Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Ok, breathe a sigh of relief everyone. I have found the perfect chocolate cake for you all. A perfect, no mixer required, one tin wonder. It was Chub's birthday last week and I had to pander to his every request. Nothing but a chocolate and peanut butter cake would do and of course it then had to be produced. I had a quick look through my many, many recipe books and settled on the chocolate cake from Gizzi's Kitchen Magic, which is actually an Earl Grey chocolate fudge cake. I omitted the tea when I made it and was seriously dubious of the melt and mix method but soldiered on nonetheless. The cake came out of the oven perfectly flat on top, which would make it great for using for cakes that are going to be iced with sugar paste. This one however was destined to be covered with a peanut butter cream cheese icing with a peanut butter chocolate ganache inspired by Smitten Kitchen (completely in love with this lady!)

Even with the icing, I found the cake to be not too rich and it was incredibly more-ish. If you are a peanut butter fan, this one is for you....

Ps - For birthday lunch we went to The Residence Restaurant Forty One on Stephen's Green and did the tasting menu. The dining room was beautiful, the staff delightfully well trained and the food completely faultless and absolutely delicious. I'm already looking forward to our next trip!

Chocolate Fudge Cake - adapted from 'Gizzi's Kitchen Magic' Gizzi Erskine
150ml boiling water, cooled a little
100g butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
150g soft dark brown sugar
100g light brown sugar
250g self-raising flour
120g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids) melted and cooled
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbs greek yogurt or natural yogurt

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees or 160 degrees fan assisted.
Grease and line 20cm round deep cake springform tin with butter and greaseproof paper.
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl or food processor and mix until you have a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the tin and level the surface.
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Leave in the tin to cool in its tin, covered by a clean tea-towel for 2 hours.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Icing - Smitten Kitchen, but previously from 'Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes'
I've slightly changed the ingredients as I can't deal with cups! It's also important to have the ingredients at room temperature
Ingredients
250g full-fat cream cheese
110g butter
500g icing sugar
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

Method
Cream the cream cheese and butter together until well combined.
Add the icing sugar, 1 cup at a time and mix well after each addition.
Add the peanut butter and mix until well combined.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache - Smitten Kitchen, but previously from 'Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes'
225g dark chocolate (70% solids)
3 tbs smooth peanut butter
2tbs corn syrup (I was able to find this in the Asia Market randomly, but if you can't find it maybe add golden syrup or just leave it out)
1/2 cup double cream

Method
Combine the chocolate, corn syrup (if using) and peanut butter into a double boiler until melted. Slowly add the cream and stir well between each addition. If you do this too quickly, the mixture may freeze.

Assembly
I wrap the cake in cling film and put in the freezer for about an hour, before cutting in two layers with a large serrated knife. This stops the cake crumbling too much when cutting in half.
Once the cake is cut in half, add some of the cream cheese mixture to the centre and spread. Add the top half and then spread the remaining mixture over the cake. You will have enough icing to have a fairly thick layer. This is a very good thing.
Spread the chocolate ganache on top of the cream cheese mixture. To get a smooth finish, dip a long palette knife in hot water, dry it and then using it to smooth the icing.

Done!

Some Instagram pictures