Hot Mess Kitchen

Alright ya’ll…. this is a big one! This was kinda the first big cooking risk I made and it was for Valentines Day for my husband. He loves Reese’s and he really loves cake so I decided to go all out. This is a very rich cake and not for the faint of heart! Perfect for gatherings where lots of people will be eating it!

Disclaimer: I did not come up with this recipe myself, I found it on the Life Love and Sugar Blog and had great success with it so I want to share it with you!

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder
• 2 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup hot water

Peanut Butter Frosting

• 2 cups salted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups peanut butter
• 9 cups powdered sugar
• 6-7 tbsp milk
• 6 reeses, chopped

Chocolate Ganache and Topping:

• 1 cup (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 reeses, cut in half
• crumbled or chopped up reeses

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare three 8-inch cake pans (I prefer using spring form pans) with non-stick cooking spray and parchment paper in the bottom.
2. In a large mixer bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and combine.
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine milk vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and eggs using a whisk.
4. Add the wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
5. Slowly add the hot water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure it all gets combined well.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center come out clean. **There may be some moist crumbs when you pull it out
7. Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
8. To make the frosting, combine the butter and peanut butter together in a large mixer bowl until well combined.
9. Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
10. Add 3 tablespoons of milk and mix until smooth.
11. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
12. Add the remaining milk and mix until smooth continuing to keep an eye on the consistency so it does not get too thick or too thin.
13. To build the cake, use a large serrated knife to remove the tops of the cake layers to make them flat.
14. Put a tbsp of frosting on the center of your serving plate and lay the first layer on top of that, centering with the frosting.
15. Top that layer with about a cup of frosting and smooth into an even layer. ** you can add some chopped reeses between the layers, however, I did not because I forgot and it still tasted amazing.
16. Add the next layer and top with more frosting and smooth it out (and chopped reeses if you’d like).
17. Add the final layer of cake and cover with frosting on top and the sides. **It may be helpful to do a crumb coat and then stick it in the freezer for a bit but I just iced it all right away because I have no patience 🙂
18. Set the cake aside and make your chocolate ganache.
19. For the chocolate ganache, microwave your heavy whipping crean until it just begins to boil and pour it over a bowl of your chocolate chips. Let it sit about 2 minutes then whisk until smooth.
20. Use a squeeze bottle to create the drips around the edge or just pour the ganache over the top of the cake and gently spread it to create natural drips down the side.
21. Allow the ganache to firm for about 10 minutes.
22. Put your remaining frosting in a bag with a large star tip and create 8 decorative circles on top.
23. Cut 4 Reeses in half and place each half between your icing circles on top.
24. Chop up your remaining Reeses and sprinkle on top and around the sides of the cake.
25. Refridgerate cake until ready to serve and then enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and I would love to hear how it turns out for you or see pictures!