sides of the cake.
- Decorate with peanut butter chips and chopped chocolate and serve.
- You can use any kind of nut you like instead of peanuts.
- You can make the whole cake, without the ganache up to two days in advance. The ganache is recommended to add a day of the serving.
- Keep the cake in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
Photo: Natalie Levin