Hi friends! If you’ve been here for a loooooong time you may well recognize this recipe – I posted it in May 2013! I’ve deleted the old version now and given it a good ol’ revamp though. I’ve done this because (by the time you read this) I moved! Moving day was Saturday and even though our internet should have activated today I’m at work and will be trying to get everything in order over the next few days so I thought I’d better plan ahead! I don’t want to miss out on posting day!
On with the recipe
Are you salivating yet? It looks tasty doesn’t it?! I can’t for the life of me remember where I found this recipe, but all credit to it’s orginal creator – the pictures are mine though.
I know it’s not the prettiest cake ever created, but oh dear god does it taste good. Like, seriously good. If you’re not a fan of peanut butter I’d still suggest that you give this a go – even if you don’t like it I guarantee you’ll know someone that will!
Before we get going we’ll get the boring bit out the way: greasing and line two 8 inch sandwich tins and preheating the oven to GM4.
125g dark chocolate 175g butter
175g soft light brown sugar 3 eggs
50g ground almonds 25g self raising flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder
I reaaaally don’t like dark chocolate and was contemplating using milk chocolate instead, but I’m glad I stuck to the recipe. You really can’t detect the bitterness when everything’s cooked.
Whack your flour (why do I always use ‘whack’ in my baking posts?!), almonds and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside. Then cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy – but remember it’s not going to become pale as you’re using brown sugar. You’ll be there for eternity if you try so I don’t suggest it… it might be funny to watch though.
Beat the eggs and then add them a little at a time to the butter mix, along with a spoonful of the flour mixture to prevent everything splitting, and carry on until it’s all mixed in. You can melt your chocolate in the microwave if you find it easier, but I always burn it that way so I set up a bain marie to melt mine.
When it’s cooled slightly thoroughly stir it into the rest of the batter, then add the rest of the flour mix and give it some welly! Divide the mixture between the two tins, smooth the tops off and bake for around 30 minutes.
When they’re done remove them from the oven and let them cool in their tins, turn them onto a wire rack and let them cool a bit more.
75g smooth peanut butter 50g butter
25g icing sugar 2 heaped tspn soft light brown sugar
I don’t usually use hand mixers, but I’d strongly advise against using a manual whisk to make the frosting unless you’re Popeye. You need to beat the peanut butter and butter together until it’s paleish and fluffy looking, and then add both sugars and beat until it’s all combined. Then leave your mixer running for MAX 5 minutes.
I almost made extra frosting so I could cover the whole cake, but I’m so glad I only used it to sandwich the two layers together. It’s so so sickly, but it tastes amazing. It’s by far the best cake I’ve made for a long time, alongside my ‘Spiced Apple & Sultana’ cake that is ;)
I really recommend giving this a whirl! If only it was diet friendly it would be perfect. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to stick to my posting schedule, but I’m pretty sure I’ll miss out on a lot of your posts! I’ll have a lot of catching up to do when I’m settled :D
