Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Each year for my birthday, I make a decadent dessert that's been taunting me from the blogging world. The past two year's creations have involved chocolate and peanut butter: Reeses Fudge Pie and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cake. (As a sidenote, I made a lot of tasty things in July 2012!) History will repeat itself this year in the flavor profile with this cake from Dieter's Downfall. The idea of cookie dough sandwiched into cake seems like an appropriate way to celebrate my 31st birthday. And I love that these projects with multiple steps and layers can be done over the course of a few days, which makes them easy to do with two little helpers. This concept is highly adaptable to other flavors of cookie dough, frosting or cake just for future reference. Perhaps future versions will be tastier because this one failed to impress me completely.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Cookie Dough Layer
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
Cake
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cup cake flour
1 cup milk
1 cup boiling water
Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
2-5 Tbsp. milk
2 cups powdered sugar 
Garnish
Chocolate curls
Peanut butter cups
Mini chocolate chips
Reeses Pieces

Make the cookie dough layer first by blending butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add in the sugars, and blend until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients until evenly incorporated. Line a 9-inch cake pan with plastic wrap, and transfer the cookie dough into it. Using slightly damp hands, press the dough evenly into the pan. Refrigerate overnight until set.

 
To make the cake, melt chocolate and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans by greasing, flouring and lining them with parchment paper.

Cream butter, and add in brown sugar. Beat until smooth. Add one egg at a time until light and fluffy. Add cooled chocolate, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Alternate adding in the flour and milk, and mix until just combined. Remove from mixer, and stir in the water by hand. Pour into prepared pans, and and bake for 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cakes are cool, wrap in plastic wrap. Ideally freeze overnight to make frosting easier.

To make the frosting, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Gradually add in milk and powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. (Note: I think an edible cookie dough frosting like this would be delicious, too.)

To assemble, place one chocolate cake on a cake platter. Add the cookie dough layer, and top with second chocolate cake. Trim edges as needed, and then frost cake. Garnish as desired.

Note: This cake recipe itself is not my favorite with the changes I made to it, so I would substitute a different recipe or use the original recipe from the blog next time I make it.