Peanut Butter and Chocolate Overload Brownie Cake (Katherine Sabbath inspired)

I am SO excited to share this cake with you guys! Like everyone else in the food world, I am positively inspired by Katherine Sabbath and her incredible creations.

If you’ve been living under a rock, Katherine Sabbath is an amazing cake artist who has been featured in magazines far and wide. She has a positively beautiful Instagram account where she shares stuff like this and this and this.

I’ve wanted to try my hand at making something a little like her creations for a long time, so this year when my hubby’s birthday rolled around, I decided to give it a go!

The theme? Um. Well. Is “naked chocolate and peanut butter explosion” cohesive enough? 😀

My plan for this cake was simple – make four layers of glorious chewy brownie, ice them with peanut butter frosting, coat the top in ganache, and then GO CRAZY covering the top of the cake in every type of peanut butter junk food I could find.

Pretty sure I succeeded. ^_^

As far as decorating goes, this was actually more challenging than the piping I usually do. There was something about arranging the ingredients that was more like putting together a puzzle than the usual therapeutic repetition of icing a cake, but it was worth it, right? Maybe not quite Katherine Sabbath level, but it looks super cool!

Like I said, my theme was peanut butter overload, but I think a similar strategy could be used for just about anything. Just use your imagination and the inner aisles of the grocery store will provide! ha! 😉

Our guests enjoyed this warmed up in the oven and then served with vanilla ice cream. The brownie gets gooey and the peanut butter and chocolate get melty and…oooh! Heaven. Be forewarned that it is RICH, though, so go easy on this one – it’s a small cake, but will easily serve 12.

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Peanut Butter Overload Brownie Cake (Katherine Sabbath inspired)

Ingredients

Brownie Cake

• 2 cups all-Purpose Flour
• 1.5 cups cocoa powder
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 6 eggs large
• 1 cup salted butter melted
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Icing

• 1/2 cup salted butter softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter natural is OK
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Ganache

• 1 tsp salted butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Decorative Peanut Butter Bark

• Almond bark candy melts, or chocolate chips
• Coordinating sprinkles
• Peanut butter chips

Embellishments

• Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
• Nutter Butter Cookies
• Reese's Pieces
• Peanut Butter Chips
• Captain Crunch Cereal
• Chocolate Chips
• Peanut Butter Oreos

Instructions

Brownie Cake

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl in the order they are written. Stir together, then beat until smooth. Spoon batter evenly into 4 greased 6" round pans. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until the sides begin to pull away. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well, then whip until fluffy.

Ganache

1. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Decorative Peanut Butter Bark

1. Melt candy melts or almond bark in a double boiler or microwave. Meanwhile, line a sheet tray with a silpat or parchment paper. Once melted, pour the bark over the lined pan and allow to spread evenly. Decorate with contrasting color candy melts, sprinkles, or additional candy. Allow to cool completely, then strike the center of the candy with a spoon until it begins to crack.

Assembly

1. Frost the top of a brownie layer with peanut butter frosting, then stack with the next brownie layer and repeat. On the top layer, drizzle the ganache, allowing it to spill over the sides slightly. Push decorations into the ganache, starting with the bark, then adding other large items, and using piped frosting as glue for small items.

Recipe Notes

Brownie recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

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