Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ganache,
Praline Feuilletine, Salted Caramel Ice Cream

By Dominique Ansel, Executive Pastry Chefin
at Daniel Bouluds restaurant „Daniel“, New York

A dessert with peanut butter brings out the kid in all of us. But this one's actually pretty sophisticated. Crispy feuilletine and praline layers alternate with smooth, creamy peanut butter ganache and then a white chocolate and peanut butter cream, not to mention the salted caramel ice cream and caramelized peanuts. It's best to begin preparing the day before so as to refrigerate the bottom layer overnight, but you can cheat and speed things up in the freezer. We admit there are a lot of components here, but they're worth it, and you may even find additional uses for many of them.
Serves 9
Preparation time: 1 day
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Special equipment:
Candy thermometer, ice cream machine
INGREDIENTS
peanut butter feuilletine:
1 1/2      tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup  almond praline paste (Valrhona)
2 oz Jivara chocolate (Valrhona), chopped
1 tbsp butter
1/2-1/3 cup feuilletine (Barry Callebaut)
peanut butter ganache:
1/4 cup  milk
1/3 cup  cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
2  egg yolks
3 oz Jivara chocolate (Valrhona), chopped
21/2       tbsp peanut butter
peanut butter cream:
1 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 tsp peanut butter
1 cup  heavy cream
caramelized peanuts: (makes extra)
1 cup  raw peanuts
1/2 cup  sugar
3 tbsp water
1 pinch of kosher salt
1 pinch of cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
salted caramel ice cream:
1/2 cup  sugar
1/2 cup  cream
11/4    cups  milk
1  egg yolk
4 tbsp milk powder
1/2 tsp fleur de sel

garnish:
chocolate décor pockets,  ” taller and wider than feuilletine/peanut butter ganache squares (or substitute chocolate glaze)
peanut butter powder
triangular chocolate tuile, optional
cocoa powder

METHOD
peanut butter feuilletine:
Line the bottom and sides of a 9” x 9” baking pan with greased parchment paper. In a small bowl with a rubber spatula, combine the peanut butter and praline paste. In a small saucepot, melt the chocolate and butter, whisking to emulsify. Place the feuilletine in a separate medium-sized bowl, and stir in the warm chocolate mixture to combine. Add the peanut butter/praline mix and stir to combine. Transfer the feuilletine mixture to the prepared pan. Spread into an even layer with a mini offset spatula and chill.
peanut butter ganache:
In a medium saucepot, combine the milk, cream, and half of the sugar; simmer until the sugar is dissolved. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the remaining sugar with the egg yolks. Stream one-third of the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking to combine, then return to the saucepot and cook, stirring, to reach 185°F. Place the chocolate and peanut butter in a separate medium heat-proof bowl. Slowly stream in the warm cream mixture, whisking to combine. Rest, stirring occasionally with a spatula to cool to room temperature. Scrape the ganache onto the chilled feuilletine mixture and spread an even layer with a mini offset spatula; chill.
peanut butter cream:
Combine the chocolate and peanut butter in a heat-proof bowl. In a small saucepot, bring the cream to a simmer, pour over the chocolate/peanut butter, stir to melt and thoroughly combine; cover and chill. When ready to serve, whisk the mixture until light and airy, and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a  ” round tip.
caramelized peanuts:
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside. In a large, heavy skillet over a medium heat, combine the water, sugar and peanuts. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, while the liquid reduces and becomes syrupy. After about 10 minutes, the mixture will turn grainy and the peanuts will look sandy. Continue to cook and stir the mixture. The peanuts will get darker, and over time the grainy sugar will melt in spots and turn into syrup. Continue to stir frequently so that the peanuts do not burn and the sugar syrup gets evenly distributed. Once the peanuts are evenly browned, add the salt and cinnamon, stir several times, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Scrape the peanuts onto the prepared baking sheet and spread in a thin layer. Cool, and then break into individual pieces.
salted caramel ice cream:
In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepot, combine half of the sugar, cream and milk and heat to 95°F on a candy thermometer. Whisk in the milk powder – in a heat-proof bowl, combine the egg yolk with the remaining sugar. Bring the milk mixture to a simmer, and slowly stream one-third into the yolk mixture, while whisking. Return the yolk mixture to the saucepot containing the remaining milk mixture, and while whisking, cook until it reaches 185°F. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine meshed sieve. Add the fleur de sel. Chill overnight, covered. Spin in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions.
to serve:
Remove the chilled feuilletine and ganache layers from the pan by turning onto a cutting board. Cut into nine 3” x 3” squares and transfer to a baking sheet, ganache side up. Using an offset spatula, place squares inside the chocolate décor pockets. If you don’t have chocolate décor, spread chocolate glaze on top and chill.
To serve, transfer one square to a chilled dessert plate and, if using, place a triangular-shaped chocolate tuile on top, slightly offset from the center. Pipe peanut butter cream into ‘Hershey-Kiss’ shapes on top, covering the square halfway diagonally. Garnish with a sprinkling of cocoa and peanut butter powders, add a few caramelized peanuts, and serve with a scoop of ice cream.