Description
A stunning dessert with layers of creamy peanut butter filling, crunchy honeycomb, and rich chocolate. Make components ahead for easy assembly!
Ingredients
Units
- 9 graham crackers, coarsley crushed
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted
- 8 large egg yolks
- 12 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
- 3/4 cups (178 ml) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (237 ml) creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ounces (57 g) bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
- 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Honeycomb (recipe below)
- 1/4 cups (59 ml) roasted, salted peanuts
- 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) sugar
- 3 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon baking soda, sifted
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, honey, and 1/4 cup water in a heavy deep saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil.
- Cook without stirring, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush, until sugar turns pale amber.
- Working quickly, add baking soda (mixture will foam up dramatically); whisk quickly just to combine. Immediately pour candy over prepared sheet (do not spread out).
- Let stand undisturbed until cool, about 20 minutes. Hit candy in several places with the handle of a knife to crack into pieces.
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
- Finely grind graham crackers, sugar, salt, and nutmeg in a food processor.
- Transfer crumb mixture to a medium bowl. Add butter and stir to blend. Use bottom and sides of a measuring cup to pack crumbs onto bottom and up sides of 9″ glass or metal pie pan.
- Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
Filling
- Mix yolks and 6 Tbsp. sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at high speed until ribbons form, stopping once to scrape down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes.
- Combine milk and remaining 6 Tbsp. sugar in a large saucepan; scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add bean. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove bean.
- With mixer running, gradually add hot milk mixture to yolk mixture.
- Scrape mixture back into pan. Clean bowl. Whisking constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove pan from heat; whisk vigorously for 1 minute.
- Return custard to mixing bowl, beat on high speed until cool, about 4 minutes. Mix in butter 1 Tbsp. at a time. Add peanut butter, powdered sugar, and salt; beat to blend. Scrape filling into cooled crust; smooth top. Chill until set, 2-3 hours.
Topping
- Stir chocolate and butter in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth.
- Drizzle some of the chocolate glaze over the peanut butter filling, making a circle in the middle of the pie and leaving a 1″-2″ plain border.
- Pile pieces of honeycomb and salted peanuts on top, then drizzle remaining chocolate glaze over.
Notes
- For a smoother peanut butter filling, use creamy peanut butter and warm it slightly before adding it to the custard.
- To make the honeycomb ahead, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
- If you don’t have a vanilla bean, substitute 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract in the filling.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 500
- Sugar: 60
- Sodium: 200
- Fat: 30
- Saturated Fat: 18
- Unsaturated Fat: 10
- Carbohydrates: 60
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 5
- Cholesterol: 150