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Monday, February 1, 2010

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake

It doesn't happen very often, but I was really craving a cake recently. I wasn't interested in heading to the store for any ingredients. I just wanted a basic cake with some creamy frosting. I was confident I could find something I liked to match those cravings!

I did find a tasty recipe on Dinner & Dessert for this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, and I had everything on hand to make it! From the sound of the ingredients, I knew it would very very rich, and that's exactly what I was looking for.
As mentioned on Dinner & Dessert, there was not enough batter in this recipe to spread across three 9x2 pans, so I decided to just put this in one 8x8 pan.

2 ounces unsalted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
3 ounces creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter chips or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325F.
Grease two 9 x 1 1/2 inch pans. Line your bottoms with parchment. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix together brown sugar, peanut butter and butter for two minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and mix for another 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and mix for another minute.

Add half of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated about 20 seconds. Then add the sour cream, mixing again for 20 seconds. Gradually add the remaining flour mixture. Add the hot water in a slow, steady stream and mix on low to combine, about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and mix for another 10 seconds. Add the peanut butter chips and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Divide the cake batter into the prepared pans, spreading it evenly. Bake for about 22 minutes. If you have 4 inch diameter tart pans like I used, it takes the same amount of time to bake the cake, if not a few more minutes. Use a knife to see if it is done.

Frost tops and sides of cake with frosting.

Chocolate Peanut Butter
Frosting Source: adapted from CD Kitchen

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup cocoa
16 ounces powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Combine butter, milk, and cocoa in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients; beat at medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth.

My sous chef and I also shared this with a couple of friends, and we all thought it was delicious! Granted, as I mentioned, this is extremely rich, so this cake goes a long way. You don't need a large piece to satisfy your appetite, but it is certainly delicious!

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