Peanut Butter Cake!

I have had so many requests for a good peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting, so we decided to make a good one.  This cake is sort of a merging of my mother's cake and my frosting.  This was not the original frosting used for this cake, but it is one of, if not the best peanut butter frosting I have ever eaten.   It's also very simple to make.   I like it because it never gets hard or too stiff and it spreads like a dream.  The cake itself is not overly sweet and the peanut butter is not overpowering, but it's moist and delicious.  Here is what you will need for this cake and the frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1  1/2 cups sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1  1/2 cups of milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

5 Tbs. butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup half and half or cream

dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare two 8" cake pans by placing either parchment paper or wax paper in the bottom of each one and spraying them liberally with nonstick baking spray.  Cover the paper also.  Don't skip the step of lining the pans with the paper, because this cake will stick if you don't do that.

Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add in the peanut butter and beat until smooth. Blend in eggs and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Start adding the flour and milk alternately to the mixture.  Blend just until it is all well incorporated.  Don't over mix this, because it will make your cake dry.  

When it is all mixed well, pour into the cake pans.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.   You can use 9" pans, but if you do, decrease the baking time by about 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for about an hour before removing from the pans.  Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pans and cakes should release with no problem. 

While the cakes are cooling prepare your whipped peanut butter frosting.  Cream the butter and peanut butter together with an electric mixer.  Add in the sugar, half and half or cream, vanilla and dash of salt. Beat until it is light and fluffy.  Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to get it all blended.  Also, the dash of salt might sound odd, but don't leave it out, it really adds something to this.  Just a dash though, not much!

This makes enough to frost this cake, but if you are a big lover of lots of frosting, double the recipe and put more between the layers and on top than we did.

Peanut Butter Cake!