Follow Me on Pinterest The Cupcake Files: April 2012

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Peanut buttercup cake




Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 cups hot coffee
3 Cups Sugar
2 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (shaken very well)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 ounces of high quality semi-sweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
In a large bowl sift all dry ingredients and sugar together.
in a small bowl pour hot coffee over semi-sweet chocolate, whisk together until chocolate is melted.
in a large bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer for 3 minutes, add oil, vanilla, buttermilk and coffee/chocolate mixture.  Beat on medium for 2 minutes.
Add sifted dry ingredients to wet mixture and beat on medium speed until well combined.
grease 2, 8 inch round cake pans and put a circle of parchment or wax paper in the bottom of each pan.  Pour 3 1/2 cups of batter in each pan (I make cupcakes with the left over batter)
Bake on 300 degrees for 1 hour-1 hour and 5 minutes.  At about the 1 hour mark, check cakes with a toothpick, if tooth pick comes out mostly clean, the cakes are done.
Allow to cool IN the pans.  Take a knife, loosen the cake from the sides of the pans and once totally cooled, you can invert the pans onto wire racks and allow to cool for any additional time.


Peanut butter buttercream
2 sticks  unsalted butter (softened)
6 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
beat butter until it is light and fluffy...Add milk and vanilla.  Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.  Whip for a few minutes, then add the peanut butter.  Continue to mix for 3 minutes.
Chocolate buttercream frosting
1 stick unsalted butter
2/3 cup Cocoa powder
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream butter, add milk and vanilla.  Add cocoa powder.  Add powdered sugar 1 cup at time. mix until fluffy.
Chocolate ganache-
4 ounches of dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Heat together in microwave for about 30-45  seconds.  Whisk together, until all chocolate is melted and ganache is glossy.
Assembly of cake
Put one cake round on serving plate or cake board flat side up.  Top with half of the peanut butter buttercream and chopped Reese's Cups (about 5 Reese's cups) .
Stack the other cake round ontop flat side up.  Frost with chocolate frosting.  Using a pastry bag fitted with the Wilton 1M tip and with peanut butter buttercream in the bag, with a medium pressure squeeze out dollops of the frosting on top of cake and as cake border.
With a whisk, drizzle ganache all over top of cake and on sides.  Cut Reese's Cups in half and place halves on top of cake.