Celebration Cake

Just before Christmas. a friend was rushed to the hospital. It was a sudden emergency and there was a much anxiety and many prayers before we heard that he was getting better and coming home. To celebrate I wanted to make him a welcome home cake, but obviously a standard, boring cake would not suffice for an occasion of this magnitude. This had to be a champagne corks popping, fireworks going off in the sky kind of cake. I knew peanut butter and chocolate rocked his world, so I had an excuse to make this wonderful, extravagant cake I'd had in my files for a couple of years. It's got a brownie base, creamy peanut butter filling, and decadent dark ganache covering it all. What's not to love?

It's actually not that difficult to make and the steps can be stretched out over a couple of days, so I made it again for a bridal shower party for my daughter. It was a huge hit and many of the guests asked, "Is this on your blog?" Well, it is now, ladies. So get out your mixers, loosen your belts and get ready for:

Peanut Butter Celebration Cake!
adapted from a recipe on the Nestle website

Brownie base-
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 oz bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate
2 large eggs
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

PB layer-
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Ganache-
12 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate*, chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp peanut butter chips
3 Tbsp milk chocolate chips

1- Click here to get into the proper mood.

2- Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; grease.

3- Put butter and 3 oz chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute on high and stir to melt. Set aside to cool.

4 - Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, melted butter and chocolate, vanilla extract and salt. Stir till smooth and pour into prepared pan.



5 - Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake; cool for an additional 10 minutes. Invert cake onto serving platter. Remove pan and parchment; cool completely.

6- For peanut butter layer beat peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in medium bowl until combined, either by hand or with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Spread mixture on cake. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.

7 - For the ganache, heat cream in small saucepan to boiling; remove from heat. Add semi-sweet morsels; let stand 5 minutes. Stir; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until mixture is spreadable. Spread chocolate on top and sides of cake. It will seem like a lot, but pile it on and smooth it out. It'll work.

8 - Melt peanut butter and milk chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on high in intervals of 30 seconds, stirring after each interval. When the chips are melted and combined, spoon the mixture into a zip-loc plastic bag, close the bag, and snip off a tiny piece from one corner. Drizzle this mixture over the cake in a decorative pattern.

* I used bittersweet chocolate. The peanut butter layer is sweet and I liked the bittersweet and sweet playing off each other. If you're not a fan of bittersweet, use semi-sweet.




This is my entry for the Death By Chocolate Contest. If you like it, please vote for me!