Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This week's recipe is a special request, in fact it's a birthday request. Instead of muffins I'm making a peanut butter birthday cake. This recipe uses four bowls, not including the chocolate frosting, which I think is a record. It's Ashley Judd's recipe, so I guess she has someone to do the dishes for her. Sorry for the boring pictures, I'm frosting in the morning after they cool completely. Not much else to say, reactions tomorrow.



Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 egg yolks, beaten well
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 8-inch round cake pan.
2. Beat butter in stand mixer with flat beater until fluffy. Beat in sugar. Beat in yolks and then peanut butter until smooth.
3. Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Combine the buttermilk and water in another bowl and stir in the baking soda. Into the yolk mixture, beat in the flour mixture, in fourths, alternating with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture.
4. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold into the batter with a rubber spatula. Spread the batter in a prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in a pan on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Invert onto the rack; invert onto another rack, so that the cake cools with top side up.
   
5. Once cool, frost with chocolate buttercream frosting, recipe below

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar
1/3cup cocoa

Mix cocoa and powdered sugar in medium bowl. Add to butter, milk, vanilla and salt. Beat until smooth.