Peanut Butter Chocolate Whiskey Cake

This Drunken Peanut Butter Chocolate Whiskey Cake will wow your friends and family. Not only is it stunning to look at but it will be one of the best cakes you have ever eaten. If you like peanut butter, chocolate, and boozy treats, then you will want to try this cake. It’s easier to make than it looks, especially for such a stunning cake.

This recipe looks complicated because there are several steps, but it can be done start-to-finish in less than 2 hours. The trick is to have all of your ingredients ready, and to prepare them in the order I have detailed below. That way while the cake is baking, you can prepare the ganache and frosting.

Tips:

• Butter versus oil. Many bakers use vegetable oil when making cakes because it’s cheaper and the cake stays fresh longer. But I am a die-hard butter fan, especially with a chocolate cake. Plus, the alcohol gives it longevity, so it actually stays fresher longer with booze and butter than it would with vegetable oil. Try it my way first. The richness will take it to the next level.
• Cocoa Powder. It’s worth the effort to find a good 24% cacao Dutch-process cocoa powder. It is much richer than the powdered cocoa powder you can find at the grocery store.
• Don’t Skip the Sift. Sifting seems like a lot of work to casual bakers, but if you don’t sift the flour and cocoa powder, then your cake will be clumpy. You can use a hand-held sifter or a fine mesh strainer with a tablespoon to push the powders through the sieve.
• Coffee. The purpose of the coffee is to bring out the flavor of the chocolate. You don’t taste the coffee, so if you’re not a coffee fan, don’t worry.
• Booze. You really can’t taste the alcohol in the cake after it’s baked, so if you prefer to add a low-cost vodka, that’s fine too. The alcohol makes it very moist and will help the cake stay fresh for weeks. Not that it will last that long!

For the Cake

• 2 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup + 1 Tbsp. Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup milk (less 1 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp. white vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 cup black coffee, hot
• 1 Tbsp. espresso powder
• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
• 1 cup whiskey or vodka

For the Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 2 cups (16 oz.) creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup whiskey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

For the Ganache:

• 8 ounces high quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) whiskey
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp.  Kosher salt

To Garnish

• 6 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, halved
• 1/2 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• Half bottle of your favorite wine or Champagne

Directions:

1. ​Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of three 8-inch round cake pans with round parchment paper. Spray parchment paper and sides of pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Prepare Ingredients. Melt butter for 30-45 seconds in the microwave. Let cool. Add vinegar to a 1-cup measuring cup. Fill remainder with milk. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes.  (You are preparing a buttermilk substitute.) Add espresso powder to hot coffee. Stir until dissolved.
3. Mix Dry Ingredients. Sift flour, sugar and cocoa powder into a large bowl. Add baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Add Wet Ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk mixture, and vanilla. Add melted butter and hot coffee a bit at a time, whisking quickly, to avoid cooking the eggs. Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients until just mixed. Then beat for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping the sides of the bowl about half way through.
5. Bake the Cakes. Divide the batter evenly among the 3 prepared cake pans. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the cake pans in the oven half way through for even baking. If the 3 cake pans are not identical, one or two may require up to 5 minutes more. Check with a toothpick at 20 minutes. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. If it comes out wet, bake the remaining pan(s) 3-5 minutes more.
6. Cool the cakes in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove cake from the pans, discard the parchment paper, and let cool completely. Then wrap each cake round in plastic wrap and place in the freezer until you are ready to assemble the cake. (Cold cake is easier to frost.) The cake can remain frozen for up to 1 week double-wrapped in plastic if you want to prepare the cakes ahead of time.
7. Make the Ganache. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until bubbles form at the side of the pan, but do not let it come to a rolling boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until the ganache is smooth. Add whiskey, salt and vanilla and continue whisking until it is once again smooth. Set aside to cool.
8. Make the Frosting. Add all ingredients except the whiskey to a large bowl. Mix together on low speed until combined. Then whip for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. (If using a stand mixer, use the whip attachment.) Add the whiskey a tablespoon at a time. Be sure to taste it after you have added 2 tablespoons. If you have a low tolerance for alcohol, this may be enough. If you add less alcohol, you may need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk to get it to the desired consistency.
9. Assemble the Cake. Remove the cake from the freezer. Unwrap the first layer of cake and place it on a cake plate. I like to use round cardboard cake boards to make it easier to frost the cake and transfer it from one the revolving cake stand to the cake plate. Cover the cake with about 1 cup of the frosting and use an off-set cake spatula to spread evenly. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the chopped peanuts over the frosting. Add the second layer of cake, 1 more cup of frosting, and another 1/3 of the peanuts. Add the top layer. If you are using a wine bottle as a topper, set the sanitized wine bottle in the center of the top  layer of cake. Use a sharp knife to trace around the bottle. Remove the center section of cake, and scrape away the frosting below it. Set the bottle aside. Ice the top and sides of the cake, removing any frosting that falls into the center hole.
10. Pour the Ganache. Transfer the ganache into a smaller measuring cup with a pour spout. Slowly pour the ganache on top of the cake so it drips down the side. Work your way around the center hole so you don’t lose ganache into that hole. This does not have to be perfect. Work slowly and re-pour ganache on areas that need more. Sprinkle the rest of the peanuts on top of the ganache. Put cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before you do the last decorative touches.
11. Decorate the Cake. You can skip this step, but cake decorating kits make piping the frosting easy, even for beginners, and gives your cake a finished look. Put the remaining frosting into a piping bag using a round tip. Use steady pressure to create small rosettes of frosting around the base of the cake to clean up the edges. Put larger rosettes on the outside edge of the top of the cake. Add the half-bottle of wine or champagne and make small rosettes around the bottle. Then press peanut butter cup halves into the ganache (cut side down) at regular intervals. Refrigerate overnight.

This cake is best served slightly cold as it brings out the intensity of the flavors. Serve small slices as this cake is very rich. To keep it fresh in the refrigerator, place plastic wrap over the cut portion of the cake.

This cake pairs nicely with a ruby or LBV port. You can also serve it with a peanut butter whiskey, regular whiskey, or a glass of amaretto.