Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Or Happy Birthday to my husband and Happy Mother’s Day!  I realize this post is a bit late coming but there really isn’t any good excuse other than it got buried in all the other posts waiting.

I made this cake for my husband’s birthday but also for my Mom who was coming down to have dinner with my husband and I before she and Lance headed out for Mexico the next morning.   My husband loves anything that has peanut butter in it and when I showed him this cake I had to file it away for his birthday cake or another special event involving him.

This cake was delicious but oh so rich!  The chocolate cake was so nice and moist.  I think my favorite part of the whole cake was the yummy peanut butter frosting.  I had so much fun decorating this cake from frosting it to putting on the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on it.  I’m so glad that it wasn’t just my husband and I eating this cake for dessert that night because it would have taken us weeks to finish it.

This cake does take some time to create but it is so worth it!  Enjoy!

This fabulous recipe popped up in my Google Reader and I have found that I’m always oogling over things on Annie’s blog.  Go check out the yummy treats on Annie’s Eats.

Reese’s Cup Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

source: Annies Eats blog

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (optional)

For decorating:
1 ½ – 2 batches peanut butter frosting
miniature Reese’s cups, halved and/or chopped

Directions:
For the cake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9×2” round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Place the pans on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until thoroughly blended into the butter. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk; add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 (beginning and ending with the dry ingredients). Mix each addition only until it is blended into the batter. Scrape down the bowl and add the melted chocolate, if using, folding it in with a spatula. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 26-30 minutes or until the cakes feel springy to the touch and start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Transfer to wire racks to cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a cardboard circle covered in foil. Spread peanut butter frosting on top of the cake layer. (If desired, sprinkle with chopped Reese’s cups.) Place the second cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost the top and outside of the cake with remaining peanut butter frosting. Decorate with halved and chopped Reese’s cups as desired.

Source: inspiration from Smells Like Home, cake from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, frosting from Ina Garten