Devilish Peanut Butter Cake

I made this Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake for my husband’s birthday. It is an homage to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – which my family and I love – but which are incredibly hard to get in the UK. At least you can get them some places now, not like when I first came to England and folks over here didn’t even know they existed. I know, how can you not have Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?

I was craving them when I made this and was unable to get them – hence the Terry’s Chocolate Oranges decorating the top of the cake. Actually, they were a really tasty addition, but if I could get hold of some Peanut Butter Cups I would quarter them and use them instead – sort of studding them over the top of the cake, pointy side up. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I used my own Devil’s Food Cake recipe for the cake (hence the ‘Devilish’ in the title) and found an amazing recipe for Peanut Butter Icing at All Recipes. Seriously, if you like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you need to make this cake!

For the cake:-

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups white sugar (caster for preference, but granulated will do)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
3 large eggs, preferably free range
2¼ cups all-purpose (plain) flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
2 generous pinches of salt
1 1/3 cups milk

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (about 170℃).

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together into a bowl. Set aside.

Cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and cream together. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the flour mixture. Add the milk and beat until you have a smooth batter.

Divide the mixture evenly between the cake pans and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until a skewer or piece of raw spaghetti inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pans for about twenty minutes before turning out. Cool on a wire rack.

Frost with Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting from Allrecipes.com.

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
(I used about 2 tablespoons and that was plenty)

Cream the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the sugar. Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is a good spreading consistency.