Chocolate Peanut Butter Trifle

    For my husbands birthday, he said he wanted something with peanut butter. I was trying to think of something I had seen, but all I could come up with was this torte. The problem was, the recipe calls for artificial sweeteners which I try not to use (I feel yucky if I do). I wondered if it would still work if I adjusted it to more natural ingredients (including wheat flour). I didn't see how chocolate and peanut butter could turn into anything that wasn't edible, so I went for it.

    The result was a very rich, think gallon of milk, fudgy chocolate cake and creamy rich peanut butter topping which I made into a trifle. Truth be told, I was a little worried the peanut butter topping would be too heavy for the cake and it would collapse...that's why I made it into a trifle. It's so good...and even better the next day!

     I was a little worried when I saw that you add boiling water after the batter is mixed, especially because it made the batter really runny. But the result was a very rich, moist, fudgy cake! 

     Sorry about the pics...these don't do this cake justice!

CAKE:
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (or 1-3/4 cups minus 3-1/2 Tbl whole wheat flour)
1-2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup fat-free milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER FILLING:
1-3/4 cups cold fat-free milk
1 package (3.4 ounce)  instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff Natural)
TOPPING:
2 oz milk chocolate chips

• Coat two 9-in. round baking pans with cooking spray; line with waxed paper. Coat the paper with cooking spray and sprinkle with flour; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the milk, egg substitute, oil and vanilla; add to flour mixture. Beat for 2 minutes. Stir in water. Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
• In a large bowl, whisk 1-3/4 cups milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes; let stand 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in peanut butter. Add a little milk (2Tbl), if needed.
• Place bottom layer in trifle bowl (or glass bowl); spread half of filling over cake layer; top with second layer and remaining filling. Chill for 1 hour or until serving.
• For topping, in a microwave, melt chocolate. Stir until smooth. Drizzle on top of trifle before serving.

This is linked to:

Sweet Tooth Fridays at Alli N' Son
And Sweets for Saturday at Sweet As Sugar Cookies