Recipes--catching up--Chocolate Peanut Butter Madness

Okay, I've made a lot of delicious things lately, but I haven't had time to post the pictures and recipes here--well, I'm doing it. That's it.

For Farihah's birthday I made her a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake
I'm wary of any recipe that calls for a boxed cake mix, but this turned out to be one of the most delicious cakes ever. I'll be making it again and again. The only challenge was putting the peanut butter cups on the outside, because when you first pour on the frosting it's very runny, so it was a watching and waiting and putting the cake in the fridge game until the frosting firmed up a bit.

Let's be honest, I'm no food photographer, but I was inspired by Bakerella and her (much better) pictures of the same cake.

Peanut Butter Fudge Cake

Ingredients

• 1 box (18.25 ounces) devil's food
• cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped chocolate-covered peanut butter cups (about 8 ounces), plus more to garnish
• 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line with waxed paper; coat paper.

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

3. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 34 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let layers cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto wire racks and cool completely.

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

5. Trim top of cake layers flat with a serrated knife. Put 1 cake layer on cooling rack and place on a baking sheet. Pour 1 cup frosting on top; spread evenly with a spatula. Top with remaining cake layer. Pour remaining frosting over the top, allowing it to spill over the sides. Smooth top and sides with spatula. Refrigerate 1 hour to set. Transfer cake to serving plate and garnish with chopped candy, if desired.