Rich wanted chocolate and peanut butter, so that's what he got. Four layers of cake, salted peanut butter frosting and a heavy swirl of dark chocolate ganache. This was one seriously decadent cake!
I wanted the cake to be as fresh as possible, but at the same time easy and quick to put together. It's kind of hard being stealthy, especially when Rich is in the next room watching American Ninja Warrior. To ease things along, I baked the cakes a day in advance and put them in the freezer. One chocolate and the other vanilla with just a smidgen of peanut butter mixed in.
I went with the canned frosting route (again), but doctored it up with some all natural smooth peanut butter, real vanilla extract and a good sprinkling of sea salt. A good whipping with the Kitchen Aid mixer resulted in a creamy and super fluffy frosting that was a little sweet and a little salty. Just like those delicious Reese's cups.
For that luscious ganache topping, I used semi-sweet chocolate and soy milk (1:1 by weight). Heat the soy milk until it just starts to simmer, take it off the heat and pour it in a heat safe bowl holding the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute without stirring so it can do it's thing. Stir until smooth, allow to cool.