Marbelous Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze

I made this last month.... and misplaced the recipe! Alas, I have found it and will never let it go. If you want the printable recipe you can go here. I found this in Better Homes and Garden magazine and it just called my name... I can hear it calling yours too!

I'm going to take you thru it and tell you what I would have done different if I had been paying more attention to the recipe. :)



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. This seems to be the most difficult for me. I have no idea how many times I've finished my batter and realized the oven isn't preheated. Don't be like me.

Spray a bundt pan and set it aside. Grab a bowl and mix 2 cups all-purpose flour, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp cinnamon.



Grab another bowl (yes, this recipe is worth the extra dishes) and beat 1/2 c softened unsalted butter and then add 1 1/4 c granulated sugar and beat again until fluffy.



Add an egg and beat, scraping the sides. Repeat.

Raw eggs are so gross. It's amazing that I forget about this fact 10 minutes later and can't wait to eat whatever cake/cookie batter I am preparing.



Now toss in 3/4 c of sour cream and 1 tsp of vanilla. It may look like I have more vanilla because I'm a bit obsessed with vanilla. I love vanilla.

I wonder if I could even tell the difference if there was no vanilla.

Don't answer that.

Beat it again until its all mixed up.



The batter is pretty thin and slightly weird looking.



Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low or mix by hand. I mix by hand at this point because I get a little crazy with the mixer.



Pour in 1/3 c of milk and combine.



Mix in the remainder of the flour but don't overmix it. We still have another step so don't worry about the bits and pieces not quite combined.

Now take half of the batter and put it back in the original flour bowl.



To that one add 1/2 c of creamy peanut butter. Feel the anticipation building!



In the other bowl add 3 oz of melted and cooled bittersweet chocolate. I melted the chocolate in the microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring in between. When the chocolate is almost completely melted let it sit for a moment and the last chips will melt on their own.

Of all the classic pairings I think peanut butter and chocolate must be at the top.

I have fond memories of eating peanut butter out of the jar while using a chocolate bar as an edible spoon.



Now that I'm all grown-up I just throw the chocolate chips directly into the jar and use a real spoon.

Alternately drop spoonfuls of batter into the pan. Run a knife or metal spatula thru to mix or marbelize the batters... but don't overmix.

*This is where I would have changed my technique. I should have done like 3 times the amount of spoonfuls. I didn't and ended up with sections of cake that were mostly chocolate and mostly peanut butter. The result is having to eat at least 2 pieces of cake in each sitting to get the proper balance of flavors. Sometimes you just have to improvise.



Smooth out the top. If the whole cake looked like this it would have been overmixed.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I baked for just under 40 minutes. Let it cool for 15 minutes and then flip onto a wire rack to cool down to room temperature.

Now let's whip up the caramel sauce...it's really easy.



Melt 1/4 c unsalted butter over low-med heat in a small heavy-bottomed sauce pan.

So many good things in life start with butter.



Stir in 1/4 c granulated sugar and 1/4 c packed brown sugar and bring to boil. Don't stop stirring!

If you are having a hard time with the sugar melting down (and subsequently boiling) add a dash of your 1/2 c whipping cream. This will really help break down the sugar.



Throw in the remainder of the whipping cream and return to a boil. Keep stirring while it boils for about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add 1/2-3/4 tsp of sea salt.

If you don't have sea salt you are looking for something that is nice and light and flakey. If you use kosher salt make sure it all gets melted down and if you use table salt you need to cut down the measurement.

Let your caramel cool.



This is what the cake looked like when I didn't have the patience to let the caramel cool. I made the caramel the next day and wanted to eat the darn cake.

I actually like the idea of thoroughly coating the cake with the glaze at this point. Next time I'll do this and use a pastry brush to get every inch. I think it will help lock in moisture and gives it a nice sheen. This cake was super moist regardless.



This is what you get when you wait for it too cool properly.

I didn't add the extra salt on top because I was serving it to kids who can be finicky. I would definitely do it for adults. I really think it adds a nice touch and added a pinch of salt to the rest of the cake once I had divied some out to the kids.

You will have extra sauce and the recipe suggests serving it with the cake. I meant to but I got sidetracked.

By sidetracked I mean that I ate it with a spoon, dipped pretzels in it, dipped fingers in it, spoke lovingly to it and then nearly licked the pan.

Enjoy!

Coming Soon....

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cake with a Salted Caramel Glaze!

I like listening to my organs.

When I was browsing the Babies 'R Us website (that I am convinced has waaaay too many options for first time parents) I noticed a fetal heart rate monitor.

I immediately told B how crazy it was to get those and how one would become obsessed with listening to the heart beat of their unborn child. A fellow gestating friend and I had a brief conversation about how we will not be getting those because we will surely freak ourselves out.

Then a workout buddy of mine gave me a bag of pregnancy goodies. As we are about the same size (just about... I mean, noone is as short as I am) she passed on maternity pants and belly bands and the fetal heart rate monitor.

I smiled and said "Oh, how interesting" very nonchalantly and she explained that she didn't pick up a heart beat until around 8 months along. Of course, being only nearly 19 weeks along at that point, I went straight home and turned the thing on.

So far, I can hear my heart beat, B's heart beat, the sound of my stomach processing food, the sound of B's stomach processing food, the sound of the baby kicking and the whoosh-whoosh of my placenta passing nutrients.

Yep, I said the sound of the placenta passing nutrients. I read the pamphlet and that's what it says the whooshing sound is. I believe that having this fetal monitor is the equivalent to some kind of medical degree.

I'm sure I won't get addicted to the this.

I've only used it twice so far today.

PS. Celeste feel free to come by and listen to your organs if you like. Heck, anyone else in the area want to listen to their innards?

Playtime

On Saturday we got together with my brother and his family at my parents house for dinner. He and his wife brought me baby things for Peanut and we asked them a gazillion questions on things from strollers to doctors.

We haven't seen the kids in a couple months and how much they grow in that time always amazes me.



I love how 3 kids raised in the same house, by the same parents can have such different personalities.



B looks forward to spending time playing.

Perhaps I should start working coloring into our date nights.




Josh is very good at entertaining his sister.



They settled in for some quality coloring time.

I didn't get a picture of the page they were coloring but I did notice the boy ended up with bandages that matched the ones on B's arm and leg.



They were occupied for much longer than I expected and I would occasionally sneak in and listen.

I love seeing grown men on little chairs.



Who knew coloring could be so serious? I wonder what they are discussing.



More time playing and getting tickled by grandma



and it's time to get into pajamas.

Don't you just love kids in pajamas?



I'm pretty sure at the end of the night B was just as tired as the kids.

3 kids can exude a whole lotta energy.



Seeing them all together leaves me with absolutely no worries on how B will adapt to fatherhood.

We're at the 6 month mark today! 4 more to go....

106th Huntington Beach 4th of July Parade

We start every 4th of July by heading to Downtown Huntington Beach for their Independence day parade. I had planned on posting this in a series but due to the fact I clearly have a problem with scheduling (I thought these were being posted over the last few days) we are going to do one big, long post!

The parade route is full of decorated houses,



people on fun and festive bicycles (yes he is facing backwards),



patriotic pooches and



the honoring of many military. These are some of the World War II submarine veterans.



We see beach cruisers in all shapes and sizes...



as they pedal thru the streets before and after the parade has passed.



I don't know what this is, but I want it.



You know how I love me some classic cars!



Of course, I always, always cry during certain parts. When everyone stands to honor military I start to sniffle and then when these Pearl Harbor survivors pass by I can never stop the tears.



These folks danced their way down the entire parade route! Swing, baby, swing!



But not all of us were interested in the parade. ~sigh~ You can't please everyone.



POW * MIA You are not forgotten.



We crossed over and turned around by the pier. It was overcast and lovely.



Especially lovely if you are this dog. What a way to spend the 4th, all bundled up and cuddled like a baby as you take in the ocean breeze and watch the parade go by.

We should all be so lucky.



Dinosaurs? How did they work their way into the festivities?



People will perch anywhere for a good view!



Yay! Lovely survivors marching with pride.



Lovely, errr, interesting patriotic body painting.

There are lots of characters around the parade. In fact, shortly after this we were combing thru the crowd and someone asked me if I would like to volunteer for the patriotic boobies picture book he was putting together.

See how patriotic the people are around here?!

When it gets published I'll give away autographed copies here on my blog.



I kid, I kid.

Now this is a set of twins I feel comfortable taking shots of.



You have to love the effort put into some of these houses!



I'm sorry, I'm distracted by the size of this horse, I mean...dog.



Ah yes, the houses. People spend a great deal of time decorating and planning for this day!



There are also floats in the parade. I love this one and always wonder how these girls manage to do these tricks on a moving float.



OMG I want one of these too. Miniature horses for everyone!



Excuse me sir, are you pointing that at me?



This Indian guide (or adventure guide?) is at the very end of his trek and doing quite well. Some of them looked like they were just exhausted.



At the end of the parade everyone gets back on their bikes and are able to ride thru the streets before they get opened back up. There are no less then 2 gazillion bikes out at that time.

Proceed with caution.



Many people head back to their houses for a BBQ before the fireworks in the evening.

Wouldn't you smile every time you walked down this path?



B had to work during the day so I headed back to pick him up. Then I treated him to a banana split.

What's more patriotic than banana splits? Besides, I'd been obsessing about one for over a month.

You know how I love dessert as an appetizer.

Just think, next year we'll have a little one in tow. Now that should be interesting.