Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Yum

You may not believe this, but as a kid, I didn’t care for peanut butter. I didn’t like Reese’s cups. I hated PB&J.  Chocolate peanut butter was my all time most yucky combo.

And then, something changed.  I became an adult. I got some sense. Somewhere along the way I tried it again . . . and the heavens opened, and the angels sang.  This cake is quick and easy, thanks to starting with a boxed cake mix. And it’s so delicious and elegant that no one will ever know you saved some time.  Chocolate Peanut Butter fans rejoice.  You have found your oyster. 😉

What are we waiting for?  Let’s do this!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

(Adapted from Betty Crocker)

Ingredients:

1 boxed yellow cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Chocolate Peanut Butter Icing Ingredients:

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Chopped Peanuts for sprinkling on top (optional)

Directions:

Whisk together your cake mix, water, peanut butter, oil, and eggs until well blended.  Remove 1/2 the batter to a separate mixing bowl and stir in melted semi sweet chips.  Layer batters in a greased 10 cup bundt pan (more on this in a moment) and make a few swirl marks in the batter with a knife, if desired, to marble the colors.  Bake cake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until cake springs back lightly when touched and passes the toothpick test.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

To make Chocolate Peanut Butter Icing, melt your chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each heat (it took me about 1.5 minutes to get them melted).  The chocolate does not have to be hot– just melted and warm. Stir in peanut butter until smooth.  Smooth over cooled cake and topped with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Now, in pictures! 🙂

This recipe is one of those super quick and easy ones that you love to have in your arsenal. No one has to know that it’s a dressed up cake mix . . . because when we’re done with it, this little baby will look like it’s headed out to prom, and no one will ever know the difference. 😉

Basically, this recipe is so easy that it won’t take any time at all to explain what to do.  Put all your cake ingredients except for chocolate chips in the bowl of your stand mixer.  Beat them until combined.  Done.

Next, melt your chocolate chips in the microwave. Every 30 seconds give them a good stir. It takes me about 1-1.5 minutes to melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. You don’t need the chocolate to be hot– just melted and warm.  Stir the melted chocolate into 1/2 of the peanut butter batter.  Try saying “peanut butter batter” three times fast.  Peanutbutterbatterpeanutbutterbatterpeanutbutttaaaawhaaaa???

There you go. Now we have half of our batter nice and CHOCOLATEYYYYY.  Excellent. You’re so smart. I love working with you.

Now, it’s time to grease up our bundt pan.  I use PAN GREASE to grease bundts.  This was a tip a friend recently let me in on, and now I will never use anything else– no more sticking bundt pans for me!  Here’s how to make it:

“Pan Grease” = equal parts shortening, oil, and flour, blended together.  Store in fridge and apply with pastry brush to the bundt pan’s cracks and crevices before baking.

And since using this formula, I have never had even the most intricate bundt pan stick anymore.  It’s magic.  😉  Layer your chocolate and peanut butter batters in the pan-greased pan, and use a butter knife to make a few swirls.  This will just kind of make the cake swirly and pretty, but you don’t have to swirl if you don’t want to. It’s a free country. I won’t tell the bundt police.  😉

Bake your cake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until it springs back lightly when touched and passes the toothpick test.  When it’s done let it sit for 5ish minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.   While that’s happening, let’s work on our chocolate peanut butter icing.  Melt your chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each time.  It takes me about 1 1/2 minutes of melting and stirring to get everything nice and melted.  After the chocolate is smooth and warm, add in your peanut butter and stir together.  Perfect.  You’re a genius. Does the world know this about you? They should!  😉

When the cake cools, use an offset spatula to swirl on the icing.  There isn’t really a right or wrong way to do this– just kind of swirl it on there making a “C” shape as you go.  It will be beautiful no matter how it turns out.

When you get the icing swirled to your satisfaction, go ahead and sprinkle on some chopped peanuts.  They add a little crunch and just look so PURDY.  😉

You don’t have to refrigerate this cake, but I usually pop it into the fridge if it’s an especially warm day. You essentially have a melted peanut butter cup on top of there, and you don’t want things getting too messy.

So cut into this gorgeous, marbled beauty.  Take in the decadent chocolate PB icing. The gorgeous colors and swirls.  Your cute little peanut topping.

Pour yourself a big glass of milk and have a slice. Let the world stop. Just savor and enjoy it in that very moment.  Marvelous, isn’t it?

You did it. And I’m just so proud of you.

 

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