Who could resist making a cake with the name Chocolate Peanut Butter Fun Cake? Not I! It was Saturday, and I was hauling trash out of going through the magazines in my office, and I stumbled upon a Bon Apetit magazine from the 1950’s March of 2012. So I leafed through it, ripping out recipes that looked good, and I stumbled upon the aforementioned cake.
The photo in Bon Apetit that totally captivated me.
What got me, though, was the writing above the OH so yummy photo – “This vegan batter is generously versatile: The pastry chef uses it for wedding cakes and cupcakes, too. Funnily enough, its recipe is similar to one from the 1930s for something called a Depression cake.” ~ Nathanial Meads
Vegan. Cheap to make. I was SO in. Plus, chocolate. Hello! (As well, Father’s Day loomed the following day!) So I made the ridiculously easy batter with ingredients I always have on hand (all purpose flour, sugar, natural unsweetened cocoa powder, kosher salt, baking soda, vegetable oil, vanilla, chopped bittersweet chocolate) and made the cake.
Let me tell you, licking the spoon after the cake was in the oven was – well, heaven. Rich chocolate with bits of kosher salt? SWOON-worthy!
Peanut Butter Fun Cake, made by Moi from the recipe in Bon Apetit, March 2012. Okay, so the chocolate isn’t shaved…it still looks yummy, right?
The hardest bit to do was the peanut butter buttercream for the topping. It was involved (double boiler, anyone?) and used egg whites, so there went the vegan thing. But the oldest son LOVED licking the bowl clean after I frosted the cake.
My reaction to the cake? The cake itself was dense, chewy, lovely and rich with that hint of salt that made everything FANTASTIC. The icing was a bit much – rich and peanutty and overwhelming. But I was the only one who felt that way – the others were too busy scarfing it down. My oldest son has already decided I should make this cake for his every birthday. My husband said let’s not restrict it to birthdays, so my middle son pencilled in September (birthday month) and January (New Year’s) for the cake.
This is the very first time anything I’ve made has been scheduled for a remake, so far in advance. I guess they liked it!
What about you? Do you have any recipes that the family clamors for? Please share if you can! Oh, and if you want the recipe for the cake, go here to Bon Apetit. Enjoy – er –
bon apetit!
~ Until the next time, cheers! ~
~oOo~
The cake looks and sounds super-YUM. I’m not going to pretend I come anywhere close to possessing the culinary skills necessary to attempt such a treat, since I’m challenged to boil water, but if I end up at Crumbs later today, I’m blaming this blog post!
Oh. My. Chocolate! This looks absolutely divine. I must make this for the guys this weekend. I have a friend who is a peanut butter fanatic ~ I’ll have to share this with her, too. So yum.
Looks wonderful….you’re screwing with my diet now….but chocolate! And congrats on getting through some of the clutter in your office. That’s always a challenge, I think you earned that cake!!
I know, right, Taris? But I think if you leave off the icing – and eat small bites – yummmmm….
I have friends who are vegan and while I’m good at coming up with main dishes for them, I’ve never had a satisfactory dessert. This sounds yummy and I can hardly wait to make it–though I’ll have to do something about the frosting. Thanks!
It is an AMAZING dessert, Sarah. I think if you blended peanut butter and powdered sugar, and maybe a little softened butter, you might come up with a wonderful icing. Just a thought!