Chocolate, Caramel, Peanut Butter Heaven

I saw this cake a month or so ago on Sprinkle Bakes, one of my favorite blogs and my jaw dropped in awe of the complexity, the beauty, the ingredients and just the overall WOW factor of this cake. I mean the cake is absolutely gorgeous on the outside garnished with the chocolate curls, but then you cut into the cake and a whole new world is waiting for you...there's chocolate cake, peanut butter cups, caramel, nuts and cheesecake. Holy Cow this is my kind of dessert!

These are all of my favorite flavor combinations wrapped into one sweet package! I mean look at the caramel oozing out in between the chocolate cake and cheesecake layers...oh and those little brown specs peaking out of the cheesecake, those are peanut butter cups! They are a nice little surprise hidden inside only to be revealed when you take a bite!

Thank you Sprinkle Bakes for creating this AMAZING cake! The moment I laid eyes on your fabulous dessert I just knew I had to try and recreate it. I will flat out admit my cake doesn't even come close to being as perfect as yours was, but I can tell you this it tasted absolutely delicious!

My biggest struggle with the cake was the chocolate curls, they gave me fits! I think my very first piece of chocolate curled and then all the rest just ended up as chocolate shavings. Your video makes it look way too easy! I am definitely going to have to have another go at making chocolate curls one day but the heat and humidity hear in Mobile this time of year is tricky with chocolate.

I made this cake for a very special occasion and for a couple who loves all things chocolate and peanut butter! My good friend Katie is getting married soon and some of our friends recently threw them a crawfish boil couples shower! Of course I volunteered to bring the dessert and I knew this cake would be the perfect treat and something that no one had ever tried before.

Katie & Derek. Aren't they the cutest couple!

How sweet, feeding each other the cake for practice on their wedding day!

There is just one word to describe this cake....HEAVEN! Ooey gooey, caramely, chocolatey, peanutty, heaven!

I must admit this cake did require a lot of time, patience, ingredients and dirty dishes but it was absolutely worth it once you sink your teeth into a slice! It received rave reviews and there were literally only crumbs remaining after everyone kept going back for 2nds and 3rds.

If you want to be so adventurous to make this Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake you can find out all the details here. This pretty much walks you through everything step-by-step with the recipes for each layer of the cake, photos for each step of assembling the cake and even a how to video on making the chocolate curls (which I WILL master one of these days!) So what are you waiting for hop on over to Sprinkle Bakes and check out the most divine, decadent and delicious cake I have ever tasted in my entire life! And while you are over there, stick around and check out some of her other fabulous recipes. She creates desserts unlike anything I have ever seen before and her photos are absolutely gorgeous! If only I could spend a day in her kitchen learning some of her baking secrets!

Hope you decide to give this cake a try, you won't be disappointed!

Cupcakes + Cookies = Flower Pots

Although Spring does not officially start until this Sunday, here in Mobile we are already enjoying sunny days, temps in the 70s and flowers in bloom all over town! So to welcome this amazing Spring weather, how about some flower pot cupcakes and cookies!

I will be the first to admit that I don't quite have a green thumb when it comes to keeping a beautiful garden full of vibrant flowers ever year. I am the person that goes and spends a ton of money on flowers, plant them in my flower box, and then forget to water them and they shrivel and die. No water + extreme heat of Mobile = Sad Flowers! So this year, I thought I would take a different approach with flowers, you know the kind that are edible and don't requiring watering. The kind of flower that sprouts out of a chocolate cookie crumbled cupcake!

These flower pot cupcakes just scream spring! They make the perfect addition to any dessert table, would be an adorable party favor at a baby or wedding shower, are the perfect gift for a teacher, or would be the perfect project to assemble with your kids on a sunny day.

Flower Pot Essentials:
Clay Pots + Chocolate Cupcakes + Chocolate Ganache + Oreo cookie crumbs

You can pick up the flower pots at your local craft store. I got these at Michaels for 69 cents each!

Dip the top of the cupcake in the chocolate ganache.

Then dip the chocolate glazed cake into the Oreo crumbs.

Your cupcake now looks like potting soil! Place the cupcake in the flower pot.

Cookie Essentials:
Flower Sugar Cookies + Royal Icing & Sprinkles + Cookie Sticks

Now I bet you are wondering how the flowers are going to sprout out of the cupcakes. This is where the cookie stick comes into play. The same cookie stick that I forgot to place behind all of my cookies prior to baking...ooops! I was a little too excited to see how this idea would come together, that I completely overlooked probably the most important detail on how the cupcake and cookie would interact with each other. So please please please when you make these, be sure to add the cookie stick to the cookie prior to baking. You can find the sticks at your local craft store.

As you can see from the picture I did manage a sneaky trick to get these cookies to attach to the sticks! You can use some royal icing left over from cookie decorating to secure the stick in place. Just allow the icing to dry overnight before you try and place the cookie upright in the pot, or else it will fall right off. But my best advice is to just bake the stick in the cookie to start with, you will save yourself lots of trouble and added stress!

Don't these little flower pots just bring a smile to your face? They have brightened up my dining room this week and I love having them as a centerpiece on my table. They are also an amazing mid afternoon snack!

For these cookies I modified my current sugar cookie recipe and added a little more sugar and used vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla & almond extracts. Oh my goodness, I absolutely love the results those changes made to the recipe! The little flecks of black vanilla beans in the cookies just make them appear special and more elegant. The texture of these cookies was slightly softer and the sweeter taste just made the cookies melt in your mouth. Randolph highly approved of this recipe too, having already devoured 3 cookies at lunch!

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookies (makes about 3 dozen)

Ingredients:
-3 cups all-purpose flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in bowl and set aside.
• In the bowl of a mixer cream the sugar and butter well.
• Add the egg and vanilla bean paste to the butter mixture and mix well.
• Gradually add the flour mixture, scraping down the bowl as necessary as mixing.
• Grab a ball of dough and knead it together.
• Roll dough out onto floured surface and cut into desired shapes.
• Place cookies on prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. This will prevent the cookies from spreading when baking.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets then transfer to wire racks to completely cool.

Decorate with Royal Icing.

Here are the other recipes I used for the cupcakes.
Chocolate Cupcakes (cake recipe from I am Baker, one of the most talented cake decorators who always sneaks a little surprise into the middle of her cakes)
Chocolate Ganache Glaze (recipe from Martha Stewart)
15 crushed Oreos for garnish

Hope your Spring is full of lots of beautiful flowers, edible ones of course!