Velvet Devil's Food Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Sometimes you should just embrace sugar running in your veins.

Kay introduced this recipe to me way back... when we still had time to bake together. Moop!

It is SO GOOD. 

The batter is amazing. The cake is fantastic. Add frosting, and the whole thing is on another world. 

Normally, I'm not a cake person, but this is  seriously life changing. 

It was a birthday occasion -yay! I baked, but I left the decorating to the girls.  For some extra peanut butter goodness, we sprinkled chopped up Reese's on top.

And then it reminded me of a virus.  SIGH. Too much studying. Waaayyy too much!

Recipe (from America's Test Kitchen)

• Velvet Devil's Food Cake
• 1/2cup natural cocoa powder
• 2teaspoons instant espresso powder , or instant coffee
• 1cup boiling water
• 2teaspoons vanilla extract
• 12tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
• 1 1/4cups granulated sugar
• 2large eggs , at room temperature
• 1 1/4cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2teaspoon table salt

1. 1. For the Cake: Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-by-1 1/2-inch round baking pans with shortening. Line pan bottoms with waxed or parchment paper; grease paper as well. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess.
2. 2. Mix cocoa and instant coffee in small bowl; add boiling water and mix until smooth. Cool to room temperature, then stir in vanilla.
3. 3. Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer set at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in sugar; beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.
4. 4. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. With mixer on lowest speed, add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, followed immediately by about 1/3 of cocoa mixture; mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into batter. Repeat process twice more. When batter appears blended, stop mixer and scrape bowl sides with rubber spatula. Return mixer to low speed; beat until batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.
5. 5. Divide batter evenly between pans. With rubber spatula, run batter to pan sides and smooth top. Bake cakes until they feel firm in center when lightly presesd anad skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes. Tranfer pans to wire racks; cool for 20 minutes. Run knife around perimeter of each pan, invert cakes onto racks, and peel off paper liners. Reinvert cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting.
   
   
   Peanut Butter Frosting  (from Joy the Baker)
   
   
   2 sticks butter at room temperature
   1 cup creamy peanut butter
   3 cup powdered sugar
   1 tbsp milk
   
   
   Beat butter and peanut butter together until smooth.  
   Add the 3 cups of sugar and slowly beat together.
   Add milk and continue to beat until desired consistency.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   So I've slowly been watching Frozen Planet! Em and I have long been fans of nature documentaries and this new one does not disappoint.  It's absolutely amazing to watch, although admittedly, it has it's gruesome parts, like when a seal just munches on a penguin with a very distinct crunch. 
   
   
   

   
   

   
   
   We've been slacking a bit on the baking lately, but studying like a maniac is an acceptable (albeit depressing) excuse. We'll try and post as often as we can... Hope everyone sticks around!