Weight Loss Special

Okay...just kidding! If you thought this post was about weight loss...you are sadly mistaken. It's all about this beautiful wonderful Peanut Butter Cup Cake I made this weekend. We were going to dinner and a playdate with some friends and my friend just had her birthday and because of the holiday I missed it. So...thought i'd bring dessert. And she likes peanut butter cups and I like peanut butter cups and I recently saw this post on Bakerella's blog. Have you seen this blog? One of the coolest foodies blogs out here! So many amazing foods and the photos she takes are amazing, too! Anyway, had to try out this cake.

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
1 box (18.25 ounces) devil's food
cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped chocolate-covered 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

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line with waxed paper; coat paper.

2. 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.

3. 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 and cool completely.

4. 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.

5. Trim top of cake layers flat with a serrated knife. Put 1 cake layer on cooling rack and place on a baking sheet. Pour 1 cup frosting on top; spread evenly with a spatula. Top with remaining cake layer. Pour remaining frosting over the top, allowing it to spill over the sides. Smooth top and sides with spatula. Refrigerate 1 hour to set. Transfer cake to serving plate and garnish with chopped candy, if desired.

I made the 9 inch cake rounds on Thursday night. Frosted it on Friday night and put it in the fridge. I used more than a sprinkling of peanut butter cups on top, I went a bit overboard. Actually, I don't think it's possible to go overboard with peanut butter cups. You can see the frosting slid a bit and isn't perfect on the sides, but I did my best trying to smooth things out.
I was a bit freaked out about it melting all over the back of my car Saturday, as I had an hour drive to our dinner/playdate. But it survived in tact!




It was delicious! It was almost too rich and chocolately to finish, but by golly I finished my piece. Didn't want to be struck down by the rich and sinfully chocolately gods for not finishing my cake. Thankfully, I left the remainder of the cake with my girlfriend or else I might have eaten it for breakfast. She probably did!