Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Ultimate Father's Day Gift..Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Cake!

Hello friends and welcome back I hope you are all having a lovely week wherever you are.
After an ungodly hot and humid weekend, we are now enjoying a spectacular week of cool mornings and beautiful sunny (70's-80's) days...perfect!
So as you know, Sunday is Father's Day and I thought a fabulous dessert recipe would be great to finish off a family BBQ or dinner this weekend. 
What man doesn't love 
CHOCOLATE
tore this page from a magazine years ago..Family Circle??
Add some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
and you have an unbeatable combination.
Let's bake Dad a 
Peanut Butter Fudge Cake!
This is another semi-homemade, or as we bloggers are fond of saying, a box cake 'restyle'.
What you need:
1 box chocolate fudge cake 
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped reese's peanut butter cups

Do I have to tell you to unwrap them????
Try not to eat too many while doing this.
I failed miserably at this step.
;-<

Try to ignore the aroma of chocolate while chopping.
Hint: if it is warm and chocolate is soft, pop in the fridge to firm them up prior to chopping.
 
I always line my baking pans with parchment paper and I never have a problem getting my cakes out in one piece.
Spray with non-stick spray or grease with shortening.
the little bumps you see are tiny chocolate chips that were in the box mix
Mix with beater on low and then beat at higher speed for about two minutes.
Pour evenly into your two prepared pans
At this point you may use a few of your favorite curse words upon realizing that you forgot to add the chopped peanut butter cups.
Close windows so you don't frighten the neighbors.
Once you have removed the batter..folded in the chopped PB cups and refilled the cake pans,
you will bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.
Monitor during the last 5 minutes so as not to overbake. 
I usually tap the cake lightly (it will sound hollow) and can tell if it is cooked through.
This is what your cakes should look like.
Smells so yummy!
Let the layers cool before frosting.
can I eat it now???
This cake has a Ganache frosting.
Don't let that fancy word scare you. Ganache is the easiest thing to make.
All it consists of is heavy whipping cream and chocolate...that's it!
If you have never had Ganache, you are in for a treat.
Bring one cup of whipping cream just to a simmer and pour over 8 ounces of chopped chocolate. 
I used really good dark chocolate chips.
Please NO..and I mean NO artificial chocolate!!!!!
I will come after you.
Start whisking
No electric mixer needed
It comes together really fast
Add 1/2 cup good peanut butter and whisk some more
The PB will melt into the chocolate mixture quickly
And that my friends is how to make Ganache!
Wasn't that super easy?
Spread about 1/3 of the ganache on the first layer and top with the second layer.
Looking good!
Pour the ganache over the top layer and let it slowly fall over the sides.
At this point you either smooth the ganache all around the sides or just leave it with the chocolate dripping...it has no effect on the flavor.
I know...I could have neater, but it was 98 degrees and my chocolate was melting...as was I.
I only had chunky peanut butter, hence the bits of peanuts in my ganache.
Pop your cake in the fridge to set and your done!
Be sure to have plenty of milk or coffee on hand.
This cake is so moist and fudgy. It should be illegal!!
I think the buttermilk has a lot to do with it's goodness.
I always decorate with more Reese's Cups on the top of my cake.

The ganache is pure heaven on earth...not as sweet as a sugared icing.

Don't expect to have any leftovers, if you do , they seem to disappear in the middle of the night.
I added this last photo so you could really see the chunks of peanut butter cups.
I have made this cake as a sheet cake also with great success.
For a large crowd, I have used 4 boxes for two large rectangular pans.
I spread the ganache on the first layer and simple poured the remaining ganache all over the top.
I didn't worry about covering the sides.
Everyone raves about this cake.
I hope you try it and if you do, come tell me if your family loved it.
To all the Dad's out there
Happy Father's Day!
Now go eat cake!
*
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Be sure to come back on Friday for my antique Singer sewing table makeover.
Until next time...be kind and stay creative. 
Sharing with some great blogs

26 comments:

Tara @ Tales of a Trophy Wife said...

Do I have to wait until Father's Day? That looks really yummy It also just made me realize that I have no chocolate in the house and now I really want some.

Anonymous said...

Good god that looks delicious! Thanks for the recipe!!

Di

Little Blue Mouse said...

Mmm, that looks scrummy!

Kathleen Grace said...

Oh good Lord Janet, you're going to make me fatter than I already am! That looks sooo good:>)

Jennifer Juniper said...

Oh my goodness! Looking at each of those photos was pure torture :( Give me cake!

Kelly Ann said...

So this would be the low fat version?
xoxo
KA

Katie Elizabeth said...

This cake looks delicious! My dad is definitely a peanut butter cup guy.. I may just have to try this for father's day. Thank you so much for the idea & the recipe!

xo katie elizabeth
ohheyylife.blogspot.com

Judy Dodson said...

oh my... this looks too good for words! I MUST try this! PS: I love the fact that you forgot to mix in the peanut butter cups... HAHA. That's totally something I would do. :)

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

That looks sooooo good! Your photos are fantastic, I almost licked the screen. I'll have to give this a try.

Sharon Sews said...

Oh my goodness! Does that look absolutely delicious.

Atelier Conti said...

I don't think there's quite enough chocolate in that recipe! ;^p

Caroline Lovis (Redneedle) said...

I'm slobbering as I look at your pics, not sure it would make it as far as my husband.

Gretel said...

I can feel my waistband expanding just looking at this! Oddly enough the village shop sells the Betty Crocker mix, but it's not something I've ever used.

Lisa said...

Holy moly... I am seriously drooling over this recipe and these pictures of your cake. I need a PB fix stat!


Lisa
http://chicmagnifique.blogspot.com

Angela said...

I love recipes and I Love this. It looks so good I just cried a little! Would you consider linking this recipe to my linky party Simply Creative over at 365 days to simplicity? I'd love it if you did!

Angela
http://365days2simplicity.blogspot.com/2011/06/in-celebration-of-almost-hitting-100.html

Aprons and More said...

Yummy!! Wish my Dad was still here and I would make it for him! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Katy :)

Katherine said...

Oh, this sounds (and looks) deliciously wicked. Yum! Thanks for sharing such a drool worthy recipe. ;o)

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hi Janet...

Ohhh my goodness...your Reese's peanut butter cake looks and sounds simply divine! My honey would just adore this cake for Father's Day since Reese's is his all-time favorite candy! I must admit that I have never made Ganache before but your tutorial was sooo good...I believe that I can make it! Thank you for the inspiration...great tutorial...and for sharing your recipe with us! I will definitely be giving this cake a try!

I also wanted to thank you for stopping by and taking a peek at my Tea Rose bedroom! I really enjoyed your visit and sweet note, my friend! Thank you!!!

Warmest wishes,
Chari

Katherines Corner said...

oh my goodness... I've just drooled on my keyboard!
Hugs

Anonymous said...

Oh gracious, that is one good-looking cake. I believe this will be coming out of an oven near me and soon.

And I am so glad that others do things like forget to put an important ingredient in their recipe. It's amazing how I've figured out how to work around these little goofs I always seem to make. Forgetting the Reese's cups is definitely something I would do. Oh yeah. For sure.

Angela said...

Thank you for joining me his week at the Simply Creative blog party at 365 days to Simplicity! Please join me every Thursday and we’ll party like it’s 1999! Oh, and I'm still crying because that looks SO GOOD!

Janet said...

I am one of the few people in the world who do not like pb, but the men in my family adore it, this looks to be the perfect cake for them:) I will bookmark this for a special cake occasion.

Cherry Blossom said...

Looks fabulous. Who wouldn't love that? Saving this to make sometime soon!
Amy
servingwithgladness.blogspot.com

Wheatless Foodie said...

Thank you for the wonderful idea! I made a gluten free version and posted it on my blog:

http://wheatlessfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/06/gluten-free-chocolate-peanut-butter-cup.html

Anonymous said...

I just loved the sewing machine table. It made me look back with regret at the fact that I should have bought my Gram's sewing machine, It was identical to the one you refurished however.It was still very much in working order and in pristine condition. You have a very lovely site and I intend to visit often !

Meadowsweet Cottage said...

Now that's what I call a reason to fall off Jenny Craig's wagon! I've gotta try this when I have enough other folks around that I don't "accidentally" polish it all off myself :)

~pogonip