Monday, March 14, 2011

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

I made this for Tim's birthday and the leftovers didn't last long!  It was very moist and quite rich, but the peanut butter glaze was a more balanced addition than super sugary frosting.

(from Whipped)
1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
16 oz. sour cream
3 large eggs
20 mini Reese's peanut butter cups, cut into quarters

Glaze:
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. 
Mix cake mix, sour cream and eggs in a bowl until fully combined. 
Grease and flour a bundt pan. 
Pour half batter in pan, top with cut up Reese's cups, then add the remaining batter.
Cook at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  (This was sort of hard to gauge as the peanut butter cups melted, so you just have to gauge whether it's uncooked batter or melted peanut butter and chocolate!)
Let stand in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool.
For the glaze:
Heat milk in a sauce pan. 
Whisk in peanut butter and powdered sugar. 
Drizzle over cake (put rack on a pan or plate to catch the excess.)


Linguine in Lemon Cream Sauce


This one was a hit with the wee one!  With only 5 ingredients, I think it's going to become a staple for us.  I think it would be good with a chopped up clove of garlic, too!

(from Vegetarian Times)
Ingredients:
  • 8 oz. dry linguine
  • 1/2 cup light cream cheese
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 lemon, juiced and 1 Tbs. zest grated
  • 1/2 cup chopped parsley
 1. Cook linguine according to package directions in pot of boiling salted water.

2. Warm cream cheese, oil, and 2 Tbs. lemon juice in saucepan over low heat.

3. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Stir reserved cooking water into cream cheese mixture.  (Don't skimp on this part - I cut back the water by half because it seemed like too much and the pasta was a little to thick/dry.)  Add pasta, lemon zest, and parsley; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.