Crunchy + Rich Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
One of the funnest things completed this season was this cake. This cute little choc-peanut butter cake made as both a celebration of the season + a belated treat for Jordan’s birthday. And a perfect welcome home for us as we settle back in after our European adventure. We’ve been really blessed to have had a really nice, relaxing few weekends settling back in at-home - tackling some small house projects, settling back into our routine with the dogs, getting very eager about moving out of our little apartment. And making // enjoying this bake in the process.
This is a cake that really has it all. Super chocolate-y layers that sit on top of a graham cracker + pretzel crust (my personal favorite part) with the most delish peanut butter-cheesecake layer nestled in between. And let me not forget the chopped up peanuts + peanut butter cups sandwiched right with the filling. They’re in the mix for texture (duh), but they add so much. Every forkful of cake + crust + filling + frosting (all the elements) is so genuinely good. A yummy + rich bake, and a perfect chocolate dessert that left my sweet tooth + my choco-loving husband very satisfied.
Truth be told this was a weekend bake that was all aboout redemption. I attempted to make this cake prior to our Euro trip as an early b-day cake for Jordan, but I rushed. And made errors. And the cake just didn’t turn out how I wanted so I didn’t even complete it. Lesson learned - rushing while baking is always a bad idea, so this time I took my time, was extra careful, and had a delicious belated bday cake to show for it. Saving all my learning lessons here and what steps I’ll apply next time I make this cake. This cake was so delicious it’ll absolutely be used for another bake!
Take-away: Go heavy on the filling
To put it simply - next time this cake goes down at our house, I’m aiming for a thicker filling because it’s the peanut butter-cream cheese filling of peanut butter cream cheese fillings, and a thin layer just doesn't cut it.
The filling in this cake is so freaking good! It’s for sure the shining star of the whole thing. And my biggest lesson was don’t skimp on the filling. After being burned by topsy-turvy cakes that resulted from going too heavy handed on the filling, I was conservative. I stuck a relatively thin layer of filling (mirroring the recipe I used as inspo), but wished I had more of it when eating my first piece of cake. It’s such a sturdy + thick filling, and it’s what adds the peanut butter flare to the cake, so I do feel like packing in a bit more next go around would be best. And literally all cream cheese + peanut butter, so it’s much sturdier than the usual fruit, jammy filling. Point being that I feel like you could do a fairly thick layer in the realm of 1/2 inch in thickness as long as you give the cake a solid dirty icing + plenty of time to firm up in the fridge.
Also key - making sure you pipe a solid rim of frosting around the filling to protect any leaking, and to make sure that first layer of icing goes on easy.
Chopped Peanuts + PB Cups
The fun surprise hiding the middle of the cake layers are the fresh peanuts + peanut butter cups. Crunchy + both add notes of salt + sweet chocolate. The keep is to really make sure keep some texture - not chopping up these pieces too much so they keep some texture.
Also - keep the peanuts to PB cups at like a 70/30. I love the salty-ness of the peanuts, and that just extra dose of the nutty flavor, so keeping my peanut ratio high is another take-away on my part.
The Halloween flare
The ghosts - I just couldn’t not try to do something on theme to turn it into a Halloween cake. The ghosts are just white chocolate melted in a double boiler, smeared on a piece of parchment to get their shape, and then edible marker to draw on the features. Then some gold-star-glitter and Reese’s pieces for some extra flare. Definitely looks very homemade, but it was fun to make and very enjoyed by us.
For the cake (6 inch cake pans)
2 c. crushed pretzels (use a food processor)
2 c. graham crackers (use a food processor)
1 c. melted butter + 3/4 c. butter at room temp
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
5 eggs (room temp)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. dark cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/4 c. flour
2 c. buttermilk (room temp)
1/2 c. sour cream
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
For the filling
8 oz cream cheese
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. chopped peanuts
1/4 c. chopped PB cups
For the frosting (enough to fill + frost)
3 c. butter (room temp)
9 c. powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 c. caramel
1-2 tbsp heavy cream
For decorating
White chocolate ghosts
Reese’s pieces
Gold or other Halloween covered sprinkles
Preheat the oven to 325.
Spray 3 6-inch baking baking with non-stick cooking spray, lightly dust with flour, and line with parchment.
Make the cake: In your food processor, mix the melted butter, pretzels, and graham crackers (being sure to measure out the crumbs to have a full 2 cups of each). Spread the mixture among the prepared baking trays + pack firmly - creating a solid, thin layer at the bottom of each pan. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime, combine the butter + sugar in the food processor on medium high until light + fluffy. Add in the eggs + vanilla, continuing to mix until fully incorporated. Add in the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and half of the flour. Mix on low speed, adding in half of the buttermilk. When it looks fully incorporated, add in the remainder of the flour + buttermilk, continuing to mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Turn the speed back down to low, and add in the sour cream, keeping the mixer running until fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together the vinegar + baking soda, and then stir into the batter. Mix on medium high for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Pour the batter on top of the pretzel-graham crusts, filling each cake tin about 1/2 way full. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
When the cakes have finished baking, let them cool for 30 minutes at room temperature. Flip out each cake directly onto a piece of plastic wrap - wrapping each cake in plastic + then putting them in the freezer. If the crust is crumbly - remember that it’ll firm up significantly in the freezer (just be sure not to try and trim or level the cake prior to freezing.
Make the filling: In the stand mixer, whisk the heavy cream + powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. As the mixer works its magic, mix together the cream cheese and peanut butter. When the whipped cream has formed, gently fold in the peanut butter mixture. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble.
Make the frosting: When you’re ready to start the assembly, make the frosting. Also remove your PB + cream cheese filing at the same time. Whip together the butter + powdered sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer - mixing on low until combined, then increasing the speed to medium high for 1-2 minutes. Add in the caramel + heavy cream - whip on medium high speed for another 2-3 minutes until youo have a light + airy frosting. Add in 1 tbsp of heavy cream to start, and add an additional tablespoon if you want to loosen up the texture of the frosting. Transfer some of the frosting to a piping bag (enough to fill a small piping bag), and get ready to assemble.
Steps for assembly:
Remove the cake layers from the freezer - unwrapping each from the plastic and cutting off the domed top immediately. Be super careful since cutting the layers frozen is much more difficult.
Place a small dollop of frosting on a cardboard cake tray + place the bottom cake layer crust side down right on top. Pipe a frosting border around the edge of the layer, and then spread the cream cheese layer in the center of the cake. Spread some of the chopped peanuts + PB cups on top, and drizzle with a bit of salted caramel.
Place the second layer on top of the filling, and repeat step above. Then finish by place the final layer on top.
Move to dirty ice the entire cake, then transfer to the fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove the cake, andd place a plastic disk slightly bigger than the cake on top. Spread frosting around the sides of the cake, and smooth with a flat metal scraper. Use your piping bag to fill in any holes, and continue to smooth the frosting with the scraper until you have a smooth, clean look. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
Carefully remove the plastic disk from the top of the cake, and spread a thin, even layer on top of the cake. Finish with extra piping on top (you should have extra frosting) and use the frosting to adhere any other decorations to the outside of the cake.
When you’re ready to eat, but yourself a slice to enjoy at room temp. The soft + fluffy cake layers plus the soft frosting + filling is perfect at room temp!