Layers of chocolate cake and peanut butter icing are sandwiched between chocolate cake layers in this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake recipe, which is topped with a luscious chocolate frosting. To make an irresistible cake, just add some Reese's peanut butter cups. With a luscious, moist chocolate cake and a delightful marriage of two of my favorite flavor combinations, this Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake is a chocolate lover's dream come true. This cake may be prepared in stages in advance, making it convenient for any celebration. Using a large mixing basin, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt for the dry ingredients. About two minutes of medium-speed mixing is required after adding the wet components (eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract). Add hot water or coffee to taste (batter will be very thin). Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. If you use a toothpick and it comes out clean, you're done baking. After ten minutes of cooling in the pan, transfer the pan onto cooling racks to finish the cooling process. Make four thin cake rounds by slicing cakes in half horizontally with a sharp serrated knife. Add a third of the peanut butter frosting to the top of the first cake layer on the serving dish before adding the second layer of cake on top. Add frosting to the spaces in between the next three layers of cake and repeat. 
The best way to make chocolate frosting is to combine melted butter with cocoa powder in a large mixing basin. Electric mixers may be used to beat in powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Thicken or thin as necessary. The outside of the cake should be covered with icing. Pipe chocolate frosting swirls and small Reese's peanut butter cups on top of the cake, if desired (optional). This is a one-layer cake: Use nonstick cooking spray to coat a 9x13-inch pan. Pour the batter onto the pan that has been preheated as instructed. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Before icing with peanut butter frosting, allow the cake to cool. Add a layer of chocolate frosting, if desired, after the frosting has hardened. 2/3 of the batter should be used to line the muffin pan. Baking time varies from 22 to 25 minutes. Before icing, allow the cake to cool to room temperature. This recipe yields 24 to 30 cupcakes. The center of each cupcake should be scooped out and a dollop of peanut butter frosting should be piped on top. Then top the cupcakes with a small Reese cup and chocolate icing. The chocolate cake should be baked in a Bundt pan for 50-55 minutes after it has been greased and floured properly. Invert the cake onto a wire cooling rack after cooling for 15 minutes in the pan. Chocolate and peanut butter icing should be used in alternate rows on the cake. Cake and icing may be prepared a day or two in advance and stored in an airtight container. Refrigerate icing and cakes once they've been wrapped firmly. Before using, let the frosting cool down to room temperature. 
Peanut butter chocolate cake
There are three layers of luscious and rich dark chocolate cake in the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake. The frosting is composed of smooth, creamy peanut butter, and the cake is drizzled with a glossy chocolate ganache. This cake is ideal for both special occasions and regular treats. Follow the directions for baking your cakes, then wait until they have fully cooled before icing them. Prepare the peanut butter frosting just as the cakes are reaching the end of their cooling time. As soon as the cakes have cooled down and the frosting has been made, you can start putting everything together. Place one cake layer that has been allowed to cool on a serving dish, and cover it with a layer of icing that is both thick and even. Since this recipe yields a lot of frosting, you should have sufficient for a layer of peanut butter that is lovely and thick. Repeat this process with the subsequent two levels. You should apply a crumb coat if you want your cake to appear neat. The whole cake should have a very thin coating of icing spread over it. It may seem sloppy, and you will notice crumbs peeking through; this is perfectly normal; however, you should take care to prevent any crumbs from falling back into the bowl containing the icing as you slide the spatula back and forth. 
Put the cake in the freezer for around ten to fifteen minutes. This "crumb coating" secures all of the crumbs in place, ensuring that your subsequent applications of frosting will result in a surface that is spotless, flawless, and devoid of crumbs. Frosting should be smoothed out until the appropriate appearance is achieved. If you are not going to be adding ganache, pipe a decorative border around the top of the cake using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. If you are going to be adding ganache, put the cake back in the refrigerator or freezer and proceed on to the next step. Make the ganache, then set it aside to cool. You could also use a piping bag or even a spoon, but I'm not skillful enough to make them work very well personally. Pour ganache that has been cooled but is still liquid into a squeeze bottle. While maintaining a vertical position with the bottle, drizzle ganache over the whole cake, allowing the chocolate to trickle down the sides as you go. The ganache should be drizzled over the top of the cake. If you go overboard, the ganache will leak over the edge of the cake and destroy all of the work that we did in the previous stages. Instead, I just make a few drizzles and then distribute the ganache, adding just enough so that it covers the cake evenly. Applying the ganache in a single, uniform layer may be done with the use of an offset spatula. Place the cake in the refrigerator to cool while you wait for the ganache to harden. 
Peanut butter cake recipe
This Peanut Butter Cake is really simple to prepare despite its incredible moistness, decadence, and ease of preparation. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, bring the water, butter, and peanut butter to a boil while continuously stirring until the mixture is melted and smooth, which should take approximately three minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt by whisking them together. Add the milk, eggs, and vanilla. In a stand mixer fitted with a medium-speed electric beater, blend the ingredients for approximately a minute. Mixing in the peanut butter should be done until it is completely smooth. The peanut butter cake mixture should be poured into a 9x13-inch cake pan that has been prepped, and then it should be smoothed out into an even layer. Bake for forty minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. On a wire rack, let cool down to room temperature. Butter and peanut butter should be mixed in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is frothy and smooth, which should take around two to three minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract until it is barely incorporated. While continuing to beat, gradually add the sugar until the mixture is completely smooth. After it has been mixed, raise the speed to high and beat the mixture until it is fluffy, which should take approximately a minute. 
After the cake has cooled, spread the icing all over it. When measuring your flour, utilizing a scale is something that comes highly recommended to me. If you do not have a scale, you should fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into your cups before leveling it out with a knife. However, if you do have a scale, you should follow the instructions above. This is the most accurate technique to measure flour since it prevents you from overfilling the measuring cup, which would result in a dense cake with a peanut butter taste. Tap the cake pan a few times on the counter to expel any air bubbles and level out the batter in the pan so that it bakes evenly. Be careful not to overmix the mixture, since doing so can overdevelop the gluten in the flour, resulting in a cake that is on the dense side. Try decorating the top with some chopped toasted peanuts, some Reese's pieces, or some chocolate ganache for an interesting take on the traditional topping. It is important to get the eggs to room temperature before adding them to the batter so that they may be readily distributed evenly and without difficulty. If you forget to remove the eggs from the refrigerator in advance, you can easily raise them to room temperature by putting them in a big dish, covering them with warm tap water, and letting them sit for five minutes. When icing the cake, an offset spatula is the tool of choice. When it comes to taste, I find that utilizing genuine vanilla extract rather than fake extract yields the greatest results.