Recipe Swap: Peanut Butter Honey Cake with Chocolate Topping

 

It's recipe swap time and the theme was bloggers choice. I was given the blog Cookies on Friday and chose her Peanut Butter Honey Cake with Chocolate Chip Topping. I did not use buttermilk and used regular milk. I'm not sure if it made a huge difference but my cake doesn't look as moist as hers. It sure was good though! I followed all of the other directions to a T, including using the mixer for the crumb topping. I cut the cake before it completely cooled so my picture kinda sucks. Click over to Nicole's blog to see her beautiful pic!

Cake:

½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup peanut butter

¾ cup honey

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup buttermilk

Topping:

½ cup peanut butter

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease and flour a 9” x 13” pan.

In a large mixer bowl, beat together the butter, ¼ cup peanut butter, and honey. Blend in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Pour in the prepared pan.

Prepare the topping: in a mixer bowl, combine the ½ cup peanut butter, sugar, and flour. Stir in the chocolate chips. Crumble the topping over the cake batter. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

No Bake Cookies

I told a good friend of mine that I was making cookies with out baking them. She proceeded to lecture me on how a cookie is not a cookie unless it is baked and that what I was making was a candy. I will let you be the judge of that. Regardless of weather it is a cookie or a candy they are yummy.

No Bake Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a saucepan bring sugar, cocoa, margarine, milk, and salt to a rapid boil for 1 minute.
2. Add quick cooking oats, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well.
3. Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, and let cool.

Chocolate Mint Bars

I received this recipe as part of a holiday sweets exchange. I am not much of a baker and was surprised at how easy and delicious these bars were. They are so good my teenage son came up and hugged me for making such an awesome treat. They taste like a peppermint patty to me!

Chocolate Mint Bars:

Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup
Cooking spray

Mint layer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring

Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes (mine was still "soupy" after 23 min and I cooked it for about 7-10 more min, checking on it after about 5 min) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean (you want them to be fudgy, not cake-y). Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

3. To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.

4. To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (refrigeration makes the glaze hard). Cut into 20 pieces.

Yield
20 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Wedding Cake

My sister had a renewal of vows ceremony and asked me to make her a cake. My husband said he would make a grooms cake. Well, time comes to make both cakes and here is what I did. Yes, me and me alone made both cakes.

The white flowers were her toss bouquet, centerpieces were flowers in tin pots surrounded by Hershey's Kisses. Front flowers were her wedding bouquet, cake to right is brides cake and cake to the left is the grooms cake.

Bride's cake was a butterpecan cake with caramel filling topped with buttercream frosting.

The grooms cake was a dark chocolate cake with raspberry filling and a milk chocolate icing.

Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi Cake

1 12oz can Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 egg

Mix above ingredients and back according to the box. You can use any flavor of soda. Top with cool whip or Chocolate Glaze (recipe below). :)

Chocolate Glaze

2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tbsp chocolate powder mix
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients till smooth. Drizzle over cake.