Peanut butter versus chocolate

I have been living on a chocolate cake high for some time now. Everyone raves over this dense, chocolate cake that I have made at every birthday, special occasion and just because we want something sweet to eat.

I’ve shared this recipe with readers at least once before which is why I haven’t written a TMKW column in a while. I’ve become a one-hit wonder with this cake. I love chocolate so what recipe could be better? Why bake anything else?

I love chocolate. This dark chocolate cake recipe I like to call Chocolate Madness Cake is dense and moist with a dark chocolate flavor.

The cake is perfection. Can’t do anything to make it better. Then, comes the frosting. Presentation is important, as is flavor when it

LISA MITCHELL — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA

Anna, 5, helped make fluffy peanut butter frosting, which passed her taste test. comes to frosting a cake. In the past, I’ve haphazardly thrown my frosting ingredients into the bowl, adding more as I went according to taste. This lead to over sweet frosting that looked sloppy on top of the cake.

Disappointed, I decided to follow a recipe instead. So I went looking on allrecipes.com. Now the question was chocolate or peanut butter.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting INGREDIENTS

1⁄4 cup shortening 1⁄4 cup butter, soft 2cup sifted confectioners sugar 1⁄2 cup cocoa powder 2to 3tablespoons milk or cream.

INSTRUCTIONS Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting INGREDIENTS

1⁄4 cup butter, soft 1⁄4 cup shortening 1cup peanut butter 3tablespoons milk or cream 2cups confectioners sugar, sifted

INSTRUCTIONS Dark Chocolate Madness Cake INGREDIENTS

2cups white sugar 13⁄4 cup all-Purpose flour, sifted 3⁄4 cup sifted dark cocoa powder 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1cup milk or cream 1 cup melted butter 1cup hot coffee

INSTRUCTIONS

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add milk and melted butter. Stir in hot coffee until smooth. Pour batter into one greased and floured 9-inch spring form pan. Bake at 350degrees for 35 minutes.

Here are a few key lessons I learned along the way. Sifting the sugar is important, otherwise you’ll have lumpy frosting. Also use a peanut butter that is less oily; the drier the better. Note that I also sift my flour and cocoa powder to get a smoother cake batter.

Instead of using all butter in the frosting, the shortening helps balance flavor so that the frosting is not taken over by butter flavor; want it to taste like chocolate or peanut butter instead of butter.

I also find using light or heavy cream better than milk, giving the frosting a creamy taste instead of a milky taste.

I tried the chocolate frosting first, using the same dark chocolate cocoa powder. Reviews from the family suggested I go with a contrasting flavor for the frosting. So I tried the peanut butter frosting, receiving rave reviews. I found the presentation of the peanut butter frosting was good and the taste was a good compliment to the dark chocolate cake. Frosting matters. The cake has been eaten, too quickly, and now I’m getting requests to make it again. Guess I’ll live on that chocolate cake high one more time.

Have a recipe to share with readers? Send to lmitchell@ berksmontnews.com.

Cream shortening and butter. In another bowl, sift sugar and cocoa together. Add 1cup of sugar mixture to butter, mix, add remaining sugar mixture, adding milk 1 tablespoon gradually. Should be light and fluffy. To make it thinner for spreading, add 2tablespoons milk. Beat butter, shortening, peanut butter. Gradually add sugar and milk. Will be difficult to spread. Spoon on around on top of cake and use a frosting knife to flatten and spread carefully. Store cake in sealable container and put in fridge.

Topping dark chocolate cake with a fluffy peanut butter frosting received rave reviews.