happy birthday lia!

so it was my pleasure to bake a yummy confection for my lovely sister in law lia... and luckily for me, lia loves peanutbutter...but come on now, who doesn't!

so i decided to go with a cake that i had seen on one of my favorite food blogs in the world, smitten kitchen... if you haven't done so already check it out! anyways, she had made a cake found in the book "sky high cakes"... a delicious chocolate layer cake, topped and filled with a creamy peanutbutter creamcheese frosting, and a smooth layer of dark chocolate ganache... by the way, her pictures are much yummier than mine...

(my cake didn't travel very well from cape may to staten island, PLUS when i put the ganache on, my cake was too cold from being in the fridge, that it didnt spread so smoothly)... but who cares when a cake tastes so good!

however, rather than following her recipe, i decided to go with my favorite chocolate cake recipe, if you haven't noticed, i use it alot... cause it never lets me down! but here are her recipes for the frosting and the ganache... so freakin' good!!

for the peanutbutter cream cheese frosting:

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)
directions:

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

chocolate-peanutbutter ganache:

8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half

directions:

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

the wonderful birthday girl!

here's my sister meghan, who looooves her cake... you wouldnt know it by looking at her, but when she was a baby, her nickname was "chubbles"... she was such a little porker... covered in adorable fat rolls...


if loving this cake is wrong, i don't ever wanna be right...

happy birthday lia!