Running out of time.

I need to make Banana Split Cupcakes before the end of the month! Where did the time go??? I've been so good sticking to my resolution. I realize that it has only been 2 months, but that is the longest I've ever followed a resolution before! And look at them. They need to be made!

I may have to do some baking tonight.....

Peanut Butter Cups Chocolate Cake..... Pure Madness!

The moment you've all been waiting for....

And yet again, the same friend, loves chocolate and peanut butter. I saved the best for last. This cake was to die for! It had mini peanut butter cups cut up and baked directly into the cake. And then to top the cake, you pour a dark chocolate peanut butter ganache. Allow that to set, and if the cake wasn't sweet enough, you stick cut up small peanut butter cups into the ganache. I also used some of the new Reese Minis.

OH MY GOSH!

I used a 6 inch round cake pan, so I was able to have a 3 layer cake with the ganache between layers as well. It soaked into the cake and made it incredibly flavorful and delicious! And sticking all those chocolate bits onto the cake didn't take as long as I thought it would. I did discover however that I needed to let the ganache sit a little longer than what the recipe called for in order for the chocolate pieces to not just slide directly off the cake.

Thank you Bakerella. The woman is amazing. I know she found the recipe somewhere else, but she put up the most amazing pictures, and once I saw it, it had to be made.

So here it is, the recipe that may change your life. It definitely changed mine!

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

1 devil’s food cake mix

3 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped peanut butter cups (plus more for garnishing – I used 3 bags + a bag of minis, all together)

8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Line with wax paper and coat paper. (again, I used 3 6-inch pans, and I used Wilton cake release instead of lining the pans. The cake release may be one of the greatest things ever!)

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down sides after 1 minute. Fold in 2 cups of the chopped peanut butter cups.

Pour batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool cakes completely.

Place chopped dark chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring cream just to a boil and then pour over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts. Add peanut butter and whisk until smooth.

Trim each cake layer so the tops are flat. Place one layer on a cooling rack and pour 1 cup frosting on top. Spread evenly with a spatula. Add second layer and pour remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Smooth out with spatula.

Allow frosting to set for a minute (I waited about 5-10) and gently press remaining chopped peanut butter cup pieces all over top and sides of cake. Place in refrigerator for about an hour to set. Remove and serve.

Now, go make it! You won't regret it!

It's definitely an easy way to 'wow' your friends!



Mint Chocolate Cake

The same friend, also loves mint chocolate... so she also got this cake for her birthday (plus we have mutual friends with nut allergies, and I wanted to ensure they had some cake they could eat with out going into "nut shock". Yep. So here it is. A decadent chocolate cake filled with a mint filling between the layers and covered in a semi-sweet chocolate ganache. Only thing with the ganache is that sadly it doesn't hold as well as icing when a cake is moved, so you see a little of the mint green icing peeking out in places, but hey, it tasted great. The cake was incredibly moist. How you ask? Sour cream. I know. Who would think to put sour cream in a cake. I've had a few recipes that I have used that call for sour cream, and I have never been disappointed. The cake is always moist and delicious!

This cake was compared to a peppermint patty. So good!

Nutella

I've never been one of those people who loves Nutella. For some reason the thought of chocolate on toast seems gross to me. However, I have a friend who loves the stuff. And being the amazing friend that I am, I decided that for her birthday I would make her a Nutella cake

After searching the internet for a nutella cake recipe, I ended up picking one based on image alone. It looked so good! Sadly, mine baked funny. I used a springform pan as stated in the recipe and I'm wondering if that is why it looked weird. The edges were concave. I thought it was weird. Has anyone else experienced this? Oh well. The cake tasted amazing despite the weird shape. Fully of amazing chocolate and hazelnut goodness.

This cake may have awakened a love for Nutella

I never knew I had.

And now that I have awakened your love for Nutella, here's the recipe I used, found here. And if you don't feel like following the link, here it is all typed up and pretty for you.
6 large eggs, separated
pinch salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 13-ounce container Nutellla
1 tablespoon rum
1/2 cup finely ground hazelnuts
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Ganache;
4 ounces whole hazelnuts
1/2 cup heavy cream shopping list
1 tablespoon rum
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter a 9-inch springform pan.

In a large bowl (preferably metal), whisk the egg whites and salt until stiff. In another bowl, cream the butter and Nutella, then add the rum, egg yolks, and ground hazelnuts. Fold in melted chocolate.

Add a blob of beaten egg whites to the chocolate batter, and mix gently until well-combined. Fold in the remaining whites, one-third at a time, very gently but thorougly. Pour into springform and bake for 40 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting tester, which should come out mostly clean; lightly pressing finger into top to check for a slight bouncing-back; and observing edges beginning to separate from pan. Let cool completely, in pan, on a rack.

Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet, shaking them around frequently. Do it for about 5 minutes, or until they are lightly browned, then let cool completely. If hazelnuts came with skins on, put them in a towel after toasting and rub around; this will remove most of the skins, if you are diligent. (You can use chopped hazelnuts if you're feeling lazy like me)

Chop chocolate, and add to sauce pan with cream and rum over medium-low heat. Once chocolate is melted and components are combined, whisk until mixture reaches desired thickness, then cool. Remove rim of cake pan and pour cooled ganache over, spreading lightly to create a smooth, shiny surface, and apply hazelnuts all over. Let the ganache settle and meld with the top of the cake (resting at least an hour). Enjoy!

Drool in Anticipation

Fashionista

Do I even need to explain this one? It was my friends birthday. I made a cake. Yep. That is the explanation. Well, I guess I can go into a little more detail. I put my cricut to good use again and cut out all the shapes for the cupcakes and cake, including the flower I put on the shoe. The cricut experience was better this time, I let the fondant set a little bit once I had rolled it out to allow it to start to harden. It worked much better, as it wasn't as easily pulled and stretched.  I made the shoe for on top of the cake out of gumpaste, which to me is basically a stiffer fondant. I found a tutorial here. I decided to put a flower on the shoe instead of a bow. I personally think the flower is a bit cuter than the bow, but that is just my opinion. I also did some more practice with making icing look nice and smooth like fondant. It's getting easier, the biggest trick is trying to get the icing to crust up so you can rub it out. The edging on the cake was not what I was going for, but after doing it, I loved it because it looked like ruffles.

I just realized that the paragraph I just wrote is kinda boring, sorry. My amazing wit is not in top form today.