A few months ago, my friend Donna mentioned that she would love a cake that combined peanut butter and chocolate. When I was looking for just the right recipe, I stumbled on this one by Deb at Smitten Kitchen. As soon as I read her description, I knew this was the one. It was perfect! There is absolutely nothing I would change about this recipe when I make it again.
This is a long recipe, but a fairly simple cake to make. The chocolate cake alone is reason to make this. This is one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever had. It is made in a single bowl and cleanup for that part of this project was a breeze. As a couple of my friends will attest, I am NOT a skilled cake decorator. I rarely bake cakes, as I much prefer making cookies and other treats. Have you ever seen a Zebra Cake? Those pretty swirled chocolate and vanilla cake layers might look kind of complicated, but they’re easier to make than you might think. However, I do love to bake and I have a great friend celebrating her birthday today! In honor of her, I made this cake. I am wishing Donna the very happiest of Happy Birthdays! Please stop by her blog The Slow Roasted Italian and wish her a fabulous day! We celebrated last night with a few other friends. It was a great night of visiting and playing with the children who were racing through the house. Luckily, I had some kiwi pops on hand for the youngest kids, because there was no way I was letting my littlest near this cake right before bedtime.
How To Make a Crumb Coat
With this cake, it is a good idea to make a crumb coat with the first layer of frosting. Basically, just make sure the cake is covered in frosting, even if a few stray crumbs show through. Then you are going to chill the assembled cake again (I just placed mine back in the freezer for half an hour or so) before you add the last bit of frosting. You’ll use the remaining bit of frosting to create a smooth final coating. {originally published 10/6/11 – recipe notes updated 3/17/20}
