Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Red velvet with cinnamon cream cheese frosting

The party was AARP themed since the birthday girl was turning 50... she took it like a champ!

Chocolate with peanut butter buttercream and chocolate peanut butter sauce

One of my favorite co-workers commissioned me to make 50 cupcakes for another awesome co-worker of ours and of course I was super excited. After talking it over we settled on three flavors:

1. Chocolate with peanut butter buttercream and peanut butter chocolate fudge sauce
2. Classic yellow cake with dark chocolate cream cheese frosting
3. Red velvet with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and red velvet crumb topping

I had made all of the icing and cakes on their own and some together over the past few years but I had never used the cinnamon cream cheese frosting in the past and it was so good that I had to share it with you all. This is crazy simple, and really nothing fancy but it ads a whole new delicious layer to a red velvet cake. It's so subtle that you can't really pinpoint what it is but when you do it is such a surprise that it makes everyone smile. Try it on you next red velvet cupcake and I promise you wont be disappointed.

-K

Ingredients:

• 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 1/2 cup butter, room temp
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (you can also use nutmeg)
• 1 tbl heavy whipping cream (this is optional but I find it helps the frosting to be extra fluffy)

1. Cream the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Slowly add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and heavy cream mix until well combined.
2. Add the cream cheese and beat on high for about 5 min or until the frosting is light and fluffy. Try not to over-beat.

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream and Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache

I was inspired by Coco Cake and decided to make a cake last week. I am all about using what I have in the cupboard these days and since I had made Nigella's Peanut butter chocolate fudge sauce the day before and had a good amount left over I thought I would use that as inspiration for my cake. I decided to make a regular chocolate cake, you can use which ever recipe you like best here. I used my classic go to chocolate cake that for now remains my secret. To make it special I made peanut butter buttercream, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was so creamy and light I could eat an entire bowl. I used the chocolate peanut butter sauce in between one layer and then I topped the cake with the last little bit, this makes it look and taste extra special. It is a nice way to elevate a simple cake from the normal cake and icing to cake, icing, and ganache!

One thing I like to do is make sure my cakes are nice and high, I always double my cake recipe and in this case I used 8" cake pans and made 3 layers. It makes the cake look professional and the more cake the better, right?

Peanut Butter Buttercream: (I am giving you the doubled recipe since you will need almost all of this for the filing and to ice the cake, feel free to half it if you make a smaller cake)

• 2 cups butter softened (you can do 2 sticks salted and 2 sticks unsalted)
• 8 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of peanut butter

1. Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in the sugar slowly until well combined. Add in the vanilla and cream.
3. Beat in the peanut butter until creamy. That's it!

Click here to see my post on how to make the Chocolate Peanut Butter sauce...

To assemble:

• Place the first layer of the cake on a clean plate that is easy to ice on. I like to put a cardboard cake round down on a lazy susan so that I can spin it as I ice. Take about 3/4 cup of your buttercream and spread it evenly on the layer.
• Put the next layer of cake on top of that and pour the cooled chocolate sauce on top, just enough to cover the top of the layer and not drip out over the sides. Top that with the last layer of cake.
• Take a flat icing spatula and start your crumb coat - this is just a thin layer of your butter cream icing to cover the entire cake. Don't worry about the crumbs. Once your cake is completely covered put it in the fridge for 30 min.
• Now you have a nice layer of cooled icing so when you put the rest of your buttercream on you won't get any crumbs. Ice an even layer of Buttercream over the entire cake.
• Take the rest of your icing and put it in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe large balls around the bottom of the cake and three layers of round balls on the top. Starting on the outside and working in.
• All that is left now is to drop about a quarter of a cup of your chocolate sauce right on top, use a small flat end spatula to spread it evenly or if you use a lazy susan you can just spin it and it will flow out evenly on its own.

first 2 layers of the chocolate cake - buttercream on bottom layer, chocolate sauce on middle layer

Crumb coat ready for the fridge for 30 min.

using a round tip on a pastry bag pipe three layers of round circles on the top and 1 layer around the bottom of the cake

drop the chocolate sauce in the middle and spread evenly (spinning the lazy susan will help a ton)

Voila, Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce

What I am experiencing right now should be illegal. I have been craving chocolate like it's going out of style the past few days but I haven't been able to bake much since my kitchen has been closed for a few weeks. I know sad, but hopefully it will be back in full swing soon. Back to my need for chocolate - I had chocolate chips, peanut butter, and a can of sweetened condensed milk. Who knew that just by mixing those three things together you could have the most amazing chocolate peanut butter topping to pour, yes pour over ice cream. Since I decided to make this at the last minute my camera is dead and I didn't get any photos, but good news! The lovely Nigella Lawson is here to show you exactly how to make it step by step. I could listen to her gorgeous english accent talk about chocolate all day. Make this. You will love it. There is nothing more to say.

All you need:

• Chocolate chips
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• Peanut butter
• Boiling water
• Crushed peanuts (optional)