I'm so sorry that I have been so lame, not that many people actually read this, but I am sorry nonetheless. If not to anyone else than to myself because I am disappointed that I have not kept up with writing as much as I would like. I have been baking though, and I have lots of new excursions to discuss! One of the most exciting things that I have made recently is a birthday cake for a dear friend of mine and - not to toot my own horn - but it came out pretty damn good.
I was a bit of a lazy couch potato because I didn't completely make it myself. Instead of being an original real baker- one that I aspire to be someday- I used a brownie box mix (because I wanted the cake to be extra fudgy and delicious!). I mixed together the brownie mix, one egg, and 11/2 sticks of butter. In addition I added a little maple syrup to the mix and just a touch of vanilla extract. I then added in 1/2 a cup of milk and 1/2 a cup of water- just cause :)
Once you have the batter mixed (yes I mixed mine in a pot, that's because all the other big bowls were being used and I had to get creative) you want to grease up your cake pan and lay it in. Make sure to spread evenly so your cake isn't lopsided!
Cook for about 20 minutes first at 350 degrees F. If it's not cooked through then do five minute intervals until completed. While all this is happening you can start the peanut butter frosting, which was my favorite part of this recipe! It was so creamy and delicious!
How to make such dank and amazing frosting:
1. First empty one tub of creamy peanut butter into a bowl (the normal size at the supermarket I believe it is 48oz).
2. Mix in 1 1/2 sticks of butter, add in a lil water if needed. You want it to be like a paste.
3. Add 3 cups of sugar and be sure to stir thoroughly!
4. add in a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract (not too much though because you don't want to loose that delicious PB flavor)
** if it ever gets too watery just add more peanut butter!! :)
By now your cake layers should be ready to go (unless you're me who had to cook them one at a time, but still at some point these damned things get baked!)
You want to give the cakes some time to cool before trying to remove them from the pan. But after they've had a sufficient amount of time (say 10 minutes maybe...) what you need to do is place a plate directly on top of the pan and then carefully slip it over and place the plate on the counter. If the cake gets stuck try lightly banging on the bottom of the cake pan with the plate underneath it!
Once you've let the cakes cool and they're on a plate you can go ahead and begin frosting!
I wanted to throw on M&Ms for good measure!
Happy Baking Guys!!!!!
