Peanut Butter Chocolate Monkey Cake and Cupcakes

Happy 1st Birthday Maikah!

My son's 1st birthday was the 18th and I couldn't resist making this delicious and cute monkey cake. I know it doesn't really go with the international theme of my blog but there was just no way I couldn't post this yummy cake. 

Since there was no room to write Happy Birthday on the cake I decided to make cupcakes to go along with the cake. The peanut butter frosting adds a unique and delicious flavor to the cake. It's also not too sweet to handle. The Cocoa Krispies add a unique and tasty crunch to the cake. Since I love chocolate chip cookies I decided to use those for the ears but I'm sure any other cookie would work.

I found the recipe from birdonacake.blogspot.com doubling the frosting recipe for the cupcakes and ended up just using a box mix for the cake with store bought chocolate frosting. For a healthy alternative I substituted the oil required for the cake mix with applesauce, it still came out delicious.

Ingredients:

1 chocolate cake mix
1 `jar of chocolate frosting
1 cup Cocoa Krispies cereal
2 large cookies
2 white candy melts
2 brown M&Ms

1/2 cup salted butter (softened)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
approx. 1/8 cup milk

Peanut Butter Frosting:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer until well combined. Gradually add the sugar. When it starts to get thick, add the milk a little at a time until frosting is spreadable. (The amount of milk you use depends on the thickness of your peanut butter.) Beat for 3 minutes or until fluffy.

Assembling Your Cake:

Level your cooled cake layers. Place one layer on a cake stand. Spread peanut butter frosting on it, then top with the second cake layer. Spread peanut butter frosting on top of the cake, in the shape of a monkey face. Carefully spread chocolate frosting around the edges of the face and down the sides of the cake. Slide the cookies into the frosting between the cake layers, opposite from each other. Press cocoa rice cereal into the chocolate frosting. Spoon some chocolate frosting into a decorating bag or ziploc with the corner snipped off (cheaper alternative). Pipe dots on the back of the M&M's and attach them to the flat side of the candy melts. Put candy melts on the cake or the eyes. Pipe a nose and mouth.   Enjoy and maybe make some cupcakes to go with it!