Sunday, October 25, 2009

SMS: Devil’s Food Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting


This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays treat is Devil’s Food Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, yum! Josh started a new job a couple months ago and I realized I had yet to send him to work with treats. They seem to be very enthusiastic about Halloween around his office, so I figured this week was the perfect opportunity for him to bring some goodies. I made cupcakes since, obviously, they are easier to share than a big layer cake. This recipe makes a lot of cake! I got twenty-four cupcakes, plus two ramekins (so we could sample today), and a six-inch cake, which I am freezing for later in the week when I don’t have time to bake. I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, with the exception of diluting the coffee a bit with hot water. I remembered when the group made Melissa’s Brooklyn Brownout Cake that the coffee flavor was pretty aggressive, and since not everyone likes coffee, I didn’t want the chocolate to be overpowered. (On a semi-related note, I recently watched an episode of the Barefoot Contessa which featured flavor enhancers; she has people blind sample two versions of several different recipes and one of Ina’s flavor enhancers was coffee for chocolate cupcakes.)



I was happy for an excuse to finally try peanut butter frosting; I’ve seen it on a lot of blogs and it always sounds amazing. I did not use the version in the book, which had six sticks of butter, though. Once again, the Problems and Questions section of the Sweet Melissa site came in handy. Karen of Karen’s Cookies, Cakes, and More had posted an alternative recipe involving more peanut butter and less butter (two sticks). I’ve seen lots of beautiful cupcakes on Karen’s site, so I figured she was a good resource for frosting recipes and it was excellent. I’m embarrassed to admit how much I sampled, probably at least a cupcake’s worth, and I’m looking forward to making it again. The cupcakes were superb, too.



We rated this recipe a 9.5 for Deliciousness and I gave it a 3.5 for Effort, giving it an EDR of 2.71. Many thanks to Holly of PheMOMenon for selecting this cake and giving me a chance to finally try peanut butter frosting. You can find the recipe HERE on Holly’ site, plus lots of stunning photos and yummy recipes. Also, be sure to stop by the Sweet Melissa blogroll to see how the other bakers liked this cake. And thanks to the bakers last week who gave me tips on filling a pastry bag, this was my best frosting piping experience to date!

10 comments:

Katiecakes said...

I used a different frosting recipe too, 6 sticks was just too much!

Your cupcakes look lovely.

Katie xox

Karin said...

I ended up making cupcakes too- I had twenty-four and ended up throwing away the rest of the batter (the first time I have ever done this). I think we used the same cupcake liners!

k.a.r.e.n said...

Awesome cupcakes! Mine were all gone before I could take a pict. Glad you liked the alternate PB frosting, although now i hear Melissa's was really good.

Megan said...

Wowza! Those look incredible - I'm going to have to check out the recipe in my book.

Seriously though - 6 sticks of butter? I can feel my arteries hardening as we speak......

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous cupcakes! Great recipe for Josh to bring to work.

JoAnn Freda said...

Your cupcakes look professionally made. At least one of your brothers would LOVE these. Hope they were a hit at the office.

Anonymous said...

Chocolate and peanut butter is such a great combination! Your frosting and sprinkles look really pretty.

Unknown said...

I am so bummed I missed this week's recipe - it looks absolutely delicious! Chocolate and peanut butter = best combination ever! I think I may still make these this week for Shane to bring to work. I'm glad you liked them and thanks for sharing about the modified frosting recipe. I will definitely be using that one.

Anonymous said...

your cupcakes look delicious!!

Shandy said...

Your cupcakes look so beautiful! I just know your hubby's workmates loved the cupcake treat too. The frosting really was hard to keep out of and I think I sampled my fair share.