Congratulations to the Emory graduating class of 2014 :)
It's bittersweet to have already finished a year of school. With so many wonderful experiences with friends and challenging courses behind me, I decided the only thing my last day in Turman Hall needed was a cake! Having won a jar of Nutella because my Italian group did such a great job on our video, I was starting to become addicted to the smooth mixture of chocolate and hazelnut. It was time to finish it once and for all!
The Recipe: Peanut Butter Nutella Cake
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 jar Nutella (1/2 jar in cake, 1/2 jar to frost)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
The Process:
- In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients (be sure to leave 1/2 the jar of Nutella for frosting!!)
- Assess your mixture: if it's too dry, add a little milk and re-mix. If it's too wet, add a little flour and re-mix. Continue until it is about as fluid as pancake mix.
- I ended up putting the batter in the fridge for about an hour because my floormates wanted to go to lunch and I'm not okay with leaving cakes in the oven without supervision, but cake batters are not typically refrigerated before baking so if you don't have time, don't worry about it!
- Pour into springform cake pan (or pan of your choice).
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, watching carefully as this is dependent on your oven.
- Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before frosting (use your best judgement, the Nutella will very easily break your warm cake).
- Frost with Nutella (be careful!!! potentially apply it to the cake before spreading with an icing bag to avoid cake destruction)
- Send pictures to friends trapped in airports and other states ;)
- Enjoy and share!
The Calories:
Sugar- 1546 calories
Flour- 910 calories
Baking Soda- 0 calories
Baking Powder- 0 calories
Eggs- 140 calories
Salt- 0 calories
Vanilla extract- 24 calories
Milk- 103 calories
Water- 0 calories
Cocoa- 98 calories
Peanut Butter- 188 calories
Butter- 510 calories
Vegetable Oil- 964 calories
Nutella- 1425 calories
Chocolate chips- 359 calories
________________________________________
TOTAL: 6267 calories
Yes, it's a dense cake. But it was cut into at least 12 pieces, making each piece about 522 calories. Oops... :)
But really, this was a great cake. More than worth it. In fact. while it was baking, three separate maintenance guys came in the kitchen and asked if I was making something. I told them I had a cake in the oven. They asked if I made it. (Duh....) I said yes. They asked if it was from a box. (I could rant for hours about box cakes.) I said no. And then there were some comments I found somewhat sexist regarding some man being very happy with me someday because of my desserts. (I only bake and cook for my family and friends...you know, people who care about me before there's chocolate involved? And of course for myself!)
What went right:
The cake was FANTASTIC. Potentially one of the best cakes I have ever made.
What went wrong:
I completely forgot that my friend Emma doesn't like peanut butter or nutella, so was unable to share it with her :( Also the smell was overwhelmingly seductive while I was trying to pack my room.
What I would do next time:
Nothing in terms of the cake itself. It might be nice to add some chocolate dipped strawberries on top or do it in two layers with raspberry in the middle. Something to add some citrus.
Overall, it was a great cake and eating it was my prize for creating such a thing of beauty!
As noted by my friend Jordan, the cake is quite photogenic:
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