Birthdays, Adventures, and Peanut Butter Cake

Today is the Hubby's birthday.

Coincidentally, the Munchkin turned 9 months old today. But that's not why we had Peanut Butter Cake.

Mmmmm.

Just saying the name makes me remember how delicious it was...

I make a special dessert each year on the Hubby's birthday. He usually picks either Stawberry Cake or Strawberry pie, but this year I decided to try something new. Since those things usually turn out deeelicious (not bragging, but they are pretty good!), making something new is a risk.

Let me tell you, risks can be pretty stinkin' yummy.

The Hubby's grandmother makes a really good Peanut Butter Cake. In fact, she's a wiz at desserts. So I had to get a recipe that was similar to her's. It took me a while to find a recipe to try. I ALWAYS read the reviews, since anyone can post a recipe these days and talk it up to sound fabulous. I ended up choosing this recipe here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peanut-butter-sheet-cake/

(The recipe is also posted at the end of this blog).

Instead of making a large sheet cake I made two 9-inch rounds. I also like a lot of frosting on my cakes, so the recipe only made enough for one of the rounds. I'll save the second one and freeze it, so we can re-live this whole experience again later this year. 

Let me tell you, this cake is not diet-friendly. It calls for three different types of oil (peanut butter, butter, and vegetable oil). Yikes! I'm no chemist (that's my sister!) but it must need them, because the cake itself came out fairly fluffy for having so many oils in it.

This cake is also not for the faint-hearted. Seriously - you might get a heart attack after eating it. But it is worth it!

Make sure to have plenty of milk on hand, as I downed a full glass with my piece.

In addition to the cake, I made shrimp and pasta for dinner. There aren't any seafood restaurants within an hour's drive, but I managed to fix one for the both of us for under $10. Beat that, Red Lobster!

Besides all of the yummy foods, we also went to Babcock State Park so that the Hubby could play around with a newly acquired tripod and take some pictures of the riverbed and grist mill. The Munchkin and I wandered around with the stroller and enjoyed being outdoors. While the Hubby was all camped out in the river taking shots of the waterfalls, we met another photographer. He must have realized that the Hubby and I were together, and he said I must be a "photographer's widow." :-) I laughed and told him that I didn't bring enough things to do while we waited for him to finish taking pictures. But really, I can't complain about the Hubby's new hobby. He sure loves it, and I enjoy having great pictures to document our adventures!

Peanut Butter Cake

Originally from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peanut-butter-sheet-cake/

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 cups white sugar

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1 cup water

¾ cup butter

½ cup peanut butter

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

½ cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

2/3 cup white sugar

13 cup evaporated milk

1 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup mini marshmallows

½ tsp vanilla

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans, or one 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.
• In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine the water and ¾ cup butter and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in oil and peanut butter until well blended.
• Add peanut butter mixture to dry ingredients. Combine eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla, and add to bowl. Mix well.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared pan(s). Bake for 18-26 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
• While cake is baking, mix sugar, evaporated milk, and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, marshmallows, and vanilla. Stir until mixture is smooth. Spoon over warm cake and spread in an even layer. Allow to fully cool before cutting and serving.