It was my birthday last weekend, and I thought before I blogged about this year’s treat, I should document my cake from last year.

Since my birthday always falls right after Thanksgiving, I usually make myself a birthday cake for Thanksgiving dessert. My oldest nephew and niece are old enough now that they love to sing the happy birthday song and blow out the candles.

Last year was my 30th, so I wanted my cake to be extra-special and over-the-top. My family used to think it was weird that I always wanted to make my own cake, but let’s be honest, if they were in charge, it would come from a store or a box. Plus, are they new? It’s obviously no secret I love to bake.

So after eyeing this masterpiece on Smitten Kitchen for almost a year, this was my chance. It’s a chocolate cake, covered in peanut butter icing and smothered with a dark chocolate/peanut butter glaze. It was unbelievably rich and decadent, and turned out perfectly!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Source: Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable oil (i.e. canola oil)

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

Peanut Butter Frosting

10 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

5 cups icing sugar, sifted

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

3 tbsp smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp corn syrup

1/2 cup half & half cream

Directions

1. For cake, preheat oven to 350. Butter the bottom and sides of 3 8″ or 9″ cake pans, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually blend in the water, then the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended.
3. Divide among the 3 pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 20 minutes. Turn out on to wire racks and let cool completely.  I actually made my cakes a few weeks in advance, then wrapped them twice in plastic wrap, once in tin foil, and stuck them in freezer.
4. For icing, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating until fluffy after each addition. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.
5. For glaze, combine the chocolate, peanut butter and corn syrup in a double boiler (i.e. bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer, put a heat-safe bowl over-top, and place your ingredients in it. This lets you gently melt everything together). Whisk together until chocolate is melted, and everything is smooth. Remove bowl and mix in the half & half cream until smooth.  *Don’t make the glaze until you are ready to use it, it needs to be warm when you pour it on the cake*
6. For assembly, put the first cake layer on a plate, and spread 2/3 cup icing over top. Repeat with second layer and more icing. Then cover the entire cake in a thin coat of icing, and stick it in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. This is called a crumb coat and it binds any little crumbs to the cake, so they don’t show up in the final layer. Take the cake out of the fridge and cover with the rest of the frosting. Put it back in the fridge while you make the glaze, so the icing can firm up a bit.
7. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake and use an offset spatula or a knife to gently push the glaze to the edges of the cake, so you get nice long drips down the side. Stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.