i came across this recipe on heather baird’s blog and immediately knew that i wanted to attempt this cake.  i am not a big fan of cheesecake, but i am a big fan of peanut butter and chocolate together.  who isn’t, though?  i decided to tackle it for my brother-in-law’s 40th birthday party.  i didn’t tell anyone about it because, quite frankly, i figured it would be a disaster.  luckily, though, it was far from it.  it was a big hit and came out great.  nowhere near the perfection that heather of sprinkle bakes made, but not bad for a first attempt.  a bit of advice, though:  do not attempt this in one day/overnight.  it’s just not enough time.  make sure you follow heather’s recipe both for technique { and } for time. 

two layers of peanut butter cup cheesecake.

between two layers of chocolate cake.

the first batch of caramel i attempted in the microwave.  it didn’t go well.  if you’re using the caramels that are wrapped you should be fine, but i had caramel bits left-over from the fall { and } wanted to use them up.

the caramel bits ended up melting much better in a saucepan.

caramel { and } roasted salted peanuts on each layer.

frost with ganache.

i wasn’t able to pull off the chocolate curls so i just broke them up { and } stuck them into the cake sides.  not nearly as pretty as the curls.  better luck next time.

coconut cupcakes.

ingredients:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut, divided

 directions:

1. pre-heat the oven to 325°f. 
2. once oven is pre-heated, spread 7 ounces of the coconut onto a dry cookie sheet.  toast coconut for 10-12 minutes until golden.  keep a close eye on it, coconut will go from golden to burnt very quickly.  let cool on cookie sheet on cooling rack.  set aside.
3. in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter { and } sugar on high-speed until light { and } fluffy, about 5 minutes.  with the mixer on low-speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.  add the extracts { and } mix.
4. in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda { and } salt.
5. alternating the flour mixture { and } buttermilk {starting { and } ending with the flour mixture}, add in 3 parts.  mix until combined.
6. fold in 7 ounces of coconut.
7. line mini-muffin tins with paper liners.  fill each 2/3 full.  bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are golden { and } a tester comes clean.  allow to cool in pans on baking rack 10 minutes.  transfer cupcakes directly to cooling rack to cool completely. 

cream cheese frosting.

ingredients:

• 1 pound cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted

directions:

1. in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, on low-speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter { and } extracts.
2. add the confectioners’ sugar { and } mix until smooth.
3. spread or pipe frosting onto each cupcake { and } sprinkle with toasted coconut.