The ultimate choc / peanut butter cake. A moist chocolate layer cake with smooth peanut butter cream cheese frosting. This recipe will make a two layered cake or 18 cupcakes. The picture shows a four layer cake, so you will need to double the recipe if you want a larger cake.
Grease two x 20cm round cake pans and line with baking paper
Preheat oven to 180C
In a medium mixing bowl, using a hand whisk, beat eggs, vanilla extract and oil
Add sour cream, coffee and water.
In a separate bowl, sift flour, bicarb soda, baking powder, sugar and cocoa. Whisk dry ingredients with a hand whisk until well combined.
Pour wet mixture into dry mix and whisk carefully until well combined.
Pour half of the mixture into each prepared cake tin.
Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for about 25 - 30 min or until firm to touch and a skewer comes out clean. Cool cakes for about ten minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.
In an electric mixer on medium speed, add 125g chopped salted butter
Add 125g cream cheese. Mix until light and fluffy, about two minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Turn mixer onto low speed and add 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter. I always use unprocessed peanut butter which tastes amazing
Keeping the mixer on low, slowly add icing sugar half a cup at a time. You will need about 3 - 4 cups as you will be filling the cake as well as frosting the outside
Add dashes of pure cream as mixture gets too stiff. Keep adding until the frosting reaches the desired consistency
When cakes are cooled, use a bread knife to level the cakes. Discard (or feed to the kids) the tops of both cakes. You won't need them.
Apply a generous amount of frosting to the top of one cake.
Turn the second cake upside down on top of the frosted cake, so the under side of the cake now becomes the top. Using a spatula, spread the overhang of icing from the middle around the cake until it looks even.
Apply more frosting to the top of the cake and smooth it out around the sides. This will only be the crumb coat, which seals in the crumbs, so keep just do a thin layer of frosting at this stage. Chill in fridge for an hour.
Remove the cake from fridge and apply more peanut butter frosting to the top and sides of the cake. Smooth with the spatula until you are happy with the look of the cake. Drip ganache around the rim of the cake to make drips and chill cake before adding piping to the top, if desired.
This recipe works amazingly well as cupcakes. I often use this mix and pipe a swirl of peanut butter frosting on top. Delicious!