Okay, okay I admit this probably seems like a weird choice after Wednesday’s post. But I had been saving this recipe for the 4th of July because it’s such a great picnic/potluck dessert. It’s makes a ton and is super portable. And in absolute fairness, my goal is to form a healthy relationship with food. All food. And that’s includes chocolate sheet cake with peanut butter frosting. 🙂
The truth is that sweets are not my downfall. Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy them very much, but it’s rare for me to binge on sweets. My sweet tooth is pretty small and too much sweetness makes my stomach hurt. On the other side, I have never meet a carb that I didn’t like and couldn’t overindulge in.
Whenever possible, I cut dessert recipes in half when it’s just me, so nothing is wasted or feel compelled to stuff myself to avoid that from happening. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible as baking is more of a science and doesn’t always respond favorably to improvisation. 🙂 In those instances, I try to bake for others or share with the office managers in my apartment. It never hurts to make the people who respond to your service requests and write your lease happy. #AmIRight
I have no idea who had the brilliant idea to combine chocolate and peanut butter together, but they are evil geniuses. It’s such a perfect pairing. The cake is nice and moist and peanut butter frosting is sweet and rich. It comes together very quickly and would be a huge hit with your family or at your next picnic or BBQ.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium-size pan, add butter, water, and cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool as you assemble your dry ingredients.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Then slowly whisk in the cocoa mixture until smooth. Add sour cream, stirring until smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading batter evenly with a knife. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- For the Peanut Butter Icing: In a large bowl, stir together powdered sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in peanut butter until smooth. If frosting is too thick, microwave for 30 seconds or add a tablespoon of milk.
- Pour over warm cake then spread evenly. Cool completely and serve.
Notes
Be sure to spread frosting over the cake when it’s still warm. I waited to long and it was harder to spread. 🙂
Tanya
See we are opposites. I could never bake this because it would never make it to the potluck or picnic. lol! I have such a HUGE sweet tooth! You said my two favorite words: chocolate and peanut butter. Well I guess that’s technically 3. 🙂
Yeah, I always tell people I don’t find comfort in a bowl of ice cream but instead in a bowl of mashed potatoes. 🙂 Chocolate and peanut better are two (or three) of my favorite words too. Right after spaghetti and meatballs! LOL!
This looks delicious Tanya! My husband loves the combination of chocolate and peanut butter and this cake would be gone in an instant 🙂
Thanks, Sicorra! Chocolate and peanut butter were meant to be together! 🙂
That recipe looks great. I read the Wednesday post and you know what, I’m not mad. In reality, I never understood why people would completely cut anything out of their diets…that only makes the cravings worse. I firmly believe in the eat less and exercise thing because I watched it work for my mom…as I told you in the comments on Wednesday’s post. Anyway, thanks for the recipe, I’ll chat with you soon!
Thanks, Joshua! I agree, unless for a specific health reason, I think eliminating foods from diets does just make the craving stronger. At least I know it does for me! I obsess about the food (even if I normally don’t regularly eat it – like chips) and then I end up binging on the food item. It’s about moderation and portion size. Thanks for your support!