Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

Recipe: Peanut Butter Birthday Cake

Source: Joy the Baker Cookbook

Time: 80 minutes total

Ease: 5

Taste: 9

Leftover Value: 9

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer:  Keep it in the Strainer!  

Joel's birthday was yesterday.  But the family celebrated it on Sunday.  We had a cake and all the hullabaloo that goes into birthdays.  But then my mother invited us all over for a BBQ on his actual birthday.  I just couldn't bring myself to go knowing that there wouldn't be a cake there for his actual birthday.

So I made one.

Oh, yes!  

The first thing I want to do is apologize to all those out there who are allergic to peanuts and peanut butter.  I feel extremely sad for you.  You should just stop reading now.

This here is peanut butter birthday cake batter.  Mmmmm!  There was one substitution I made.  I had bought buttermilk to use as the recipe said to, but then it scared me with it's awkward smell and strange state, so I went the cup of milk + tablespoon of lemon juice route.

As I've said before, I know, I have problems.

After my two circles baked I was ready for my cake to be completely done.  My house smelled like baked peanut butter and I wanted to eat the air.

But frosting must be made.  Peanut butter cream cheese frosting to be exact.

As a side note, this is actually a separate recipe of Joy the Baker and I pretty much could have just scooped it into a bowl and eaten it with a spoon.

It was that incredible.  Smooth and creamy with a hint of peanut butter.  Yet, just as you recognize the hint of peanut butter, you realize there is cream cheese there too.  Then an orchestra plays a symphony as your taste buds jump up and down with excitement.

True story.

I plopped my first cake circle top down, with the flat underside facing up, so that I could have an easier time at spreading the icing.

I gave Jonathan an important job to do as he watched me frost the cake.

It wasn't until I was somewhere at this point that I realized how hard icing a cake is.

It really isn't a piece of cake.....haha.

Sorry.

The masterpiece!  Now, if I hadn't run out of Ziploc bags, my plan at this point originally was to put some hot fudge into the Ziploc.  Then, using my Ziploc as a pastry bag I would have crazily drizzled hot fudge all over the top of this bad boy.

But I had no Ziploc bags, so the cake is boring and drizzle-less.

The birthday boy awaiting peanut butter cakey goodness.

I was floating in peanut butter heaven.  Don't let the beauty of this cake fool you though.  It is not for wimps. While still moist and light in flavor, it is a heavy cake.  (Joel ate two honkin pieces, but I could only handle one).  The frosting was my absolute favorite part and in all honesty, I'm considering double the frosting recipe next time and piling it high.