Happy 21st Birthday Cake!

August 1st my daughter turned 21 years old. It’s hard to believe how quickly the years go by. It seemed like just yesterday that I gave birth to her in literally just 30 minutes. Although painful and without anytime for pain killers it was quick.

In celebration of her birthday we decided we’d go out for dinner and then come home for dessert and drinks. My daughter had decided on a chocolate layer cake and then we found another cake that sounded interesting. It was a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. Although this cake was more complicated we decided to try it.

The ingredients are by far the most fattening I’ve ever made and in my opinion a heart attack waiting to happen. But we decided to go ahead and splurge. Afterall, it’s not everyday you turn 21 years old.

The cake turned out really pretty and looked delicious! In fact if you love Butterfingers then you’ll love this cake because it’s one HUGE Butterfinger. However, we all had different opinions on the taste and combination of flavors.

Three out of five of us who had the cake thought that the chocolate peanut butter filling was too much. In fact, instead of using 1/2 cup of the peanut butter I think that 1/4 cup would have been sufficient or left out altogether. I also thought that the filling alone would be great as a fondue served with pound cake prior to placing it into the refrigerator to set as it states in the recipe below. The other 2 tasters loved the filling and the cake.

The cream cheese icing everyone agree was delicious! In fact, a couple of tasters thought it would have even been great used as the filling as well as the icing.

The cake tasted just like a butterfinger and most of us thought that the 3 flavors together didn’t go well but any 2 combinations would work.

Funny thing is, after we all tasted it and gave our opinions the cake got nibbled on day after day. Today, August 3rd, I looked in the refrigerator when I woke up this morning and there’s a huge dent in this enormous cake. So even though the cake got mixed reviews, there’s something that’s addictive about it that keeps everyone going back for more.

Here’s the recipe below. Try the entire recipe or use portions of it or add some of your own special touches. It took two days to make it but was very simple even with the lists of ingredients.

My sons birthday is on August 17th so we’re going to try making the Chocolate Layer cake, the other cake alternative.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
(serves 12-15)

Filling:

2 1/4 cups heavy cream 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup natural peanut butter

Batter:

2 3/4 cups flour 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons baking powder 2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda 4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 1 cup buttermilk

Frosting:

12 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar 3/4 cup powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 2 Butterfingers, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan, bring cream and brown sugar to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Let stand for a minute before whisking until smooth. Whisk in peanut butter. Chill filling, uncovered, overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For batter, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt In a separate bowl, beat butter and peanut butter. Beat in brown sugar and eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 4 additions, alternating with buttermilk. Divide batter among (3) three 8 1/2-inch round cake pans coated with non-stick spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cakes for about 5 minutes before removing from pans.

For frosting, beat cream cheese, 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. In another bowl whisk cream and 3/4 cup powdered sugar to firm peaks. Fold in cream cheese mixture. Chill 1 hour or until firm but spreadable.

To assmble, divide filling among and spread over two cake layers. Stack layers, placing thrid layer, bottom side up, on top. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle and press chopped Butterfingers over top and sides of cake.

Enjoy!

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4 comments

  1. Ciao Vicky! Chocolate and peanut butter…that’s a bomb, but sounds so yummi!

  2. It wasn’t really a bomb. I just think that the peanut butter filling was a bit too much. If you added just 1/4 cup for the filling I think it would be 1000 times better.

    Like I mentioned, the cake has been nibbled on since I made it. In fact there’s just about 1/4 of the cake left. We’ve all been doing our share of nibbling too.

  3. I tried the recipe as you described it step by step and I must admit it turned out to be amazing. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe with us. I’ll keep on making the cake at home on a regular basis.

  4. I’m so happy to hear you made this and loved it. Thank you for sharing your comments. I appreciate it.

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