Redemption Cake

A letter to my husband:
Dear Mr. Sweets (AKA Mr. Sinful Southern Sweets),
I am not overly compulsive. I have not spent every waking hour contemplating the cause of the dry cake that you have indicated that I made last week. Nor is it abnormal for wanting to try to redeem myself for the dry cake you have accused me of creating.
Thank you...Have a delightful day

Don't you hate it when you have the best of intentions, like doing something nice for someone, but in the end, the outcome doesn't really seem so nice after all? Last week, my husband reminded me that his business partner's (KA, but some call him SA) birthday was coming up on Thursday. So, I had it all planned. I even made my husband call KA's mother to find out his favorite cake. Yellow cake with chocolate icing. Easy, enough. Though strangely, this is also Mr. Sweets favorite cake as well. But nonetheless, I let that go. So that's what I was going to send. But, you know what kind of cake I ended up sending? Dry cake. Overbaked Cake. Uhhhgg!~ And after racking my brain, I realize it wasn't really the recipe's fault. It was total user error. But, isn't that usually the case. Unfortunately, I baked the cake on a convection setting without adjusting the time/temp. Well, if it were just a birthday it would be one thing, but it was the big 4-0 for KA! So in an effort to redeem my well intentions, I have made another cake for my husband to take to work.
This time I made an extra set of layers so I could make sure that I wasn't sending dry cake. Mr. Sweets indicated that the cake part on this one is so light it's as though its not even there. I'm hoping he's not saying that he feels like he's just eating slabs of icing with air floating in between:) Poor Mr. Sweets, he can't give constructive criticism without someone overjudging his comments. Perhaps, the constructive criticism would be better received if he just didn't say it out-loud :) Just kidding, Mr Sweets. Kind of...
This cake will be a favorite to those who adore the heavenly combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Peanut Butter frosting fills the 2 (incredibly soft and not dry) yellow butter cake layers. Peanut butter cups line the top of the peanut butter frosting. The exterior is coated with a light creamy chocolate frosting. Then, the whole thing is topped with a few extra peanut butter cups.
After working on this cake all morning, I tried to offer a bite to every person in my house. From each, I received the same response. "I'm not hungry." Princess Runwilder even exclaimed "No cake..no hungy." I just looked at them all and blinked in disbelief. Since when did you have to be hungry to eat cake?!?!?! Cake is an emotional food. You can be happy, sad, stable or unstable. But you don't have to be hungry. I fully enjoyed the cake myself. And, I wasn't hungry either.
Should you decide to make this cake, (and I highly recommend you do) it makes 4 round layers. If you want to share, you can make 2 (2-layer) cakes. Give one away and keep one so you can make sure you're not giving away a dry, petrified cake :) Or you can make 1 full cake and freeze the other layers for later. You will have plenty of peanut butter filling for 2 cakes, but you will need to make 2 separate batches of frosting (I wouldn't try to double the recipe, you may never get it to whip up).  You will think the frosting will never turn into a spreadable consistency, but it will. I thought I would surely burn the motor up on my hand mixer before it came together, but the mixer is fine and the frosting is whipped.
You know, the more I think about this, I think Mr. Sweets is trying to pull a fast one on me. Do you think Mr. Sweets is figuring out that if he comes home and (gently) complains about my baking that I will just keep trying to redeem myself with more baked goods. Hmmm...was that first cake even dry after all?.....
Another letter to Mr. Sweets:
Dear Mr Sweets,
The first cake had better have been dry.. or your next cake will be laced with Ex-Lax.....
Have a nice day and as always Enjoy!

Redemption Cake

Yellow Butter Cake:
Recipe courtesy of Cake Central
Ingredients
1 Duncan Hines butter recipe cake mix
1 cup of sugar
4 large eggs
2 sticks of butter (softened)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup self rising flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
Instructions
Add first 5 ingredients beat at medium speed for 4 mins.
Then add next 2 ingredients beat at medium speed for additional 2 mins.
Pour evenly into 4 – 8″ prepared pans. Bake for 25 – 30 mins in preheated oven at 325 degrees.

Peanut Butter Filling:
Recipe via All Recipes
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup cream
Directions
1.In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat in 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar. Mix in 1/4 cup of the cream. Beat in the remaining confectioners' sugar. If necessary, add a little more cream or milk until the frosting reaches a good spreading consistency. Makes enough to frost one 2 layer 9 inch cake or one 9x13 inch cake.

Chocolate Frosting:
Recipe courtesy Southern Living
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 stick  butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium saucepan, bring cream, sugar and corn syrup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and add chocolate and butter; stir until completely smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour mixture into a medium bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water. Beat until shiny and thick.

To assemble:
Place one layer of cake crown side up on a serving plate. Top with peanut butter filling. Cover filling with chopped peanut butter cups (Reese's). Stack next cake layer (crown side down) on top of peanut butter cups. Frost top and sides with chocolate frosting. Garnish as desired with additional peanut butter cups. Wallow in self pity for approximately 15 minutes because you will be running, yet again, on the treadmill for several hours, yet again, to try to maintain damage control from the cake herein consumed. Oh, and consider thyself redeemed :)