Chocolate Peanut Butter Heaven

The real name of this confection is "Buckeye Cake." That sounds unappetizing to me. So I changed it. A lady who spoke at church today said she thought when she went to Heaven she would just be relaxing, enjoying the scenery and eating chocolate. If that is case, I really hope they have this in Heaven. It is so stinkin' delicious. Cut very small pieces, because this cake is super rich. A little goes a long way. Which is good (or bad, depending on how many people you are sharing this with).

Cake ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups all purpose flour
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (I just used regular salted butter)
3 oz. baking chocolate, melted (or use 9 Tbps. chocolate baking powder and 3 Tbsp. oil)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt

Peanut Butter layer:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Ganache:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz. package)
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-inch cake pan. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; grease. (I don't use parchment paper, but I do grease the pan really well, because you have to get the cake out of the pan).

For cake: Combine eggs and sugar in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour into pan. 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.

For peanut butter layer: Beat peanut butter, butter, and vanilla extract in medium mixer bowl until combined. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Spread mixture on cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For ganache: Heat cream in small saucepan to boiling; remove from heat. Add semi-sweet morsels; let stand 5 minutes. Stir; refrigerate for 30 minutes or until mixture is spreadable. Spread chocolate on top and sides of cake. (I just pour it on top and let it run down the sides).

Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

This is another recipe from Chocolate Never Faileth (see previous post). A roommate in college gave me a very similar recipe. I decided to try this one and compare, and it turned out just as well, so I will add it to my list of go-to recipes. My roommate's used brown sugar and this one uses white sugar. They both worked well. It's good to know that if I ever have a white sugar shortage, I can use brown sugar instead :) I also love this recipe because you don't have to grease the pan. Also, this cake is magic. Seriously. You just put sugar and cocoa powder on top and pour water over it and put it in the oven. Then, through the miracle of chemistry that I don't understand, it all sinks to the bottom and turns into pudding. This is so fantastic served warm with ice cream, but is also great the next day after the pudding has firmed up. Then I think whipped cream works well on top. The picture is a spoonful showing the layers of whipped cream, cake, and pudding. Yum! By the way, this recipe makes a 9x13 pan, which is a lot unless you are entertaining guests. I cut this in half and put it in an 8x8 pan and it is the perfect size for our family. Still bake it for the same amount of time.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3 cups sugar, divided
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cocoa, divided
1 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup milk (I used powdered milk)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
3 cups hot water

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9x13 pan, combine flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, baking powder, salt, and 1/2 cup cocoa. Mix well. Add the butter and mix again. Add milk and vanilla, mixing with a fork until well blended. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar, remaining 1/2 cup cocoa, and nuts (if desired). Sprinkle this mixture over the batter in the pan. Pour 3 cups hot water over everything. Do not stir. Carefully put in oven and wait 40 minutes for the magic to happen! Allow the cake to set for 10 minutes before serving.