Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

This recipe comes from Ryan's mom.  It has been HIS birthday cake for many years.  His Mom loves making it for him...and I finally remembered to get the recipe.  It is soooo yummy and surprisingly simple as well.  If you like chocolate and peanut butter you'll love this cake.

Cake Ingredients:

1       1 package devil’s food (or other chocolate) Cake Mix

8-oz. sour cream

½ cup peanut butter

¼ cup water

       3  eggs (or just under 3/4 cup applesauce)

*HIGH ALTITUDE (above 3,500 ft.): add 1/3 cup flour to dry cake mix and increase water to 1/3 cup.  Bake as directed.

In my example pictures I used applesauce instead of eggs.  The substitution makes the cake a little flat, but using applesauce adds a lot of moisture (plus it's healthier).  My son's egg allergy keeps me motivated to use eggs as little as possible.

Directions:

-          Preheat oven to 350;  grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans of 9X13 inch pan

-          In large bowl, combine all cake ingredients listed above

 

Mix at low speed with mixer until moistened.  Beat 2 minutes at high speed.  

So...I'll be honest, I didn't mike my batter with hand mixers, not that I didn't want to, but my baby was napping and the whole making a cake idea would've been ruined had I used my mixers.  I was kind of surprised but how thick this batter was...almost like a muffin batter, but it still turned out just right.

 

Pour batter into pans (if using two round pans then divide equally between the two)

    

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. If using round pans: cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans. 

Frosting Ingredients:

     1/3 cup shortening (I used margarine instead and it worked as well)

      ½ cup peanut butter

      ¼ cup cocoa

      About 2 cups of powdered sugar

      1 tsp. vanilla

      dash of salt

      Enough milk to moisten

Directions:
Cream together shortening and peanut butter

-      I don't know about you, but this next picture makes me want to eat the entire bowl of frosting.  I didn't though...luckily.

     Mix in cocoa, vanilla and salt

-    Alternate between adding powdered sugar and enough milk to moisten mixture

- Add additional powdered sugar, or milk ( in small amounts) until your reach desired consistency.

So...here's my finished cake.  The taste is incredible, so it makes up for my lack of decorating skills.

 

This is the double layered round cake version (made by Jan Whittier).

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

I got this recipe from an old neighbor Thad Call that lived below me when Ryan and I were dating. He was a pretty good cook, but this cheesecake I can't stop craving right now. I haven't made it yet, so hopefully it'll turn out as good as his did. Let me know if you try it and how it goes.

Crust:
1 1/4 c. vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 c. cocoa
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. butter flavored Crisco
1/3 c. peanut butter chips, chopped

Filling:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 c. peanut butter chips
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 c. real whipping cream

Prepare Crust: Combine crumbs, cocoa, powdered sugar and Crisco. Stir in chopped peanut butter chips. Press into 9-inch spring-form pan. (Or go the easy way and just buy a pre-made graham cracker crust from the store instead.)

Filling: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and lemon juice until light and fluffy. In a saucepan mix peanut butter chips and sweetened condensed milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Add to cream cheese mixture. Whip the whipping cream until stiff. Fold into peanut butter mixture. Pour in crust. Chill several hours.

Chocolate BTS Cake

This cake is amazing, but it's so rich and fattening I only make it like once every 2 years. Okay, so I really only crave it when I'm pregnant. Enjoy!

1 chocolate cake mix, baked according to package directions
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 container cool whip
2 skor bars

bake the cake, then poke 9-12 holes in it with a wooden spoon while still warm. when the cake is completely cooled, pour half of the sweetened condensed milk and half of the caramel on top, making sure it gets in the holes and around the edges. top with cool whip and crushed skor bars and enjoy!

Coffee Cake

This is a breakfast cake we used to have a lot growing up. So yummy!


Ingredients:

Cake:
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 TBS flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 TBS melted butter

Directions:
Cake: Combine oil, egg, and milk. Mix together dry ingredients in seperate bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour batter into a 9X13 greased pan. Set aside.


Topping: Combine topping ingredients. Spoon lightly on top of cake batter.


Using a fork make lines through the topping/batter to mix just a little on the top. Do not mix into the batter.

Cook at 375 for 25 minutes.



Slice into pieces and enjoy!

Dirt Cake

*From the kitchen of Katie Hancock

Who doesn't like dirt cake!?

1 lg. pkg. Oreo cookies, crushed
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 stick margarine
1 (12 oz) cont. Cool Whip
2 pkgs. vanilla instant pudding
3 c. cold milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Layer 1/2 the Oreos in a 13 x 9-inch pan. Mix together cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, margarine, and Cool Whip. Mix together vanilla pudding, milk, and vanilla. Combine 2 mixtures; pour over layer of Oreo crumbs. Sprinkle remainder of crumbs on top. Refrigerate overnight or 12 hrs.

Yum Yum Cake

*From the kitchen of Katie Hancock

My mom used to make this a lot when I was little.

1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (8 3-4 oz.) can fruit cocktail
1/2 c. nuts, chopped

Frosting:
1/4 c. margarine, softened
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all cake ingredients together in an 8 x 8 x 2-inch ungreased cake pan. Bake in 350 oven for 30 mins. Frost immediately.

Dump Cake

*From the kitchen of Katie Hancock

Yeah, yeah, I know... Stupid name. But that is all you have to do for this recipe, open up the cans and dump them in. We especially like blueberry.

1 can any type pie filling
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple (or larger, I like it more moist)
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick margarine, cut into pieces
chopped nuts, if desired

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. In order, dump pie filling, pineapple, and dry cake mix. Sprinkle margarine pieces and nuts on top. Smooth; do not mix. Bake for 1 hour.

Libby's Pumpkin Roll

This one I found on the inside of a can of Libby's pumpkin. It was really fun to make!

Warning: if you're going to buy pumpkin buy a small can. I bought a large can and didn't realize how far it goes. I've now made 2 batches of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and this pumpkin roll and I still have more pumpkin.

Libby's Pumpkin Roll

Cake:
Powdered sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cups pumpkin (from the can)
1 cup walnuts (optional, I hate nuts, so I didn't do this)

Filling:
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract

For Cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 15X10 jelly-roll pan (I used a large cookie sheet and it worked great); line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

Combine: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake: for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For Fillling: Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake, remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll Cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.