A Dinner Party Before Vegas

I finally get to post again! As I mentioned before, my job takes priority over my baking. It also takes priority over my blogging. So now you know why it's been so long between posts, but I promise I'll make up for it.

One of my husband's best friends and his wife invited us over for a dinner party last Saturday. It's always so great to see them! Although I'm not sure what it is, but when we make plans with this couple, I end up having to fly to Las Vegas for work the next day. It happened with their wedding (talk about a nasty next-morning flight!) and it happened this time. Regardless, we love hanging out with them!

Our hostess for the night happens to be pregnant. Super exciting! So when she asked me to bring "something chocolate," I said "yes, ma'am!" I've learned from my sister, sisters-in-law, cousins and other friends that have had children that, when a pregnant woman asks for something, she gets it. No question.

I was actually thrilled to be able to bake again. It feels like it's been so long, although I know it really probably hasn't been that long. I started by stalking her Pinterest boards - after all, if she wants chocolate, she's probably pinning chocolate. In this case, she definitely was. Chocolate and peanut butter. Lots of it. All different ways. It's safe to say I had my inspiration. Lots of it.

Our dinner was the Saturday before Valentine's Day, so I was feeling a little festive as well. I had pinned a chocolate covered strawberry cupcake that looked really good - lots of oozy chocolate ganache over a chocolate covered strawberry on top of a chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting. Let's call this inspiration #2.

The result?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Strawberry Goodness

I just replaced the strawberry frosting with this awesome peanut butter buttercream and some homemade Reese's cup filling (also found on Pinterest). I tried to douse the strawberry in chocolate ganache, but that turned into a big mess. The hubs suggested a drizzle. That worked out much better.

I wanted to be conscious of the ingredients I was feeding to our pregnant friend, so I decided to make the cake from scratch as opposed to using my favorite Pillsbury cake mix (always the one with the pudding). I found the recipe in 500 Cupcakes: The Only Cupcake Compendium You'll Ever Need. I forget which recipe, but it had 2 sticks of butter and 4 tsp of cocoa powder, so you know it was good. 

Honestly, I still like a boxed cake mix better than a cake from scratch. Cake mixes seem to hold their moisture. I haven't figured out how to keep a from-scratch cake moist for more than a couple hours. (I'm open to tips if you have any ;)) Maybe it's just me, though. Everyone else who ate my from-scratch chocolate-peanut-butter-strawberry-goodness cupcake loved it. I'll keep trying.

What's next? Here's a hint: Pink pearl dust!