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!