Mini Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake

 

A mini version of my famous low carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake! And a review of the new Panasonic Countertop Induction Oven. This post is sponsored by Panasonic. #myCIO #CES2017

There are a few things you should know about me. One is that I have an obsession with new kitchen appliances and gadgetry. The other is that I am never going to turn down an invitation to visit Napa Valley. If you happen to put these two things together and, say, invite me to Napa for the unveiling of a new and innovative kitchen appliance, you’ve pretty much got me. I am putty in your hands. Which is exactly what happened a few months ago, for the launch of the new Panasonic Countertop Induction Oven at the Culinary Institute of America. Napa was sunny and gorgeous, the wine and food were amazing, and the countertop induction oven (CIO for short) was astonishing. Yup, I was putty.

Now, you might be thinking that you’ve heard of induction cooktops. You may even own one. But the heck is an induction oven? How does that even work? Don’t you need special pans and cookware for it? Well, yes and no. It’s the first of its kind and as I watched it in action, I was really quite intrigued. This isn’t some fancy toaster oven. It’s larger and more comprehensive than that, but it’s still compact enough to sit on your kitchen counter. It heats primarily through an induction bottom surface, but it also has broiling elements in the top. You can roast, toast, broil, bake…and grill. The accompanying die-cast aluminum grill pan works like a stellar indoor grill so you can get that wonderful grilled flavour all year round. The grill pan also allows you to use other metal and glass pans and bakeware in the oven because it conducts the heat from the induction surface. It’s really is a small multi-purpose oven. And using induction technology, it heats quickly and evenly.

At the end of our stay in Napa, our Panasonic hosts revealed that all of the attendees were going to receive our own CIO. I admit, I may have squealed a little bit and I wasn’t alone in making that noise. Watching chefs from the Culinary Institute create lovely dishes in the induction oven was fun, of course, but I wanted to try it out for myself. So there it sits now, on my counter, and I am having so much fun. We grilled burgers and steak the other night and they were juicy and delicious. I toasted some soul bread for our breakfast the next morning. Then I decided I had to try baking with it, because that was one feature they didn’t show us in Napa and you know I can’t live without baking. If this was going to be worthy of some of my kitchen counter space, I’d better be able to bake in it.

What better thing to bake than one of my mini cakes? Obviously this is not a full size oven, although it does easily fit a 9×9 baking pan or a circular cake pan (I checked almost the moment I took it out of the box). But for me, the beauty of a countertop oven is that I don’t have to heat up my big conventional oven for something small. And since I’ve been planning a mini version of my famous low carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake, this seemed like a natural fit. It really worked out well. The cakes baked in a shorter time than they would in my oven, and they rose perfectly. I used my ceramic ramekins set onto the grill pan without any problems.

Admittedly, it’s not an inexpensive piece of equipment, but it holds great promise. I was saying to my husband how ideal this would be for someone in a small apartment or for a vacation cabin or trailer, as it’s space-saving and cooks whole meals for 2 to 4 easily . It’s also perfect for someone such as myself, who has a large oven but bakes and cooks so much that she maxes out her oven space frequently. The grill function is truly unique among countertop ovens, and I think it’s perhaps my favourite part. Grill 4 burgers and some veggies all in the same pan at any time of year. Then bake yourself a mini Peanut Butter Layer Cake. Dinner is served!

Available online at Williams-Sonoma, Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon and Panasonic. It is currently being showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show, going on now. Check it out and follow along with hashtags #myCIO and #CES2017

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake

A mini version of my famous low carb Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake!

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 305kcal

Ingredients

Cake:

• ¼ cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon unflavoured whey protein powder
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 large egg
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 1 ½ ounces cream cheese softened
• 2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon butter softened
• 2 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
• ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 tablespoon whipping cream

Chocolate Ganache:

• 3 tablespoon whipping cream
• ½ ounce unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
• Additional cream if necessary

Instructions

Cake:

• Preheat countertop induction oven (or a conventional oven) to 325F and grease 2 (two) 4-inch ramekins or mini cake pans well.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
• Whisk in butter, egg, and vanilla extract. If your batter is too thick to spread, whisk in a tablespoon of water.
• Divide between prepared baking dishes and bake 10 minutes for the Countertop Induction Oven (or 12 to 15 minutes for a conventional oven). Let cool in pans. If your cake layers have domes, slice the tops off to make them flat and even.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

• In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and butter until well combined. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract, then beat in the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a spreadable consistency is achieved.
• Place one layer of the cake on a plate and spread with about ⅓ of the frosting. Add the second layer and spread the top with another ⅓ of the frosting. Spread the remaining frosting over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache:

• In a small bowl, heat the whipping cream until quite hot (you can do this in the microwave or you can heat the cream in a small pan... it's such a small amount, watch carefully!).
• Add the chocolate and sweetener and let sit a few minutes to melt, then whisk until smooth. If your ganache is very thick, add about 2 teaspoon more cream and whisk until it is pourable. Pour over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.

Notes

Serves 4. Each serving has 4.19g NET CARBS.

Food energy: 305kcal
Total fat: 27.07g
Calories from fat: 243
Cholesterol: 60mg
Carbohydrate: 6.43g
Total dietary fiber: 2.24g
Protein: 7.12g

Nutrition Facts

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 305 Calories from Fat 244

% Daily Value*

Fat 27.1g42%

Cholesterol 60mg20%

Carbohydrates 6.4g2%

Fiber 2.2g9%

Protein 7.1g14%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Many thanks to Panasonic for partnering with me to bring you this recipe.