Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

I love peanut butter and I also love chocolate cake so it made sense to put them together and create the ultimate Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake. The creamy peanut butter icing goes so well with the dense, supremely chocolatey sponge that I had to make two cakes because the first just disappeared ! You'll want to keep coming back to this rich, moist peanut butter chocolate cake recipe again and again. But don't just take my word for it - make this deluxe peanut butter chocolate cake and taste for yourself how delicious and scrumptious it is !

You can either make a one- or two- tiered cake, or even make two one-tiered cakes and give one away as a present. Who wouldn't want to receive a peanut butter chocolate cake as a gift ?

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

• 100g butter, plus extra for greasing
• 150g caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 25g cocoa powder
• 120g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 100ml boiling water

This is enough for one cake. Put the same amount of each ingredient again into another bowl for the second cake if you want two tiers.

Peanut Butter icing:

• 150g smooth peanut butter
• 80g softened butter
• 150g icing sugar
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk
• 2 pinches of salt

This is enough icing to cover the top and middle of two cakes, or tops of two separate cakes if you want to make two and give one away.

Peanut Butter Cups (optional):

• 6 Reece's Peanut Butter Cups
• Or make your own:
• 100g milk chocolate
• 50g peanut butter
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• pinch of salt

Equipment:

• 20cm diameter cake tins
• Baking paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Scales
• Mixing bowls
• Wooden spoon
• Rubber spatula
• Teaspoon measure
• Measuring jug
• Wire rack
• Sieve
• Cake board
• Peanut butter cup moulds / silicone ice-cube tray
• Airtight container

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease the cake tin(s) with butter. Draw around the tins on baking paper with a pencil and cut out. Smooth down baking paper onto base of tin so there are only a few bubbles.

Weigh out all the ingredients.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl with a wooden spoon.

Add the salt, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. It should look quite creamy.

Add the egg and hot water measure in a jug carefully, making sure you don't stir too vigorously and splash boiling water everywhere. The batter should be quite wet now.

Put the same ingredients again into another bowl to make a second cake.

Pour the cake batter into the lined tin(s). Use a rubber spatula to scrape all the cake mix into the tins.

Bake cake(s) for 8-12 minutes at 180°C then take them out and check them by inserting a wooden skewer into the top. If it comes out clean then the cakes are done. If not, put them back in for 3 minutes and check again. Set them on a wire rack to cool in their tins.

Add the peanut butter and soft butter to a bowl and mix.

Sieve in the icing sugar (I know it's annoying but it ensures a creamy icing with no lumps).

Add the vanilla extract, milk and salt. Mix well until it's creamy and light.

Put a cake on a cake board. Put a large dollop of icing in the centre and spread it out to the edges.

Repeat with the next cake if you have one. Be careful the top cake doesn't slip and start moving off in one direction because you're pushing too hard with the icing.

Now bring the icing down the sides of the cake with a rubber spatula and carefully smooth it all around the cake.

Your Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake is now finished and you can decorate it how you like !

Add the shop-bought Reece's Peanut Butter Cups or keep reading to find out how to make some.

These are optional steps if you want to make some peanut butter cups to decorate your cake.

Melt the chocolate in short 30s bursts in the microwave. Use half -- 2/3 of it to coat the bottom and sides of your moulds / silicone ice-cube tray with medium thickness. Remember that the moulds need to be made out of a flexible material like silicone or the chocolate will get stuck.

Put the moulds into the fridge until the chocolate is cool.

Mix the peanut butter, icing sugar, honey and salt in a bowl. It should be like a dough.

Break off a small chunk and roll it into a ball.

Press this ball into a mould. It should be a bit lower than the top of the chocolate shell. Repeat with all peanut butter mixture.

Add the remaining chocolate to the top of the cups and scrape gently with the flat side of a butter knife to get a flat surface.

Put peanut butter cups in fridge and leave to set.

Place your peanut butter cups on top of the cake however you wish and you're done !

Enjoy eating this luxurious masterpiece :)

Please upload any pictures of your creations - I would love to see how they turn out !