The Best Cake I Have Ever Made and Eaten

My hubby turns 29 for the 11th time  today!  For the 1st time in our married life, he didn't want a pistachio cake.  I asked him what kind and he said a Reese's Peanut Butter cup cake.  I wanted to oblige for this BIG birthday.  So I researched recipes and found one on Java Cupcake.  I was afraid but it turned out great!  Here is a picture of the finished product.

 You can find the original recipe of the linked website above.  Here is my version:
A boxed cake mix.  She made hers from scratch.  I did this for time and for my sanity.  I used Duncan Hines fudge marble cake mix and made 2 rounds.  I let them cool.  While they were cooling, I made the peanut butter icing:

2 cups of creamy peanut butter
3 cups of sifted powdered sugar
1 stick of softened butter
1 1/2 tsp of vanilla
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp of salt

Java's recipe said to cream the butter and peanut butter.  I did that according to directions but after that I just did my own thing.  I added the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.  This made things very dough like.  I, then, added vanilla, cream and salt with my fingers crossed that it would turn out correctly.  It did!  It was creamy and spreadable and oh my word!  Yummy! 

I spread some on the top of the 1st layer of cake and sprinkled chopped Reese's PB Cups on it and then put the top layer on. I would have added more icing looking back in hindsight.  I spread the rest of the cake with the icing.  It was layered very thickly on it and I had some left over.  I put the cake in the fridge covered.  I used the leftover to spread on bananas and then dipped them in chocolate.  Nice little treat for me!

I left the cake in the fridge overnight but according to Java, 20 minutes in the freezer will do.  Right before we were going to eat it, I made the ganache. 
2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 Bars of Dove dark chocolate 3.5 oz each.

I broke the chocolate into small chunks and brought the cream just to a boil on the stove.  I poured the cream over the chocolate until it made a rich ganache.  I poured it over the cake and let it drip down the side.  I sprinkled more PB cups on top and added some around the edge for decoration.  I put it once again in the fridge to harden while we had a bday lunch.  After lunch, we sang and then cut into that sucker!  My husband said that pistachio cake is out and this is in!  Thanks, Java Cupcake for the idea!  It tasted just like a Reese's PB cup!  Get a glass of milk because it is so rich!  Enjoy!

ABCs of Me: Family, Friends, and Flaws and 40(almost)

In my alphabet pursuit, I am up to the letter "F".    My hubby turns 40 next week and I am chasing him quickly.  I will hit this milestone in February.  Here are some observations as I begin to reflect on my life.

Family
Family is usually stressful and crazy.  But, family in whatever form is family.  Family is the foundation of your identity, your place in the world, and your physical characteristics.  Sometimes, our foundation is not stable.  Luckily, God can come in and repair the foundation and help us to build a more stable edifice in which to house our lives.  The family in which I grew up was/is crazy and weird and not always edifying but I have taken the love, the insanity, and the values and used them along with my husband's to build our little family.  We can't wait to see what our kids say about us once they grow up.  The American dream is to make our children's lives better than our own.  I want our children to have more love, more stability, less crazy, and more surety in who they are than I had(and I had quite a bit of all of that).  We may shelter them and keep from them some of the most crazy stuff, but that is so that they won't have the burden of growing up knowing what it is like to be unwanted and unloved.

Friends
When I was little, my mom said that I never met a stranger.  I would come home from a week at the beach with a new friend.  I never had trouble making friends.  As I got older, the process got harder and as I am approaching mid-life, it is darn near impossible to make and maintain friendships.  With kids and jobs and marriage, adults have very little extra energy to cultivate friendships.  If you move around, then you can often feel isolated.  Differences in lifestyles and jobs can cause a rift in friendships or place stress on relationships.  I am blessed to have some wonderful women in my life who are dear friends.  I know that I can call on them anytime that I need to do so!  What are you doing to cultivate friendships in your life?

Flaws at 40
I chose flaws because we should always look to improve ourselves.  But, aside from being neurotic and pushy and bossy and over sensitive, I like who I am now better than I did when I was 20.  At 20, I had no idea who I was nor did I like myself.  At 30, I was maturing and learning to love myself and love others.  At 40, I am much more fit and fun than I have ever been.  I can run farther and I eat healthier!  Granted, I am in a little more pain and I can't eat as much as I used to and my bladder is well, we as women all know ;).  Let's face it, I look at cake or pizza and gain weight.  I am smarter and have more common sense than I ever have!  I am enjoying life and can't wait to  see what my 5th decade brings!

Hop over to Proverbs 31 Mama for her blog hop!