Deliciousness

Speaking of bad lighting. I know it's not pretty but it is GOOD! 

Funny Bone Cake 
I never really liked Funny Bones or even anything with peanut butter in it. Lately though, I have wanted to do something for my mom who loves Funny Bones. The Hostess Bread Store here in Durham, NC closed a couple of years ago, and she has been so upset about not being able to buy her Funny Bones. They are not sold in supermarkets here and being from NJ, we really miss the tasty cakes and hostess cakes we all grew up on. So, I decided that I would try to recreate a funny bone, but in the form of a whole cake. I Googled the term funny bone cake and quickly realized that my idea was not so original. There were not a whole lot of people, but quite a few, who were making their own versions of this chocolaty peanut butter concoction.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find one recipe that didn't use boxed cake mix for their cake.  Don't get me wrong, I'm no culinary snob. I have made boxed desserts and dinners for my family on those days and nights when all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and my main goal was to keep my peeps from "starving to death", as my daughter puts it. Even take out, sometimes, if my pockets could handle it. But most of the time, I like having the satisfaction of knowing that I measured and poured, sauteed, chopped and whipped and beat, until it was perfectly delicious. I am a purist in the roughest form of the word, and since I like for my tasters to bite into something that came from my heart and soul, and not from a box, I decided to go all the way to scratch on this one.

For the cake, I used a copy cat Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe that I found online. This recipe will keep in an airtight container for a couple weeks until you are ready to bake. Follow this Link to the Recipe

When you bake use a 9x13 in. pan. You are gonna cut it in half across the width or you could cut it length wise and make little bars. That would be cute. Let the cake cool completely. I'm talkin' room temperature or cold! If it is too warm, your peanut frosting will melt and ooze, causing your layers to slide. Trust me.

Now, the Peanut butter filling and chocolate frosting came from within. I have been making butter cream frosting for years and so I just substituted half the butter for peanut butter and voila! Yummy buttery peanut butter frosting. Then I recalled my great-great grandmother's chocolate frosting recipe shared with me by my Nana. It's embedded in my brain's recipe book. Very easy though.

Peanut Butter Filling (Frosting)
1 C sweetened smooth and creamy PEANUT BUTTER (I am partial to Skippy)
1 C softened unsalted BUTTER (about 2 sticks)
2 C of confectioner's or powdered sugar (Any brand is good, use what you can find)
1 Tb. of PURE VANILLA EXTRACT (I like McCormick because I can get it in a big bottle for $7 bucks at Sam's Club).

Whip the butters in a bowl together and add vanilla extract. Mix in well and now add the powdered sugar. Whip it in with a whisk or an electric mixer for a lighter frosting. Refrigerate immediately, butter melts people and you don't want your filling to get too soft or it will not be pretty when its time to stack your cake. Hence, the not so pretty photo above.

Mama Frankie's Chocolate Frosting

2 Cups Sweet Butter
1 1/2 Cups Semi Sweet Chocolate (I used Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips)
2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Tb. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT

Again you will do the same as before with the peanut butter frosting but this time you will melt your chocolate in a glass or ceramic bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Stir constantly with a spatula to keep the chocolate from burning. Once the chocolate is all melted, take the bowl off the heat and place it on the counter. It may still have a few chips that did not completely melt and that is OK. Just keep stirring til they get smaller. Add the chocolate to the butter and whip til blended. Add the powdered sugar in thirds to avoid lumps. Whip until well blended. Set aside.

Time to Assemble the Cake

Take out the peanut butter filling from the fridge and set aside. Cut your cake in half by the width and separate. Drop a big dollop of Peanut butter frosting in the center of one half of the cake and spread from the center out covering to each corner. To get a little more professional with it you can add the filling to a piping bag with a large tip, any shape, and pipe a border around the perimeter of the layer and refrigerate until the filling is hard. This will ensure that no filling oozes from the sides when you stack your other layer. See diagram:

1.a Pipe and Refrigerate

1.b Remove from fridge and fill in the center

1. c Stack the layers and Frost the cake!

Stack the second layer on top and press gently. Next you are going to frost the outside of the cake. Again, I like to drop a dollop of frosting in the center and work my way out to the sides. Will need to add more to make sure all the sides are covered well. Finally cut and eat. Cut it how you want it! No fancy slicing techniques here. Cut a sliver, slice, chunk, whatever!
 Enjoy!