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So, how’s it taste?

Um, it smacked me in the face with it’s fabulousness. I made this cake for another birthday in the office and it took every single ounce of willpower not to dive right in after I made it. I almost texted the birthday boy to ask permission to go ahead and cut a slice. I’m not joking. I mean look at it! Two layers of moist devil’s food cake sandwiching the best filling in the world. The filling tastes just like chocolate chip cookie dough. It’s got a hint of saltiness and is a tad bit grainy from the brown sugar, just like cookie dough.

As if all that wasn’t enough, let’s pour some rich, velvety smooth chocolate ganache over the entire cake. Look at those puddles of chocolate. It’s like they’re reaching out to you, daring you to not take a bite. I could bury my face in this and be happy for a good hour or two trying to eat my way out of it. (I will point out that it’s a lot of ganache. You know I’m a chocolate lover, but it pooled off the sides too much. Next time I make this, I’ll reduce the amount.)

I made this using a 9×13 pan, but you could use two 9-inch round pans if you want it to really look like a giant whoopie pie. I might have to make this again just to see which shape I prefer. All in the name of research, right? If you don’t have two 9×13 pans, don’t worry. I made mine with one pan. Just bake one cake and let it cool a bit in the pan. Finish cooling the first cake on a wire rack while you wash the pan and repeat. It’s ok for the cake batter to wait while the first one bakes.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Whoopie Pie Cake

cake, ganache, and concept by Cookies & Cups
filling by The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook by Lindsay Landis

Ingredients:

Cake
1 box devil's food cake mix (prepare per package directions) + 1 extra egg
cocoa powder for dusting the pan

Filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow creme
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. For the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Butter two 9x13 pans and dust with cocoa powder. Tap gently to remove any excess and set aside. If you only have one pan, bake one at at time.

2. Prepare the cake mix according to package directions, adding an extra egg. This makes the cake a bit more sturdy. Split batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely.

3. For the filling, beat together the butter and brown sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in flour and salt on low speed until incorporated. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4. For the ganache, bring heavy cream to almost a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Keep stirring until smooth. Cool for about 10 minutes and then pour over top of cake. Use a small offset spatula to spread to the edges. Ganache will get thicker as it cools.

Copyright © 2009-2020 Leah Claire - Leah Claire

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So, how’s it taste?

When I opened the cake dome lid, it was peanut butter chocolate heaven. The aroma was intoxicating. The peanut butter frosting/filling is spot on. It’s amazing. It’s really fluffy, so much so that I almost want to call it a mousse. It wasn’t too peanut buttery, wasn’t too sweet, it was perfect. I will definitely make it again for other sweet treats.

The cake tasted really good and chocolately, but I think it’s all wrong for the frosting. I also had a problem with them sinking, which going back to the source I see a lot of comments that had that same issue, and mine were not underbaked. The cake is pretty dense and since it has to be stored in the fridge, it was really hard to cut a slice. The dense cake kind of squished the frosting everywhere. It got better at room temperature, but then the frosting was too greasy at room temperature, so they just don’t match. I was surprised at how the cake turned out because they seemed to be really moist when I took them out of the pans. Don’t get me wrong, the cake tasted awesome (hello PB and chocolate!), but I’d like to see this frosting with a lighter cake. I think it would work fantastically with the Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe (see my Blackberry Chocolate Cupcakes).

I also wish I had used more of the frosting/filling. I felt like I was adding too much in between the layers, but I really could have used all of it. I ended up not using about 1 1/2 cups and that was a mistake. Don’t be shy when filling between the layers! This frosting is also really easy to pipe and spread. Although you’ll never get it perfectly smooth, but it kind of adds to the look with the mousse-like texture. I think I’d like to make chocolate cupcakes and use this frosting. Don’t be surprised if you see that concoction soon on the blog!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

by Annie's Eats
makes about 16 servings

Ingredients:

Cake
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pans
1 tbsp. instant espresso or coffee powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

Filling and Frosting
3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled
3 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, divided
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of coarse salt

Garnish
Mini peanut butter cups, halved

Directions:

1. For the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Butter edges of three 8-inch round cake pans and dust with cocoa powder. Shake the pans to remove excess. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, add cocoa powder, espresso powder, and boiling water. Whisk until smooth and set aside to cool. After cooling a bit, whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Set mixture aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Add eggs one at a time. In another medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt with a whisk until blended.

2. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three additions alternating with sour cream mixture. Mix each addition just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between pans. Bake about 30-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans during halfway through to ensure even baking. Transfer the cake to wire racks and cool in the pans at least 30 minutes. Next invert cake onto the racks to cool completely.

3. To make the filling and frosting, combine the heavy cream and 1/4 cup of the confectioners' sugar in a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over mix. Transfer a separate bowl; set aside. In mixer bowl, now fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and peanut butter. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 45 seconds. Add the rest of the confectioners' sugar and mix, slowly at first until incorporated, then increasing the mixer speed to high. Add vanilla extract and salt. Continue to whip on high speed until very fluffy, about 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Using a large spatula, gently fold whipped cream into peanut butter frosting until no streaks remain.

4. Assemble the cake, placing one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread a layer of the frosting over the top of the cake. Top with a second cake and another layer of frosting. Place the last cake on top. Frost the top and sides using a thin crumb coat. Place in the freezer or fridge for 30 minutes to set. Reserve about 1 cup of the remaining frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip (Wilton #21 recommended). Once the crumb cake is set, frost the top and sides of the cake again using an offset spatula. Using the reserved frosting, pipe a border around the base of the cake. Pipe swirls evenly around the top border of the cake and one in the middle. Finish by garnishing with halved peanut butter cups. (Freezing the candy for a bit beforehand helps them stay looking nice while you cut them.) Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.

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So, how’s it taste?

I hope you like chocolate! See that glaze? It’s madness. Complete madness. It slowly gets thicker and becomes almost like a truffle. I will say that it’s too much for the cake. (What? Too much chocolate?) Yes, it’s too much. You see what a mess that cake looks like, and that isn’t even all of the glaze. I couldn’t bring myself to pour on anymore. So I highly, highly recommend making 1/2 the amount of glaze…unless you are going for this crazy, hot mess of chocolate look. Now back to the flavor…

No one cared how sloppy the cake looked. I mean it’s chocolate, and it’s way over the top. When I think of glaze, I think of a thin coating. This stuff is thick and rich and decadent. It truly is like someone melted truffles over the top. The cake is super moist and chocolatey. It’s got five eggs and a boatload of butter and different types of sugar. It is sugar coma inducing at first bite. But the best part is the tunnel of fudge. I have no idea how it works. The batter looks like any ordinary batter and there’s no special instructions, but somehow during baking the tunnel forms. I almost want to disagree with calling it fudge. The consistency is more like pudding. It’s not regular pudding though, it’s the best pudding you’ll ever taste. Rich, rich, rich.

Cutting the cake was a little difficult due to all of the glaze, so the pieces ended up a bit smushed and it’s hard to see the tunnel. But if someone handed you a slice, would you care? Nope! As the cake is cooling in the pan, it starts to really sink in. So much that I was worried I had ruined it. Don’t fear though, that’s just the tunnel of chocolate. Once you flip the cake over, it will hold its shape and you’ll be the new best friend of anyone you share a piece with.

Update 2/25/15: Made this cake again and only made half of the glaze. It works so much better! It’s still a good amount of glaze, so you’re not missing any, but works much better, especially when slicing the cake. In the ingredients list below, I’ve included the measurements for making 1/2 the glaze.

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

Cook's Illustrated Entertaining, Holiday 2010 via Annie's Eats
makes about 12-14 servings

Ingredients:

Prep the pan
1 tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Cake
1/2 cup boiling water
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. salt
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze*
3/4 cup heavy cream (6 tbsp. for half)
1/4 cup light corn syrup (2 tbsp. for half)
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (4 oz. for half)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (1/4 tsp. for half)

*Note: I would suggest making half the amount of glaze. It's plenty for the cake without going overboard and wasting some.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and melted butter. Using a pastry brush, evenly coat the inside of a 12-cup Bundt pan.

2. In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the chopped chocolate. Let stand 1 minute; whisk until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, combine eggs and vanilla; beat lightly.

3. Using an electric mixer, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the egg mixture until combined. Add the chocolate mixture and mix until incorporated. Blend in dry ingredients until combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the edges of the cake begin to pull away from the pan.

4. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours. The cake will begin to sink, but that's ok (that's the tunnel of fudge!). Invert onto a cake platter and allow to cool completely for 2 hours.

5. To make the glaze, combine the cream, corn syrup, and chocolate in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until smooth. Blend in the vanilla. Set aside for about 30 minutes, until slightly thickened. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and let set for at least 10 minutes before slicing. The glaze will set and become thick like a ganache.

*Note: I highly suggest dividing the glaze in half. It's too much glaze and will look better if you use less.

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