Prep: 120 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 2 hours 30 minutes
Two layers of chocolate cake covered in peanut butter frosting.
Ingredients
Chocolate cake
- 280 grams (2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 80 grams (1 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 300 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 240 ml (1 cup) hot water
Peanut butter frosting
- 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 250 grams (1 cup) smooth peanut butter
- 435 grams (3 and 1/2 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons full fat or whole milk
- 150 grams (1 cup) Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped in half
Instructions
- Chocolate cake
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with baking or parchment paper. - In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Then add the sugars. Whisk together.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs. Whisk together. Boil the kettle and pour out 1 cup of hot water and set aside.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Start to fold together, slowly pour in the hot water, and continue to mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the mixture into two cake tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave for 10 minutes before gently removing the cakes from their tins and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Peanut butter frosting
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and peanut butter on a medium speed until creamy and smooth. Sift in half the icing sugar. Add a tablespoon or two of milk to help loosen up the mixture. - Add the rest of the icing sugar and continue to beat until creamy. Add a tablespoon of milk as needed. You want a thick and creamy frosting. If it’s too thick, add a touch more milk.
- Trim the tops of your cakes using a serrated knife, so they are nice and flat. Cover the first cake layer with a generous amount of frosting on top and spread it out, going right to the edges.
- Place the remaining chocolate cake layer upside down on top. Then gently frost the sides and top of the cake using a spatula. Use a cake scraper to gently remove extra frosting from the sides. Top with Peanut Butter Cups.
Category: DessertCuisine: American