Description
A perfectly decadent chocolate birthday cake with chocolate peanut butter buttercream.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cake:
- 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 3/4-cup (222 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (75 grams) Hershey’s cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup strong black coffee
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (100 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups (500 grams) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup Rich Chocolate Ovaltine powder
Instructions
- Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and set aside. (Grease and flour a sheet pan or tube pan or line muffin tin with cupcake papers if using.)
- In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large measuring cup whisk together eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil, and vanilla.
- Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until smooth and flossy, about 2 minutes. Batter will be thin – that’s right.
- Divide batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes (18 minutes or so for cupcakes) (35-45 minutes for a bundt cake) or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before running a butterknife around the edges and inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, cream together butter, cocoa powder and salt. Butter mixture will be very thick. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in peanut butter.
- Add powdered sugar. Turn mixer on low and mix in powdered sugar while adding milk and vanilla extract. As the sugar incorporates, raise the speed of the mixer to beat the frosting. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
- In a 2 cup measuring glass, stir together heavy cream and Ovaltine. Turn mixer speed to medium and pour half of the cream mixture into frosting in a slow, steady stream. Stop the mixer scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add remaining cream mixture or until you’ve reached your desired consistency. Beat until soft and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Frost the cake or store the frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. Bring to room temperature before frosting cakes and cupcakes. There’s a tutorial here on Joy the Baker about frosting a cake if you need it. Happy Birthday!
