Chocolate Peanut Butter Braid #TwelveLoaves

Chocolate yeast dough and peanut butter yeast dough, braided together, make a wonderful loaf. Two very different flavors that complement each other, intertwined so each bite contains a piece of both.

In many cultures, braids are a sign of unity, symbolic of a bond that is not easily broken. After all, what is a braid but the weaving in and out of three or more strands that become one and are generally stronger for the weaving? You can see where I am headed here.

This month’s theme for #TwelveLoaves is chocolate but I decided that chocolate would not stand alone. This is a loaf of love. Chocolate with peanut butter chips and peanut butter with chocolate chips. Because we are all a little sweet and all a little salty and it’s the combination of the two that makes life interesting.

The chocolate dough has been slightly adapted from David Lebovitz’s Chocolate Bread and the peanut butter dough has been adapted from Celine Steen’s Peanut Butter Bread.

Ingredients
For the chocolate dough:
6 tablespoons or 90ml milk, heated until just tepid
1 envelope active dry yeast (1/4 ounce or 7g)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 ounces or 45g bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 egg - yolk and white separated
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
2 scant tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the special dark.)
1/3 cup or 60g real peanut butter chips

For the peanut butter dough:
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1 envelope active dry yeast (1/4 ounce or 7g)
1/4 cup or 65g smooth peanut butter
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
3 tablespoons, packed, dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup or 65g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method
First we’ll make the chocolate dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Add one tablespoon of the sugar and it set aside in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes or until it gets foamy.

Put your butter and chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and give it a few quick zaps of 20 seconds, stirring in between, until both are just melted and form a smooth chocolate syrup.

Add the remaining sugar, the egg yolk, vanilla, and sea salt to the yeast bowl and mix well. (Reserve your egg white for glazing the loaf before baking.)

Stir in half the flour and cocoa powder.

Add the chocolate syrup and stir again.  Now add the remaining flour and stir until completely incorporated.

Beat for five minutes with the dough hook in your mixer or knead by hand.  The dough will be quite moist but I found that the butter kept it from being too sticky.

Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place for two hours.

Now we’ll make the peanut butter dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk. Add one tablespoon of the sugar and it set aside in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes or until it gets foamy.

Add the remaining sugar, vanilla, and sea salt to the yeast bowl and mix well.

Stir in half the flour.

Now add the peanut butter and the remaining flour and stir until completely incorporated.

Place dough on a clean, lightly floured surface and start kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Add extra flour if the dough is too sticky. I tried to knead in my mixer with the bread hook but this dough was just too soft.  Kneading by hand worked best.

Cover and let rise for 1 – 1 1/2 hours in warm place.

The two doughs. The chocolate has risen a little and the peanut butter is just ready for rising.

When both of your doughs have done their rising, it’s time for the braid!

Punch down both doughs, adding in the chocolate chips to the peanut butter dough and the peanut butter chips to the chocolate dough, reserving a few to poke on top for decoration before baking. Knead a little bit to work them in.

Now break or cut each ball in half and roll the pieces out into dough snakes about 16 inches or cm long. The chips will keep wanting to fall out. Just poke them back in.

Now lay all four “snakes” out on your baking pan which has been lined with a sheet of parchment. In order to get the best braided look, start with the two chocolate ones and the two peanut butter ones next to each other. I took photos of every step of the braiding but I have to admit, they are hard to follow. So I am going to send you to the link I used to make the braid where the illustrations are clear and the instructions are easy to follow: How to braid challah. Go ahead, I’ll wait here.

Okay!  Now put the braid in a warm, draft-free place to rise again for another hour. My house is still quite chilly, so I covered the loaf with a big plastic container and set the whole thing over the sink filled with hot water.  Then I put a pan on top that was filled with hot water. You do what you need to!

About 10 minutes before the rising time is finished, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When the rising time is finished, whisk your egg white and brush it gently on the loaf. Add the reserved chips if desired.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap it.  Mine got a little too dark because somehow my oven shot up to 375°F or 190°C while the bread was baking. Don’t let this happen to yours! The chips got quite dark as well, but fortunately, they didn’t taste any different. Mr. Lebovitz offers the useful tip that you can insert an instant read thermometer in the middle (I poked mine in from the side so the hole wouldn’t show.) and a ready loaf will read 180°F or 82°C when it’s done.)

Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

The perfect bite, with some of each flavor!

The first warm slices were excellent with the dark chocolate perfectly complementing the rich peanut butter. If you really want to take this over the top, toast slices the next morning for breakfast and spread them with a little more peanut butter while still warm.

Looking for more chocolately bread goodness? You have come to the right place!

• Buttermilk Chocolate Quick Bread by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Chocolate Brownie Quick Bread by Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
• Chocolate Chip Challah Bread by Lora at Cake Duchess
• Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Braid by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Swirl Bread by Holly at A Baker's House
• Dark Chocolate and Prune Bread by Deepti at Bakingyummies
• Dates and Chocolate Brioche by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
• Love Me, Love Me Knots by Felice at All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Marbled Rye Bread by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Dark Chocolate Orange Bundt with Dark Chocolate Orange Glaze #BundtaMonth

Orange and chocolate are a classic combination. Using dark chocolate and whole Mandarin oranges pureed in the batter brings a sweet, yet bitter tartness to this tender crumbed cake Dark Chocolate Orange Bundt with Dark Chocolate Orange Glaze.

For the British, especially, chocolate and orange are a treasured Christmas flavor combination and many would say that a Christmas stocking without a chocolate orange is half empty.  Even if it’s full.  But I must admit that it is not something that I grew up with.  Like all great relationships, it has taken a while to grow and mature.  Rather like my love of marmalade.  And Brussels sprouts, eggplant and cooked cabbage.  And other grownup things.  Such is the British influence here that the stores in Dubai are full of all kinds of candies in chocolate and orange so it was a natural choice for this month’s theme of Holiday December!

Where do you fall on the continuum of Love it (10) and Hate it (0)?  If you are somewhere in the lower half, perhaps this delicious cake will slide your opinion up the scale.

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 mandarin oranges (about  5 1/2 oz or 155g)
1/3 cup or 75g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
1 1/2 cups or 300g sugar
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons milk
1 1/3 cups or 170g flour, plus extra for the coating the pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup or 75g dark cocoa powder

For the glaze:
5 1/4 oz or 150g dark chocolate
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
3 tablespoons canola oil

To decorate:  chocolate orange candies  and zest of one Mandarin orange

Method
Put the Mandarin oranges in a small pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil over a medium heat and then simmer for an hour.  Keep checking to make sure the oranges are always covered, adding more water if necessary, and turning them over occasionally.

Meanwhile, butter your Bundt pan and coat it well with flour.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine your flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside.

When the hour is up, remove the pot from the heat and leave the oranges in it until they are cool enough to handle.

Remove the oranges to a cutting board and preheat your oven to 350°F or 180 °C.  Use a sharp pointy knife to cut the oranges in half and use the pointy end to dig out all of the seeds

Puree both oranges, peel and all, with a hand blender, add in the milk and set aside.

With electric beaters or in your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between.

Mix in half of the flour/cocoa and beat until combined.

Pour in half of the orange/milk and beat until combined.

Look at the gorgeous color of that orange puree! 

Repeat with the rest of the flour/cocoa and then the orange/milk.

Pour your batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes then turn out on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the glaze, melt the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and add in the Grand Marnier and canola oil and stir well.  The liqueur makes the chocolate thicken up and the oil helps it become pourable again.  If you would prefer not to add alcohol to the chocolate, you can skip the oil as well and drizzle on straight melted chocolate.

Once the cake is completely cool, use a piping bag to drizzle the glaze all over the cake.  Or put it in a plastic baggie and cut a small corner off to do the same.   Add the chocolate orange slices and orange zest, if desired.

Enjoy!

I hope you have all enjoyed the past year of Bundts from our BundtaMonth group.  Our fearless leaders, Anuradha from Baker Street and Lora from Cake Duchess have decided to disband.  I’d like to thank them for their support and hard work.

Meanwhile, I’ve got one last BundtaMonth list of cakes to share!

• Candy Cane Bundt Cake from Felice at All That’s Left Are the Crumbs
• Cranberry Walnut and Ginger Holiday Bundt from Deepti at Baking Yummies
• Double Chocolate Glazed Peppermint Bundt Cake from Laura at A Spiced Life
• Gingerbread Spice Bundt Cake from Jill at  Made with Love
• Red and White Marbled Bundt from Holly A Baker’s House
• Peppermint Pound Cake from Kate at Food Babbles

Double Glazed Caramel Mocha Bundt #Bundtamonth

Double Glazed Caramel Mocha Bundt is made with cocoa and coffee for a rich mocha cake covered first with caramel glaze and then drizzled with coffee glaze.

Let me start by employing a Texas phrase:  It wasn’t my first rodeo.  My father had lived in Indonesia and Brunei so I was familiar with the five pillars of Islam.  While staying with him, I often woke up to the call to prayer, sat patiently several times a day as sitcoms were interrupted by the televised version of the call to the faithful and dodged mosque traffic and haphazard parking on Friday afternoons.  The Muslims I met were gentle people, slow to anger, quick to commiserate and ever kind. 

But when we arrived in Abu Dhabi in 1987, I hadn’t actually lived through the holy month of fasting, the concentrated, collective weeks of introspection and prayer that are Ramadan.  And I must confess that I didn’t get it even then.  As expats, we went about our daily lives, working only in the morning from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. as businesses were closed in the afternoon.  The only Muslim in my little office was the big boss who actually lived in Oman and just came to visit occasionally.  I’d rush home to prepare the cooler with drinks and barbecue essentials and we would sail off in our small Prindle catamaran to a secluded, deserted island to feast where we would not offend anyone, or be seen flouting the law.  It was against the law to eat, drink or smoke in public, or even to appear to be eating.  I was careful not to chew gum, even in my car, lest the religious police pull me over.

While I always dressed modestly, during Ramadan I was even more careful to make sure knees and shoulders were covered.  After all, as a temporary resident of the UAE, my husband’s work permit and my work permit depended on conforming.  And it was a matter of respect. 

By our second year in Abu Dhabi, I had changed jobs and was in charge of public relations at the InterContinental Hotel.  Of course, tourists don’t stop arriving just because it’s Ramadan.  In fact, special Ramadan rates increased occupancy.  The fasting month is fixed as the ninth month in a lunar calendar so it moves back about 10 days every year in our calendar.  That year it was in April, right around the Easter holidays.  And since it’s still quite cold in the United Kingdom and most of Europe in April, they came in droves and checked into our hotel looking for fun in the sun, food and drink.  Yes, I’m talking alcohol and lavish buffets.

So how do you give people a normal holiday when all the restaurants and bars have to be closed from sunrise to sunset?  You get creative. 

Restaurants were partitioned so that inside sections could be curtained off from the public eye.  A suite on an upper floor was turned into coffee and tea room, including soft drinks and water, free to hotel guests.  And, of course, room service was busier than ever.  

But the biggest change for me was quietly observing the behavior of my Muslim co-workers.  Many, especially the gardeners and maintenance guys, worked their same long hours, despite not drinking or eating (and probably suffering for lack of nicotine!) all day.  I was impressed by their ability, for the most part, to remain cheerful and dedicated to the welfare of our guests.  Hey, I get crabby when I’m hungry and thirsty.  Crabbiness didn’t seem to be an issue here.  I am not saying that fasting was easy for them.  I am just saying that perhaps the burden is eased when you are doing it for a reason you believe in.  I cannot presume to guess. 

Over the past 25 years, I have been invited many times to take part in the sunset meal, called iftar in Arabic speaking countries and buka puasa in Malaysia, to break the daily fast during Ramadan.   It is always an honor. 

Today I’ve got a Bundt cake for you, a pretty dessert for the end of any special meal. You might have guessed from the title that the BundtaMonth theme from our lovely hosts, Anuradha from Baker Street and Lora from Cake Duchess is caramel. You would be right. Be sure to scroll down and see all the other lovely Bundts we’ve baked for you this month. 

And I’d like to say a special thank you to my fellow UAE blogger, +Sally Prosser of My Custard Pie, whose recent Ramadan post started my reminiscing.

Update:  I have received a lot of comments about Ramadan and living in a Muslim country and I am grateful for every one of you who have taken the time to share your thoughts and questions.  I invite you to read a blog post by a fellow blogger who lives in the Boston area but grew up overseas. As a child of Christian missionaries, raised in predominately Muslim Pakistan, she tries to bridge the gap of understanding.  Please read her post here. 

Ingredients

For the cake:

3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan

3/4 cup or 170g sugar

1/2 cup or 100g dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 3/4 cups or 220g flour, plus more for the pan

1/4 cup or 20g special dark unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup or 120ml whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the caramel glaze:

1/4 cup or about 60g unsalted butter

1/2 cup or 100g light brown sugar, tightly packed

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/3 cup or 80ml heavy cream

1 cup or 125g confectioners’ sugar, sifted

For the coffee glaze:

1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

1/2 cup or about 60g powdered sugar

2-3 tablespoons cream

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Prepare your Bundt pan by rubbing the inside with butter or using a nonstick spray and then coating with a couple of tablespoons flour.  

Combine the flour, cocoa, instant coffee, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  In a measuring cup, add the vanilla to your measured milk.  Set both aside. 

  

Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl.

Beat in the eggs, one at time, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between.

This one's egg number 3. 

Once the eggs are fully incorporated, add half of the dry ingredients mixture and beat to mix.

Add half of the milk and beat again until mixed.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Repeat the last two steps, using the last half of the dry ingredients and the milk.   Your batter is done! Spoon it into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45-55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Remove your Bundt cake from the oven and allow to cool until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan a little.  Invert the cake on a wire rack and cool completely before starting to make the glazes.

Once your cake is cool, make the caramel glaze.  First measure and sift your 1 cup or 125g powdered sugar into a heatproof bowl.  

Cut the butter into a couple of pieces and place in a saucepan with the brown sugar, cream and salt.  After everything melts together, bring to a full, rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.   Boil for a quick minute then remove from the heat.

Pour this into your heatproof bowl with the powdered sugar and stir quickly with a wooden spoon.

Pour the glaze over your cooled cake.   Mine was a little too thick (I suspect I boiled it too long and have adjusted the boiling time here accordingly) so I ended up spreading it around further with a warm knife after pouring.  Do what you need to and make it look pretty.  Allow to set as you make the coffee glaze.

I smoothed it out even more after this. 

Put the powdered sugar for your coffee glaze and the instant coffee granules into a small mixing bowl.  Add two tablespoons of cream and stir vigorously.  I actually used a small, sturdy whisk.

Once thoroughly mixed, lift the whisk out of the glaze to see if it will drizzle successfully.  If it is too stiff, add more cream a teaspoon at a time, until it reaches drizzling consistency.  Depending on your instant coffee brand, the granules may take a while to completely dissolve.  Just keep stirring occasionally until they have.

Drizzle the coffee glaze on your cake with a small spoon or use an icing decorator bag and tip (or even a Ziploc bag with a small piece of the corner cut off.)  Allow the glaze to set.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely caramel Bundts:

• Brown Butter Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Icing by Holly from A Baker’s House
• Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Icing by Carrie from Poet In The Pantry
• Caramelized Apple Bundt Cake by Lora from Cake Duchess
• Caramel Pound Cake by Veronica from My Catholic Kitchen
• Chocolate Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel by Alice from Hip Foodie Mom
• Double Glazed Caramel Mocha Bundt by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Dulce de Leche Bundt Cake by Renee from Magnolia Days
• Dulce de Leche Swirl Pound Cake by Anuradha from Baker Street
• Orange Caramel Bourbon Bundt Cake by Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Salted Butterscotch Caramel Bundt Cake by Laura from The Spiced Life
• Salted Caramel Mini Apple Cake Bundts by Anita from Hungry Couple
• Snickers Bundt Cake by Karen from In The Kitchen with KP
• Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel Bundt Cake by Kate from Food Babbles