Peanut Butter Cup Cake

Let's just take a moment and take in the photo of this glorious little cake.
Chocolate cake.
Peanut butter frosting.
Milk chocolate ganache.
Peanut butter cups.
Deliciousness.
I was recently dinking around in the kitchen when my cousin requested a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cake. This is a version of what I came up with. Originally I made a two-layer 8 inch round cake. This, on the other hand is a "personal" sized 6 inch single-layer cake I made for one of my BFF's birthday.
The cake is super simple to whip together. You can make the cake from scratch, or use a box, whichever you have the time for.
When I made the little 6 inch cake, I made two (I had to keep one to taste test after all) and I used a boxed chocolate cake mix. But you cannot tell it when you bite into it!
I also made the ganache a little thicker than I normally would so it would stay thick as it ran over the edges a little, does that make sense?

Chocolate Cake (from a box)

1-18oz box chocolate cake mix

1 cup water

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix (unprepared)

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease and flour 2-6 inch cake pans (or 2-8 inch pans)

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Batter will have a pudding-like texture to it (obviously).

Bake for 30 minutes, or until center is no longer jiggly.

Invert onto a cooling rack; let cool.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 tablespoons milk

2-3 cups powdered sugar

Cream peanut butter and butter.

Add two cups powdered sugar and milk.

Mix with an electric mixer for a few minutes until fluffy.

Add more powdered sugar to reach desired consistency; or until it can hold a peak.

Milk Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Bring heavy cream to a rapid boil.

Pour over chocolate chips.

Mix until smooth.

Let set and cool until spreadable, but no longer hot.

Topping:

12 chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Preparation:

Frost the cake with the peanut butter frosting.

You can make a two-layer cake, or two single-layer; whichever you prefer!

Pour chocolate ganache over the top, spread with the back of a spoon to even it out.

I put some ganache in the spoon and let it drip down the sides a little.

Top with chopped peanut butter cups!