frosting

Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF!

TGIF Cupcakes Recipe

Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF!

Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF!

This recipe was inspired by a book I read last week. I don’t know if it’s like this for anyone else, but there always seems to be a food theme in every book I read…. or at least there is in my mind.

And maybe “theme” is a bit too strong of a word. But do you know what I mean? You’re reading a book, and maybe it’s set in Antebellum South, and the main character eats a lot of cornbread smothered in honey and butter. All of a sudden, all I can think about is cornbread and honey.

Or the main characters frequently hang out at the local pizza joint. Now all I want to eat is pizza.

You get the picture.

Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF!

In last week’s book (which was #3 in the Porter Family Novel series by Becky Wade), a side character (who was the main character in #2) works in a bakery, and this is cupcake is her Friday specialty. The moment I read the description, I knew I wanted to recreate it for you guys.

And so…. ta-da!

Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF!

This has been one of my favorite recipes that I’ve made in a while, and I’m thinking that it needs to be recreated into a layer cake, a poke cake… possible fudge? Definitely into a cookie. So expect more TGIF treats to grace the blog before too long.

And I think these flavors are perfectly timed for Fall. They’re rich with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch and just perfect for winter comfort sweatpants food.

Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF!

Vanilla cupcakes studded with chocolate chips and topped with peanut butter frosting, chocolate shavings, toffee, and butterscotch caramel. A cupcake worthy of the name TGIF!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

Another Yellow Birthday Cake with Chocolate Frosting Recipe

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

I am particularly excited about this cake, because…. IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!

And I like my birthdays. A LOT.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

So, in celebration of my very favorite day of the year, I’m sharing my very favorite birthday cake: yellow cake with chocolate frosting and lots of sprinkles!

I’ve actually shared this cake before. Here.

But I’ve made some upgrades to the cake recipe, so that it’s moister, softer, and fluffier! And I couldn’t use the same chocolate frosting as before. That particular frosting was made to be EXTRA creamy. Which is amazing. But it doesn’t work quite as well on a stand-alone layer cake. I needed to make a chocolate buttercream that could hold it’s own for this cake.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

Let’s talk about this cake.

Hopefully, you guys know by now that I put the SIMPLICITY of a recipe at the top of my priority list before I post something new. It’s important to me that all of my recipes are completely do-able in a REAL LIFE chaotic, busy, never-enough-time, at-home setting.

In 99% of my recipes you will NOT find much chilling, softening, sifting, or anything else that is time consuming. With that being said, I hope you’ll trust me when I tell you something like this…

The ingredients that go into the batter of this cake must be brought to room temperature. I wish I was joking. But after umpteen hard and dry yellow cakes, I’ve finally conceded the fact that I have to let all the cold ingredients come to room temp before whisking up the batter.

If you plan it right, it’s really not a big deal. Set the stuff on the counter early morning or even the night before and you’re ready to go a few hours later. And great news– you can actually just melt the butter! So that’s one less cold ingredient you have to worry about.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

Just promise me you’ll wait for the ingredients to come to room temp. If you’re desperate for a quick cake, use a mix. I won’t judge you. But don’t rush this recipe!

I could not believe the difference it made to simply let the ingredients come to room temperature before mixing. The cake was moister, fluffier, and downright yummier than any other from-scratch yellow cake I’ve ever made before!

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

I took my favorite homemade yellow cake and made it better.

And that chocolate frosting is everything. I don’t know what it is about yellow cake and chocolate frosting, but I just don’t think it gets any better than that. The only thing I would dream of adding is a gigantic scoop of vanilla bean ice cream!

Enjoy 🙂 And Happy Birthday to all the rest of you July birthdays out there!!

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

Banana Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

This is the best banana cake! It’s simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too 🙂

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

We always, always have old bananas on the counter. Mostly because every time I go to the grocery store, I get all fired up about eating more fruits and vegetables and buy out the produce department. And then, I’m ashamed to admit, a lot of it just sits around for the rest of the week… not getting eaten. Oops!

Thank goodness, old bananas are a LOT easier to rescue than, say, slimy old green beans. ????

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

I’ve been wanting to make a banana cake that starts with a cake mix. I love the concept of just throwing a few ingredients into the bowl and whipping up a perfectly soft and fluffy cake. I’ve never been one to shy away from a cake mix, and I’ll say it again: I love that you know what you’re getting with a mix.

You know the cake is going to be soft, fluffy, moist, and flavorful. It’s just so reliable! You know the texture is going to be good and that it’s going to bake up just right. I’ve yet to use a cake mix and be disappointed.

So it’s no surprise that this recipe ended up being a slam dunk.

🍌🍌🍌 CELEBRATE BANANAS with us: our favorite Banana Bread Recipes 🍌🍌🍌

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

All you need is a yellow cake mix, a 2-3 bananas, and a few other simple ingredients. It bakes up beautifully in less than 30 minutes, and it tastes AMAZING. Perfectly sweet with a serious banana flavor.

And the chocolate cream cheese frosting... omg.

I almost made just a regular cream cheese frosting. Which would have been good, I’m sure. But chocolate was for sure the right call to go with banana. Although… isn’t chocolate always the right call??

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

I hope you enjoy every bit of this cake as much as we did!

Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake Recipe

Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting, peanut butter cups, and a rich peanut butter chocolate ganache make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd.

Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd.

Happy Thursday!

I’ve been saving a good one for my peanut butter and chocolate trifecta finale. Things may have started out a little more conservatively with this Super Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie, but we are definitely finishing on a wild note! Because there is nothing mild or tame about this two-layer chocolate fudge peanut butter cup beauty!

Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd.

This may look like a simple 2-layer cake at first glance. But what you’re really seeing here are actually nine layers of peanut butter chocolate-y goodness. Count them with me:

???????? my all-time favorite chocolate cake.

???????? homemade peanut butter frosting.

???????? Reese’s peanut butter cups.

???????? more chocolate cake.

???????? more peanut butter frosting.

???????? peanut butter chocolate ganache.

???????? more peanut butter frosting.

???????? more peanut butter chocolate ganache.

???????? MORE Reese’s cups!

Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd.

See those Reese’s cups in the middle?

That’s my favorite part. You know I’m all about the texture, and those little bits of Reese’s give the middle of this cake a perfect little something extra to bite into.

Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd.

Fudgy chocolate cake layered with rich peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups make this an excellent cake to share with a crowd.

What are you waiting for?! It’s practically the weekend– dig in!

Classic, creamy, EASY Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Classic, creamy, EASY Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. This frosting is SO good on banana bread, pumpkin cupcakes, red velvet cake, and so much more!

Classic, creamy, EASY Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

My favorite topping on just about anything is cream cheese frosting. I use it on banana bread, cinnamon rolls, cookie bars, and cupcakes just to name a few things.

This particular recipe is my very favorite, and with only 4 simple ingredients!! Fewer ingredients = always better in my book.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that such a simple recipe produces a subpar frosting. This is pure cream cheese deliciousness. It’s smooth and creamy, sweet and tart, everything that you ever want your cream cheese frosting to be.

Classic, creamy, EASY Cream Cheese Frosting recipe