The One

At long last, I have a go-to chocolate cake recipe.  I tried it again and again to make sure.  I even halved the recipe for cupcakes for my baby's birthday.  

The recipe is from the famous Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake which I made for Valentine's Day one year.  Everything about this recipe is amazing and I highly recommend that you take the time, if only once, to make it exactly as she describes.  I cannot do it again.  It was far too stressful to bake with peanut butter due to my son's allergies.  But I kept coming back to the cake itself.  It's rich and moist, but also light.  Flavorful and chocolaty without being overly dark.  

I am especially pleased that the half recipe worked.  It made about twelve cupcakes (with a little leftover).  A full cake recipe is just too much for this family of four.  Here are the measurements I used:

• 1 cup of flour (I used White Lily in the cupcakes and it definitely had a lighter texture.  It's a pricey flour, but worth it for pie crusts and apparently cakes too.)
• 1 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 3 ounces of cocoa powder (I used Nestle. I've tried Scharffen Berger and I actually prefer the Nestle which is better for my bank account!)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 tbs. white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg

You might double check my adjustments, but I think this is accurate.  I followed the mixing instructions of the original recipe.  

I topped it with a swirl of cream cheese frosting (From The Joy of Cooking):

• 5 tbs of butter, room temp
• 8 ounces of cold cream cheese
• 2.5 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix the butter and cream cheese together, add powdered sugar and vanilla and blend until smooth, but don't over beat.  Voila.  The verdict on the frosting: three out of four give it two thumbs up.  My son didn't love it which was sad as it was his birthday, but it was easy enough to scrape off.

Comments

[Charlotte (Matilda)]

That looks amazing and I might save that original version for my hubby's 40th coming up at the end of this month! Mine were all older before they started appreciating the wonderfulness of cream cheese frosting. The 7 year old doesn't care for it much still. Happy Birthday to your big guy! Tell him we said "Happy Day!"

[Elisa]

Those look great! Maybe I will give cupcakes another try. I'm a big failure so far at baking cakes so far. I think it's because I've been lazy and use the wrong flour or don't follow the recipe exactly. I might give that chocolate peanut butter cake a try. Luke's birthday's coming up!

[Kelly]

Yum! These look seriously delish. My husbands loves peanut butter and chocolate so I really must give the original a try. I, myself, have always loved cream cheese frosting. :)

Thanks for sharing the recipe, Jen.

[Jennifer]

Oh y'all, do try the chocolate peanut butter cake. It is the perfect super special event cake.

[Donna Jannuzzi]

I'll admit I have a sweet tooth, but I don't like my desserts that sweet, or rich. If even Deb says that the cake is "intense" then I'm not quite sold... but I'm sure it's worth trying to make just the cake part of the recipe and maybe making a buttercream instead?

Your cupcakes look lovely, shame about the frosting. I've also noticed that cream cheese frosting is not universally loved among children.

[S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen]

Oh, thanks for halving that recipe! You know, I have never considered doing that? I just simply stopped baking. No one in this family eats enough sweets to keep a whole cake around before it turns.

[Amy Caroline]

That looks so stinking good I could just curl up and die. I gained 15 lbs just looking at these pictures.

Shame on you.

Seriously, Buttercup's bday is on Saturday and now I know what cake I am going to make!!

[Margaret in Minnesota]

How much do you charge for shipping?