Chocolate Peanut-
Butter Cream Cake

Cake
1 3/4 CUPS Cake flour
 1/2 tsp each baking soda
   and salt
 ~1 cup (~ stick) unsalted
  butter, cut lnto blts
 3 oz unsweetened
   chocolate, in bits
11/2 EUPS SUgar
 2 large eggs
 1 cup buttermilk
 ~ t~p vanilla extract
Peanvt-Butter Cream
11/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 CUP peanut-butter
   beking chips
 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
 M cup heavy cream
 ~ Tbsp each unsalted
  butter and sugar
 401bittBrswBBt
  chocolate, chopped
Oarnish
Candied violets

ú Preheat oven to 3500E
Grease 2 (9-in.) round
cake pans with straight
sides. Place 9-in. waxed-
paper round in bottom of
each; grease and flour.
ú Cake: In large bowl,
combine flour, baking soda
and salt. In l-qt glass bowl,
in microwave, cook butter
and chocolate on HIGH 2
minutes or until melted;
let cool 5 minutes. Whisk
in sugar, eggs, buttermilk

and vanilla. Whisk choco-
late mixture into flour
mixture. Scrape into pans.
ú Bake 26 to 28 minutes,
until pick inserted in cen-
ters comes out clean. Cool
in pans on rack 15 min-
utes. Turn out onto racks;
remove paper. Let cool.
ú Cream: In saucepan,
combine I~ cup of cream
and the chitps; Jtir over
low heat un 1 chips melt
and rnixture is smooth.
Transfer to bowl. Stir in
vanilla; cool in refriger-
ator 20 minutes. In small
bowl, beat remaining
cream until soft peaks
form. Stir one third of
the whipped cream into
peanut-butter mixture;
fold in remaining cream.
ú Place 1 cake layer on
rack; spread with peanut-
butter cream. Top with
remaining layer; gently
press cake into cream.
With spatula, if needed,
push crealn back between
cake layers. Refrigerate
]X hour to let cream set.
o Glaze: In medium sauce-
pan, over medium-high
heat, stir together heavy
cream, butter and sugar
until sugar dissolves;
bring mixture to boil. Add
chocolate; remove from
heat. Let stand 5 minutes;
whisk until smooth. Let
cool for 5 rninutes or until
glaze is slightly thickened
but still pourable.
and vanilla. Whis
late mixture ini
mixture. Scrape iI
ú Bake 26 to 28 1
until pick insertec
ters comes out cle
in Dans on rack