Sunday, October 05, 2008

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Well, we did it. Conor and I made the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. Mmmmmmm it is very good. Very rich, but very good.

Here's my helper:


No one else was home, it was just me and Conor. So we went for it!


First, we mixed the dry ingredients together.

Then we added the sour cream and oil.

Slowly started mixing it,

and slowly added the water.

Then we mixed in the eggs. Conor was the one pouring all this stuff, leaving me free to take the pictures. :)
I poured it into a separate bowl so I could see how many cups there were of batter. I do not have an 8" pan, so I decided to do just a double layer cake with a 10" pan. I also needed my mixing bowl to start on the icing.

Mmmmm cream cheese icing. With peanut butter. How can anyone resist? We creamed together the butter and cream cheese.

Then added the powdered sugar and mixed it well.

Next we measured the peanut butter. In the Wonder Cup I've had for years. For anyone who bakes and uses shortening or peanut butter, this is a must have. Sooooo much better than measuring and having to scrape it out of a cup. You just set the yellow part to the measurement you want,
Then push it out into the bowl (or whatever you are using).
Scrape it off, and there you go!
Mix it all together.
And set it aside to wait for the cakes to finish cooling. Or in my case, to finish baking since they had to share that one pan...
Next for the chocolate glaze:

Put the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and corn syrup into the top pan of a double boiler. If you don't know what a double boiler is, you just fill one sauce pan with water, then put a smaller pan on top that will be heated with the boiling water instead of direct heat. Yeah, you can buy an actual double boiler, but... the two pans work just as well and that is what I have used all my life.

Whisk it together until smooth... or so it said...

Mine got a little too hot and wasn't exactly smooth, but it worked out anyway when I added the half and half.

Then you just have to assemble:




Conor left to go spend the night with my mom before the assembly, so it was all me.



And it was all me when it came to the clean up part as well.

Where are the kids when you NEED them? *sigh* Note the spatula I used to spread the chocolate glaze? That would have been cleaned off by Jeff or Conor had they been there.


I cut a few pieces and took them to my mom's house. Hey, I'm not gonna eat all that cake. ;) And she had all the kids who need chocolate. Especially when they are at her house and not mine!

Here are the ingredients and measurements:
Cake:
Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder,
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
Peanut butter icing:
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)
Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well! Guess who got a big ol' piece of this cake? I got a piece hand delivered tonight by the two bakers themselves - I feel so honored!

Not wanting to share, (oops, did I say that out loud?) I scurried into the kitchen as soon as I got my hands on it to save for "later" (read: as soon as they left!).

I took the foil off of it and sat down in the living room with the average-sized piece that Katie promised would be "two". Huh. I think I can handle the whole thing.

Wow! you better believe it will be two pieces!! Maybe three pieces because I started at the pointy end and didn't make it very far! It is just scrumptious and so good I hated to quit. I decided I'd better save some for tomorrow but only because my upper lip was starting to sweat!

Man!! is that stuff good and rich...and rich!!!

Fantastic cake, Katie and Conor! And thanks for the visit, I loved seeing you both!

love you, Barb/Nana

Anonymous said...

P.S. Really great pictures Katie! And I think "somebody" needs an apron with his own name on it for his birthday in December!

b

Anonymous said...

We loved it too. Very rich. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Ok, I'm gonna start crying now...tear, tear...

pearlsandchocolate.com said...

Now I am so hungry!!! That looks great!

Anonymous said...

That looks delicious! I want a piece!