Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

 

I've acquired a bundt.  It has been my dream for a few months, but haven't actually taken the time to go buy one.  Lucky for me, my friend's mom gave me her extra bundt pan!

I've googled some history of the bundt.  Not only do they make a beautiful cake, there is a method to their madness.  The bundt was formed so that it could cook a denser cake batter.  The hole in the middle allows heat to penetrate heavy cake batters from all sides.  Smart!  Supposedly, the word bundt comes from the German word "bund" which means a gathering of people, or a bond.  The t was added for good form, and to trademark the dish.

This history is fitting for my first bundt.  Hannah and I made it together in Baltimore.  Hannah's and my bond of friendship is pretty grade A in my book.  We roughed it up in Africa and spent almost every day together for 4 months in a village where no one speaks your language, you do your bathroom business in a hole in the ground, and you have no water or electricity.  You try to spend 24/7 with a stranger in the village and not get sick of them! For Hannah and I, and most of our program luckily, it worked.  The bond between us was clearly pretty strong.  You know when people say that stronger relationships form after extreme situations?  Try 4 months of extreme.

One way we've kept it up is with our love for food and baking, as stated before.  Hannah and I send each other drool worthy recipes daily.  We oo and aaahh over tastespotting.  We talk about our woes of our lackluster healthy lunches and not having daily sweet treats in the office. We link each other to joythebaker.com and wish that she was our friend! We both were anxiously waiting her cookbook's debut and bought it within the first week!

Since my Baltimore trip was coming up, we decided it would be fitting to bake one of Joy's recipes.  It happened.  It was glorious.  It was Joy's Peanut Butter Birthday Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Peanut Butter + Cream Cheese.  How great of a bond is that?  Go make it.  Now.  I'm not even one of those crazy peanut butter people and this cake is obsess-worthy.

Bundts are inviting. Their ring form and pretty edges are for sharing.  With this peanut butter cake, everyone will want to be your friend. You'll create bonds with all the neighbors.  Remember that bond that arises from sharing extreme experiences?  Get ready for it. It's gonna happen. This cake is for real!

Recipe courtesy of Joy the Baker
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups AP Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
Cream together the peanut butter, butter, and sugars until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time,  beating at medium speed for one minute with each addition.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides when necessary.
With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture, beating on low speed until mixture just begins to come together.  Slowly pour all the buttermilk and mix until the mixture comes together, then add the remaining flour mixture and finish incorporating with a spatula.
Pour the mixture into prepared dishes (greased and floured, or sprayed).  This cake can be baked in two 8 inch or 9 inch cake pans, or in a bundt! Bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes, or if it is a bundt, 40-55 minutes, until a cake tester in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 minutes.  Invert and let cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/3 c plus 2 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
Pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsps vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese until it is smooth and pliable.  Add the butter and beat for 1 minute.  Add 1/3 cup of peanut butter and beat until combined.  Switch mixture to low and add in the salt and powdered sugar.  Beat in the vanilla.  Add the two additional tbps into the frosting to give it a bit of a streaky look.  Frost away!
I dusted mine with a bit of cocoa powder.