Peanut Butter Cake

This week has been all about peanut butter. I was curious to see how a peanut butter cake would pan out so looked up some recipes online for proportion, incorporated what I found into my usual cake procedure and came up with this cake that turned out quite good. Any fans of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups? You would definitely love this!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups flour
2 cups caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1-2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp salt

For soaking:

1/3 cup condensed milk
2/3 cup milk

For the topping:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Method:

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla essence until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Sift the sugar first to ensure there are no lumps.

Add the butter-cream mixture to the fluffy eggs and beat until well combined.

Add the milk and vegetable oil and beat again.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold into the egg-butter-sugar mixture until fully mixed. Do not over-mix.

Pour into a pre-greased 10-inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees or gas mark 4 for 35-45 min. A wooden pick inserted into the cake would come out clean when it is ready.

Take the pan out and leave the cake to cool (preferably over a wire rack).

Let the cake cool completely before proceeding to slice it horizontally along the middle. Lay the two halves on a tray with the inner sides facing upwards.

Mix the condensed milk and milk to make a sauce. 

Use a fork to poke holes over both cake surfaces. Spoon the sauce over each cake surface, coating evenly without leaving any spots.

Place the top layer of the cake over the bottom layer. Coat the top of the cake as well with some sauce.

Make the peanut butter fudge by combining the butter, peanut butter, condensed milk, cocoa powder, and milk in a non-stick pan over low heat.

Keep stirring the mixture with a wooden ladle to avoid burning. The fudge is ready when it begins to boil.

Place the cake over a wireframe with a tray underneath. Pour the fudge over, making sure to cover the entire cake. This step needs to be done quickly before the fudge sets, or you will not be able to get a smooth and even texture.

Allow the fudge to set and stop dripping over the sides of the cake.

Carefully transfer to a serving tray and decorate as needed. Here I just used some multi-colored sprinkles. Alternatively, you can also top the fudge with finely chopped roasted and salted peanuts.

Tip: Ideally, the fudge and the fudge sauce need to be prepared using the double boiler method. However, since I'm always finding simpler ways to do things, I find that using a non-stick pan on low heat works just as well. Note that there is no risk of burning your fudge and fudge sauce when you use the double boiler method, but with the non-stick pan, you need to stir continuously and stay alert to keep the fudge from burning.