Peanut Butter ChocolatePudding Cake-Improv Challenge

I have been MIA from the Improv Challenge for a while, but when I saw that the ingredients for October’s challenge were chocolate and peanut butter, I knew I wanted to participate.   These are two of my favorite foods.

For Improv Challenge, you are assigned two ingredients each month, you make a recipe that contains those ingredients that is new to your blog, and post about it on the third Thursday.  Recently Lesa from Edesia's Notebook assumed hosting of the challenge from Kristin at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  I have subscribed to Lesa's blog for some time.  She has great recipes there.

One of my "go to" desserts is pudding cake, the dessert that bakes up with a cake on the top and a sauce on the bottom.  I have several different recipes for these, but have never had a recipe that combined chocolate with peanut butter.  Since I had a recipe for a chocolate pudding cake and one for a peanut butter pudding cake, it seemed reasonable that I could take part of each recipe and make a chocolate peanut butter pudding cake.  Because of the way pudding cakes are made it seemed best to make a peanut butter cake with the sauce being the chocolate.

The chocolate mixture left a little residue on the cake top which gave it a sort of mottled appearance which I liked.  This can be served slightly warm, at room temperature or chilled.  We liked it just slightly warm with the sauce spooned over the top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding Cake
1 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. chunky peanut butter
2 T. vegetable oil
1 t. vanilla
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 c. hot water

Combine flour, 2/3 c . brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir to mix well.  Add milk, peanut butter, oil and vanilla and beat with a wire whisk until well blended.  Turn batter into a well-greased 8x8-inch baking dish.  In a separate bowl combine 3/4 c brown sugar, cocoa.  Mix well.  Add hot water and  stir until sugar and cocoa are dissolved.  Carefully pour over batter in pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in cake part comes out clean.  Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.  Top with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

If you think that Improv Challenge sounds like fun, you can find all the information about joining in on the Improv Challenge page.  You will find the list of ingredients through 2015 there, and you are not obligated to participate every month.

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