Peanut butter pie (p. 684) and Chocolate ganache glaze or frosting (p. 795)

My brother-in-law had requested a pecan pie for his college graduation party but I figured there are no events in which extra dessert was unwelcome, so I would make an extra pie. Mom only had a single pie crust left so I flipped through TJOC reading aloud to my mom and Josh all the single crust pie recipes. They were only interested in one--Peanut butter pie (p. 684)

Peanut butter pie may be one of the most fattening, sinful recipes I've ever seen.

I mixed cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until smoothly blended:



In another bowl I whipped cold heavy cream until stiff peaks formed:



I folded half of the whipped cream in to the peanut butter mixture to "lighten it":



Eventually I worked the rest of the whipped cream in to the peanut butter (be prepared, this step seems to take forever):



I poured it into my prepared crust (which had been baked):



I pressed a sheet of plastic wrap over the top and refrigerated it for about four hours. In the meantime I made Chocolate ganache glaze or frosting (p. 795). I heated heavy cream in a small saucepan until it came to a boil:



I added finely chopped semisweet and bittersweet chocolate to the cream (it was a mixture of both since that's what I had on hand):



I stirred until most of the chocolate was melted and then covered the pot and let it stand for 10 minutes:



I brought the chocolate to a boil (again) and then allowed it to cool to lukewarm. I poured the glaze over the pie and sprinkled chopped salted peanuts over the top:



If your arteries don't feel quite clogged enough, TJOC recommends topping the whole thing with a dollop of whipped cream.

The inside:



This was an incredibly decadent cake. It was silky, smooth, and delicious. The slightly bitter chocolate cut through the sweetness of the peanut butter and the peanuts lent a nice crunchy bite to the creaminess of the cake. It was a hit with absolutely everyone at the party. It also seemed like an expensive cake, bought rather than homemade. This is a good choice for a party that isn't particularly formal but one at which you wish to impress people.

Random facts:

• Wikipedia says that the word "ganache" is from the French word for jowl. That seems extremely strange. On Food and Cooking's assertion that it is from the French word for cushion makes much more sense (p. 707).

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