Thursday, March 11, 2010

Food For Friday: Peanut Butter Fudge Cake from Bakerella

When I first saw this recipe on Bakerella, I just knew I had to try it.  I love peanut butter cups and chocolate, so the rich chocolate and peanut butter of this dessert sounded delicious.  It did not disappoint!  The only change I made to the recipe was in adding the icing.  Rather than spreading the ganache icing on the sides of the cake, I allowed it to drip over the sides for a different look.
 


Ingredients:

1 box Duncan Hine's devil's food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2  cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped Reese's peanut butter cups (about 8 ounces), plus more to garnish
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter



Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.  Trace the pan on wax paper and cut out a round to fit into the bottom of each pan.  Lay wax paper circle in the bottom and coat paper with another layer of nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high; beat for 2 minutes, scraping down side of the bowl after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 34 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let layers cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto wire racks, peel off the wax paper, and cool completely.

Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium-size bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

Put 1 cake layer on the serving dish or cake plate. Pour 1 cup frosting on top; spread evenly with a spatula. Top with remaining cake layer.  If your cakes are really rounded on top, you may need to trim top off with a serrated knife to flatten.  Pour remaining frosting over the top, allowing it to spill over the sides. Smooth top and with a spatula, allowing extra to run down the sides.  Refrigerate 1 hour to set. Garnish with chopped candy, if desired.

*Note, the 1 hour refrigeration step is important to keep the top layer from sliding off the bottom layer, especially if you are going to travel with the cake!
You can also use 2 six inch pans, and make 8 cupcakes, with the batter.  Use 2 cups of batter in each 6 inch pan, and fill 8 cupcake liners 3/4 full.

2 comments:

Christy said...

OH MY!!!

My all-time favorite food combination... peanut butter and chocolate!!!

Have a great weekend!

Dawn said...

You know anything from Bakerella is going to be good. As you probably saw on my recent blog posts, we are fans of chocolate and peanut butter. I'll definitely give this one a try!