Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 0.75 cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1.25 cups Flour
- 1.25 cups Sugar
- 1.25 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 0.75 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 0.75 teaspoons Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 0.75 cups Buttermilk
- 0.25 cups Vegetable Oil
- 1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 0.75 cups Warm Water
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 0.75 cups Powdered Sugar
- 6 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons Butter room temperature
- 0.25 cups Peanut Butter
Chocolate Ganache
- 3 ounces Dark Chocolate chopped
- 0.75 cups Heavy Cream
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position oven rack in middle bottom of oven.
- Prepare pan by lightly spraying with baking spray, and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
- In large bowl, blend cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt with a whisk and mix till combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and warm water till well blended.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together until very smooth. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven till a skewer comes out clean, 25-35 minutes.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- Sift powdered sugar into a bowl.
- Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter.
- Beat mixture until smooth on low speed using an electric mixer. Set aside.
Ganache
- Warm heavy cream over medium heat till bubbling at the edges.
- Pour over chocolate in a bowl and let sit for a minute; then whisk till blended. Let cool till spreadable.
Cake Assembly
- To assemble the cake, remove cooled cake from pan and cut in half horizontally.
- Set the top aside, and spread ganache in an even layer over the bottom half of the cake.
- Carefully place the top of the cake onto the ganache layer and press it down evenly.
- Spread peanut butter frosting over the top of the cake and sides if you desire. Cut into slices and serve.
Notes
To preface this recipe let me just say I love, love, love chocolate cake. I must have eaten my weight in chocolate cakes as a kid! I would gobble them up in whatever format I could find– packaged, school-made, grandma-made, anything went. Entering adulthood and finding I had more self control, my chocolate cake diet suffered. But then I got interested in baking and developed this recipe! My cravings are satisfied once again, this time made in my own home.
Here I have paired the cake with a chocolate ganache inner layer, and a rich peanut butter frosting for the top. To get specific about the ingredients, I recommend the highest quality cocoa powder you can afford. Trust me, you'll be able to taste the difference! Further, the ganache will benefit greatly from a dark chocolate, and a full fat heavy cream. As for the peanut butter frosting in this case the more processed the better! Creamy peanut butter works best, whatever your favorite brand might be.
Assembling this layer cake is fun, but can be time-consuming. Do not be daunted! A rustic-looking layer cake will taste just as good. Make sure your ganache is creamy and spreadable, cooled till it is similar in texture to the peanut butter
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Position the oven rack in middle bottom of oven. Prepare a 9 or 10″ cake pan by lightly spraying with baking spray, and lining the bottom with a circle cut from parchment or baking paper.
In a large bowl, measure cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix well, then sift once. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and warm water till well blended.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together until very smooth.
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven till a skewer comes out clean, 25-35 minutes.
While the cake is making, prepare the frosting and ganache.
For the frosting, sift powdered sugar into a bowl. Add the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Using an electric mixer on low speed at first, beat the mixture until it's smooth.
For the ganache, chop the chocolate and place in a bowl.
Warm heavy cream over medium heat till bubbling at the edges but do not boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for a minute to soften the chocolate; then whisk till blended. Let cool, stirring now and then, till ganache is spreadable.
To assemble the cake, remove cooled cake from pan and cut in half horizontally using a serrated knife being sure to keep it straight and horizontal, level with the table.
Set the top aside, and spread ganache in an even layer over the bottom half of the cake.
Carefully place the top of the cake onto the ganache layer and press it down evenly. Spread peanut butter frosting over the top of the cake and sides if you desire.
Cut into slices and serve.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 0.75 cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1.25 cups Flour
- 1.25 cups Sugar
- 1.25 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 0.75 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 0.75 teaspoons Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 0.75 cups Buttermilk
- 0.25 cups Vegetable Oil
- 1 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 0.75 cups Warm Water
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 0.75 cups Powdered Sugar
- 6 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons Butter room temperature
- 0.25 cups Peanut Butter
Chocolate Ganache
- 3 ounces Dark Chocolate chopped
- 0.75 cups Heavy Cream
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position oven rack in middle bottom of oven.
- Prepare pan by lightly spraying with baking spray, and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
- In large bowl, blend cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt with a whisk and mix till combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and warm water till well blended.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together until very smooth. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven till a skewer comes out clean, 25-35 minutes.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- Sift powdered sugar into a bowl.
- Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter.
- Beat mixture until smooth on low speed using an electric mixer. Set aside.
Ganache
- Warm heavy cream over medium heat till bubbling at the edges.
- Pour over chocolate in a bowl and let sit for a minute; then whisk till blended. Let cool till spreadable.
Cake Assembly
- To assemble the cake, remove cooled cake from pan and cut in half horizontally.
- Set the top aside, and spread ganache in an even layer over the bottom half of the cake.
- Carefully place the top of the cake onto the ganache layer and press it down evenly.
- Spread peanut butter frosting over the top of the cake and sides if you desire. Cut into slices and serve.
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