Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

‘Over the years, I’ve made many different cakes for my children’s birthdays, but for some time now this has been the chosen one, the cake of cakes, elected to grace many special occasions, and with good reason. What’s more, it’s wonderfully easy to make – but it does have to be made with normal commercial, mass-produced peanut butter; the health-store varieties, with their dense heft, will not do here, I’m afraid.’

Hands-on time 30min, plus cooling. Cooking time about 25min.

Serves 8-12

FOR THE CAKE

● 200g unsalted butter, chopped, plus extra to grease

● 50g cocoa powder

● 100g soft dark brown sugar

● 125g caster sugar

● 2tsp vanilla extract

● 225g plain flour

● 1tsp baking powder

● ½tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten

FOR THE ICING

(double the quantities below if making a four-tier cake)

● 300g icing sugar

● 150g unsalted butter, softened

● 200g smooth peanut butter

(see recipe intro)

● 1tsp vanilla extract

● 60ml double cream

TO DECORATE

● 30g dry roasted peanuts, chopped

1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease 2 x 20.5cm round sandwich tins (or 4-tier cake tins) and line with baking parchment (don’t use loose-bottomed tins as this is a runny batter).

2 For the cake, put butter into a medium pan over low heat. Add 250ml just-boiled water and whisk in cocoa powder and both sugars. Keep whisking gently, until you have a smooth mixture. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and set aside for 5min.

3 Mix flour, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl. Gradually whisk eggs into the pan, followed by the flour mixture to make a smooth batter. Pour and scrape evenly into your waiting tins.

4 Bake for 18-20min (or about 7min for the ultra-shallow tins), or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out cleanish; a few crumbs clinging is fine. Leave in tins on a wire rack to cool completely.

5 To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Using a handheld electric whisk or a freestanding mixer, beat together the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 3-5min. Beat in vanilla and ¼tsp fine sea salt. With the motor running slowly, add ½ the sifted icing sugar a spoonful at a time, then beat in the rest in 3 batches. Turn up the speed a little and beat for 2-3min. Scrape down the sides and beat again for 30sec-1min. Still beating, add the cream 1tbsp at a time, then beat until you have a soft, aerated and moussily light mixture, about 5min.

6 If making a 2-layer cake, place one cake, flat-side up, on a cake stand or plate. Spread top with ⅓ of the icing. Lay on second cake, flat-side down, and spread ½ remaining icing on top. If making a 4-tier cake, sandwich the layers together with about 1cm-thick icing, then spread 1cm-thick icing on top of the tower.

7 Dollop remaining icing on to sides of the cake and spread to cover and smooth. Decorate with chopped peanuts or as your heart desires.

PER SERVING (if serving 12) 608cals, 8g protein, 36g fat (20g saturates), 60g carbs (44g total sugars), 2g fibre

TO STORE Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 5 days.