Reeses Rolo Cake

I was going to be sharing more donuts with you, but I misplaced the recipe....so until then, I am sharing some other yummy things i've been baking up. Like, cake!

My daughter's first EVER birthday was this past sunday. I always always swore I wouldn't have a party and make a big deal out of my kids' first birthday's  cause they don't even know what's going on or care.

Yeah, well, we had a big party. Granted, it was just family, but we were those parents I swore we never would be. We had a big cookout with waaay too much food ( I always over plan these things), went all out on ice cream sundaes for dessert and did all that birthday party stuff with presents and all that. She liked her toys a lot and got a bunch of SUPER cute clothes, but her favorite thing was a big bag one of her gifts came in.

And THAT is why we don't do big parties and presents for babies.

We did get some really cute pictures though that will be really fun to look back on, and it was hilarious to watch her eat a slice of chocolate cake by herself for the first time, which surprisingly she did rather neatly!  She doesn't like to get dirty- just like her mama.

The other good thing about the big party is that we had so much left over food! Including a lot of stuff I had gotten for the make-your-own-sundae station....M&M's, Reeses, Rolos, Almond Joys- good stuff.

Now that most of the leftovers are gone, and I'm finally un-full ( did I mention how much food we had?!) I had the desire to bake with all the leftover candy...and this cake is what I came up with!

It came out just as I was hoping it would and was so good my husband demanded we share a couple slices with our wonderful neighbor in return for all the fresh produce she has given us from her garden this summer.

It's a pretty rich cake, but the cake part isn't too sweet, so the frosting balances it out well cause it's very sweet and just plain old ridiculously amazing. Actually some of the best frosting i've made and had!

I hope you like it as much as I did!

Reeses Rolo Cake
Pre-heat oven to 350

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high for 1 minutes.
Add peanut butter and beat for an additional minute or two scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in egg and vanilla and beat well for another minute.
All at once add in flour, soda, powder and salt, and half the milk.
Mix just until everything is barely incorporated, and add in the other half of the milk and mix well on medium high.

Pour evenly between 2 greased and floured 9 inch round pans.
Make your caramel swirl.

For the Caramel Swirl:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
4 Tbsp  butter
1/2 cup half and half
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small saucepan, mix butter, brown sugar, half and half  over medium heat stirring occasionally for 5-7 minutes until thickened. Add in salt and vanilla and cook for another minute to thicken further.

Swirl 1/2 of the caramel mixture evenly between each cake by pouring over the batter, and using a butter knife to swirl it. Reserve the other half of the caramel sauce for the frosting.

Bake cakes for 28-32 minutes.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before dumping out onto a cooling rack and allowing to cool completely before frosting.

(ugh, don't mind the finger)

For the frosting:
1 bag milk chocolate chips
4 Tbsp. butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Other half of caramel mixture

In the microwave, melt butter and chocolate chips for 20 second intervals until smooth.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, slowly add powdered sugar to melted chocolate.
Whip together on high for 30 seconds.
Add in vanilla and remaining caramel sauce, continuing to beat on medium high for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

I like to stick my cakes in the freezer for 10 minutes before frosting them cause it makes it much easier to frost.

After frosting your cake, drizzle with caramel sauce if you have any leftover and garnish with lots of Rolos and Reeses!

Enjoy!