TastyTalkWithAmy: Snickers Cake (Easy)

Be prepared to be hungry when you eat this cake because it is a meal in itself! Milk is a must! I made the mistake of eating a slice of this cake after dinner and I was uncomfortably stuffed, you know the way you feel after eating a big Thanksgiving dinner? Yup, that feeling of fullness! Add a glass of milk and then you either need to go for a walk afterwards (which my husband and I did) or go and veg out on the couch just like most families want to do after eating a big Thanksgiving dinner. Serving suggestion: In my personal observation I do not recommend this cake for a potluck unless you have a designated person in charge of slicing the cake and placing it on the person's plate, otherwise it is a messy dessert to slice through. Most people are not careful when it comes to slicing a dessert like this especially when they are going through a potluck line and are trying to be quick about getting their slice. Now in a home setting with the hostess/host in charge he or she will usually be the one doing the slicing and will be neat and tidy slicing it paying careful attention not to mutilate it. Serves 12.

Cake ingredients:

2 cups white sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Mix in the boiling water gently. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.

Hershey’s "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Frosting ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa and powdered sugar. Add approximately a tablespoon of milk at a time beating in until reaching to a spreading consistency, you may not use the entire 1/3 cup because it may become too wet. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups frosting and you will use all of it on the top layer.

Topping and middle layer ingredients:

1 jar (1lb 2oz) Creamy Reese’s peanut butter, (yes, you will use it all)
I jar (14 oz) Hershey’s Caramel topping
1 8oz Cool Whip, thawed
1 bag (11oz) Nestle Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Morsels
Hershey’s Chocolate syrup
3/4 cups unsalted peanuts, I think salted would taste just fine as well so go for it if you have them on hand

Directions:

Beat the peanut butter and cool whip together until creamy. This is going to be used to ice the first layer only and use all of it, spread it on thick and it will have a lumpy spreading appearance. Sprinkle half the peanuts on top of the peanut butter layer and then drizzle to your liking as much caramel as you like on top of the peanuts.
Place your second chocolate cake layer on top of the peanut butter middle. Frost the top layer of the cake with all the frosting, only leaving the sides of the cake bare. Top with the peanut butter and chocolate morsels, the rest of the unsalted peanuts, and then drizzle as much as you like of both the syrups: chocolate and caramel, and be sure to let them drizzle down the sides.

Does not need to be refrigerated.

Allow both cakes to completely cool on a wire rack.

While your cakes are cooling, prepare your peanut butter layer. The only two ingredients you need and yes you use both containers entirely.

Middle peanut butter layer.

Spread the entire peanut butter mixture over that first chocolate cake layer and you can be lumpy in your application. Lumpy is good looking here and okay.

The rest of the needed toppings.

Sprinkle about half of the 3/4 cup of peanuts needed, not all the 3/4, that would be too much and then drizzle some caramel over them and you can allow it to drip over the sides.

Next place the second layer of cooled cake on top. It looks like a big sandwich cookie!

Prepare your chocolate frosting and it prepares quickly so you don't have to make it in advance. Make it right when you need it. It is that quick and easy.

Spread the entire amount of frosting over the top only of the cake, not the sides.

Next add as much as you can fit of both the the peanut butter and chocolate morsels and peanuts.

Next drizzle caramel by the tablespoonful all over and be sure to allow it to drip over and down the sides. Take your chocolate syrup, which is most probably in a bottle and gently squirt it all over the cake top as well, paying attention to allow it to drip over the edges as well down the sides of the cake.