Monday, June 15, 2009

PEANUT BUTTER CAKE

I love recipes that are perfect the first time you try them; this peanut butter cake is one of those recipes. It is delicious warm or cold, it is more moist on day two AND it has an intense peanut butter taste and a peanut butter-honey frosting topped with mini-chocolate chips. It is sure to please kids and adults alike.

Our next door neighbor came over, today, on his new riding mower. I sent him home with several pieces of this cake wrapped in foil. He later told my husband that he drove the mower home in slow speed so he could eat two pieces of the cake as he put-putted his way back to their house. I think that is a pretty serious thumbs-up for this recipe, lol.


 2 and 1/4 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
2 CUPS LIGHT BROWN SUGAR (packed)
1 CUP PEANUT BUTTER
1/2 CUP BUTTER (room temperature)
1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
1/2 TEASPOON BAKING SODA
1 and 1/4 CUPS MILK
2 TEASPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT
3 EGGS

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease and flour a 10 x 15 cake pan. In a large bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients with an electric mixer; blend at low speed until crumbly. Add the next 5 ingredients and blend at low speed until everything is wet, then beat at medium speed for 3 minutes.

Pour into prepared pan and bake, in the middle of your oven, for 35-40 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean.
Let the cake cool (in the pan) for 10 minutes, then spread the frosting on the hot cake (recipe follows) and sprinkle one cup of mini-chocolate chips over the frosting.

PEANUT BUTTER-HONEY FROSTING

1/2 CUP PEANUT BUTTER + 2 TABLESPOONS HONEY + 1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT + 2 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR + 4 to 5 TABLESPOONS MILK
Warm the peanut butter and honey in the microwave just until it gets soft and easy to stir, then add everything else and beat until smooth. Spread over hot cake and sprinkle with one cup of mini-chocolate chips.

NOTE: As you can see from my photo, I double the frosting (but I stick to the one cup of mini-chocolate chips).