Keanu Charles Reeves turned 60 today.
Crazy, right?
It all started less than a year ago, when I traveled back from Israel to NY.
I needed to choose something to watch on this long flight. Not as easy task for me. I usually watch tons of trailers and at the end lose interest in watching anything at all. I started scrolling and came across the “John Wick” sequel – 4 movies.
I didn’t even hear of them before, since action movies are not my thing. I decided to go for it anyway because it meant I will not need to choose another movie for the rest of the flight. I watched all of them and ended the flight with a severe case of celebrity crash.
Fun fact, my husband returned back from Israel a week later and told me he watched the same movies on his way back. He did watched them before, but it didn’t stop him from watching them again. He was surprise I watched action movies and even more surprised that I never heard of “John Wick” before. Seriously, I don’t know under which rock I was living, not to even hear about them.
Anyway, since that flight, I started researching him. I learned so much about him over the last year and that just made me a bigger fan. I especially loved learning what a kind and down to earth person he is.
I listened to the amazing podcast “cool breeze over the mountains” that covers ALL of his movies in such a fun and witty way – I highly recommend it.
https://podcasts.apple.com/…/cool-breeze…/id1450746309
I learned that other than acting he also enjoys reading, playing bass guitar and riding motorcycles. He published 2 books and comic book series, own a motorcycle company name “Arch” that designs the most amazing looking bikes ever and play bass guitar in a band name Dogstar.
In the last year I’ve been to 2 of their concerts, last one was only few weeks ago where I got the guitar pick from him at the end of the show. Epic.
So today I want to celebrate him, on his special day and wish him health and happiness for many more years to come. I decided to make a cake especially for him. I know he loves PB and ice cream so I combined them both to one cake and covered it in chocolate, because who doesn’t love choclate, right?
So let’s get started
INGRIDIENTS
For the sandwich cookies:
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
300 gr chocolate
2 sticks butter (225gr)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs at room temperature
1 cup sugar
For the ice cream:
3/4 cup roasted peanuts – divided
2 cups cold heavy cream (500cc)
2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can condensed milk (14 fl oz/395fr)- preferably cold
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1 container mascarpone cheese (8oz/226gr)at room temperature
1/4 cup dulce de leche/ caramel sauce
For topping:
150gr choclate
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 cup chopped peanuts from earlier 
1 or 2 10inch/26cm springform pan
Preheat your oven to 340°F or 170°C
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the cookies:
Line 1 or 2 pans in parchment paper and spray with oil.
Mix all the dry ingridients in a small bowl – flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
In a double boiler melt choclate and butter. Remove from heat and mix in vanilla extract. Set aside.
Place eggs and sugar in a medium bowl and whip using a hand mixer, till light and puffy.
While mixing, add the chocolate mixture gradually till well combined.
Sift the dry ingredients on top of the batter and fold, using a large spatula, till well combined.
Pour half the mixture in each pan. If you only got one pan, bake in 2 batches.
Bake for 14-15 min.
The cookies will look dry on top with some cracks. It will be slightly firm on the sides and softer in the middle. It will get firmer as it cool. Remove carefully from the pan, cover and place in the freezer.
Make the ice cream:
Line the pan with parchment paper at the bottom and cake collar on the sides. If you don’t have a collar, use paper on the sides too. Oil spray the entire pan.
Using a knife (not the food processor) chop the peanuts. Keep 1/4 cup of the finer chopped peanuts for the topping.
In a medium bowl, whip heavy cream, vanilla pudding and vanilla extract on high speed till you reach soft peaks.
In a large bowl, using the same whisks (no need to wash) whip peanut butter, condensed milk and mascarpone cheese till well combined.
Add the whipped cream and fold gently, with a large spatula, till well combined.
Remove 1/4 cup of the finer chopped peanuts and set aside for the topping.
Fold the rest of the peanuts in till combined.
Pour half the mixture to the pan.
Place the caramel in a piping bag and pipe it on top of the mixture in the pan in a spiral shape.
Pour the rest of the ice cream mixture on top and smooth the top.
Cover and freeze for 8 hours.
Prep the topping:
When it’s time to assemble the cake, melt chocolate and heavy cream in a double boiler.
Remove from the heat and mix in corn syrup.
Let it cool till it is no longer super hot and runny, but not too cold either.
Pour the chocolate to a piping bag and take the cookies and ice cream out of the freezer.
Remove the ice cream from the springform and peel the sides.
Place one cookie on top of the ice cream, and your serving plate on top of the cookie.
Hold the serving plate in one hand and with the other hand flip the ice cream and remove the bottom of the pan.
Gently peel the parchment paper and place the other cookie on top of it.
Cut the tip of the piping bag and pipe the chocolate on top.
You can let some chocolate drip to the sides, by piping a little extra at points along the rim.
Scatter the chopped peanuts in a ring along the rim, and place back in the freezer for 1 hr or till ready to serve.
If the cake is too frozen to cut, keep it in room temperature for 5-10 minutes and slice.
Enjoy 
Leave a Reply