Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Recently, Matilda turned 8! It’s wild to say that since I started Season Generously shortly before she was born. And here we are, over 8 years later!

Well, she’s really started to grow-up into an amazing human, and certainly knows what she likes and doesn’t like. For example, about two months ago, Matilda asked me to make her birthday cake, but she had ‘requests’ – it had to be a three ‘tiered’ cake, like a wedding cake, not a layered cake, it had to be chocolate cake, it had to have peanut butter frosting and it had to be decorated. Here I thought, oh, she won’t remember this in a couple of months time, surely! Boy was I wrong! Every week leading up to her birthday, she asked me for this exact cake. So since I had already agreed to make her birthday cake, I had no choice but to learn how to make a 3-tiered layer.

First things first, I bought a small set of tiered tins. These are smaller than regular tins, but I also didn’t need a massive cake. You can make this cake with existing tins, but you would have to cut the cakes into different size rounds and it would have a lot of waste – although, some would say cake waste is just a chef’s snack! These are the tins I bought. My biggest suggestion when using these pans is to make sure they’re WELL greased or your cake will stick.

After that, I decided to pull the cake recipe from this cookbook and the frosting & ganache from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I wanted a light and airy cake, but one that was also stable enough to stack. All of these cakes, frosting and ganache worked so well together and in the end, it was a chocolate lovers dream cake! Matilda was just thrilled and we’ve been enjoying the cake all week!

Another year of birthday cake baking in the books! What’s your favorite cake to bake? Let me know in the comments below. Happy baking!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Servings: 12-14
Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes + cooling time
Difficulty: medium
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Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 1 2/ cups whole milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil (I use Avocado oil)
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs

Peanut Butter Frosting

3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups creamy peanut butter
1 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature

Chocolate Ganache

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bar, finely chopped (don’t use chocolate chips here – it won’t taste right)
1 cup heavy cream
Optional: chopped or mini peanut butter cups

Directions

Start first by making the cakes: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 cake tins very well.
Combine chocolate, milk, and water in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring until the chocolate is melted. Whisk until smooth, then let cool.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt through a sieve into a small bowl. Set aside.
Beat the butter in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the oil, both sugars, and vanilla and beat until fluffy (another 4 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the melted chocolate mixture. Beat until just combined.
Pour mixture into pans evenly and bake about 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool 20 minutes before removing from tins to cool on a cooling rack. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.
Next, make the peanut butter frosting: using a mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until completely combined, about 1–2 minutes. Mixture will be thin. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and then pour in the heavy cream with the mixer running on low speed. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for 1–2 minutes, or until fully combined and creamy.
Make the ganache: place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil—that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2–3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. With a metal spoon or small rubber spatula, very slowly stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Ganache is thin. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream.
To assemble the cake: place 1 cake layer on your cake stand. Using a spatula, evenly cover the top with about 1 cup peanut butter frosting. Repeat with 2nd and 3rd cake layers, spreading about 1/2 – 1 cup of peanut butter frosting in between each layer.
Pour/spoon thickened ganache on cake. Garnish with peanut butter cups, if desired. Serve cake immediately or chill, uncovered, for up to 4–6 hours before serving. Cake can be served at room temperature or chilled. Enjoy!