A Lighter Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
With the holidays over, we want to trim a little off our calorie intake, but we don’t want to give up on a little dessert for the weekend. In our Italian home we ate everything in moderation. A Lighter Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake combines the flavour of chocolate with coffee. Then in the icing, I add a little bit of peanut butter. This isn’t your traditional cake and the layers are thin, but the taste is amazing. Chocolate craving gone and calories in check.
My nonna Emilia loved chocolate; she often had bars of it and we shared as we baked. When she was older and very sick, I would often bring a chocolate bar to the hospital to share, but she ate most of it. Sometimes when I sit alone in the afternoon and enjoy a coffee, I slip a small square of chocolate into my mouth and savour the past and the present.
Italians don’t like peanut butter too much, but I do. I remember the first time my Italian friends in Venice tried it; sometimes when we visit, I bring them a jar.
The dry ingredients assembled.
Apple sauce is a healthy alternative to fat in recipes.
Side by side as the dry prepare to meet the wet.
This is a very light batter.
The batter divided amongst two cake pans
They come out easily and it is a very thin, but delicious layer waiting for the icing.
The icing is light and healthy. I use light cream cheese, yogurt, peanut butter and of course more Baileys’.
Use a little bit of powdered sugar to help give texture to your icing.
The first layer prepared.
All done and I sprinkle a little cocoa over the top.
The pears with a little honey adorn the top.
Have a slice!!
A Lighter Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
A quick fix for that chocolate craving.
Ingredients
The cake
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 1/2 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup apple sauce unsweetened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp Baileys'
- 1 cup milk
The frosting
- 1/2 cup yogurt
- 1/2 brick cream cheese light
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp Baileys'
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1 tbsp cocoa for sprinkling
The garnishes
- 1/2 cup ground walnuts
- fresh fruit
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp Baileys see cake instructions
- 1 tsp cocoa sprinkling on top
Instructions
The Cake
-
Set oven to 350 F
In a small bowl mix all the dry ingredients.
In a larger bowl mix all the wet ingredients.
Add the dry to the wet and beat for a few minutes.
Grease two 8 inch round pans with a little canola oil.
Divide batter between the pans.
Cook for 15-17 minutes.
Cool and invert cakes.
Once cakes are cooled pour 1 tbsp of baileys over each side and ensure that it soaks in.
The Icing
-
Soften cream cheese and add yogurt.
Beat until smooth.
Add peanut butter and Baileys' and beat again.
The assembly
-
Take one layer of the cake and spread with half the icing and sprinkle with half the nuts. Ensure that you are frosting the side soaked in Baileys'.
Put the second layer of the cake on and spread with the remainder of the icing. Ensure that the side down has the Baileys. Sprinkle with cocoa powder.
Today I used thinly sliced pears over the icing.
I glazed them with a little honey and then sprinkled the remainder of the nuts over the pears.
Recipe Notes
This is a thick cake that resembles a brownie in texture.
If you use fresh strawberries over this cake try a little warmed strawberry jam glaze over the fruit.
Be creative with the fruit and glazes.
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