v:gourmet

There’s a lot of stuff going down in our little abode … teenage angst and sadness and coming to terms with life and love and things like that. What’s a mom to do? Not a whole lot you can do really. I once read a book by a well-known family therapist that said the best thing a parent can do is make sure the door is always open and there are chocolate chip cookies awaiting. So, that’s what I’m doing – making chocolate peanut butter timbales laced with icing sugar and gold flakes filled with love and understanding and unconditional support.

4 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

2/3 cup Kahlua or other coffee liqueur

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/3 organic cocoa powder

1/2 sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the chocolate in a medium sized mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, heat soy milk until it just begins to steam and almost comes to a boil. Pour the soymilk over the chocolate, then add the Kahlua, peanut butter, and vanilla. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is entirely melted.

Sift the flour, powdered sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt together into a large bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and stir gently until just combined. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag without a tip or a resealable plastic bag with one corner snipped off.

Pipe the batter into timbale moulds, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops are firm but the inside is still slightly soft (test with a skewer or toothpick, it should come out a bit messy and gooey). Transfer the moulds to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes, then invert the moulds and let the timbales cool completely, about 15 minutes. Dust the timbales with powdered sugar and, if you really want to whoop it up, some gold flakes. Serve with soy ice cream.

This recipe is a slightly amended take on Joseph Shuldiner’s Chocolate Tahini Timbales from his new cookbook, Pure Vegan.