Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Cup Swirl Cake

Yellow cake is spiked with peanut butter, hot fudge, topped with a peanut butter glaze, more hot fudge, and sprinkled with peanut butter cups. The cake is so soft, moist, and tender from the peanut butter and hot fudge swirls that are baked inside that cake but the literal icing on this cake is the peanut butter glaze that’s swirled with hot fudge. It’s a great cake to make before the start of a party because when the appetizers and dinner are finished, the cake is ready. Everyone can dig right in with spoons into this warm, gooey, rich, decadent cake.

YIELD: ONE 6-QUART SLOW COOKER CAKE

TOTAL TIME:ABOUT 2 HOURS

PREP TIME:ABOUT 10 MINUTES

COOK TIME:ABOUT 1 HOUR 45 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

Cake

• one 15.25-ounce box yellow cake mix
• 1 cup water
• 3 large eggs
• heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup hot fudge sauce (not thin chocolate sauce)

Glaze and Toppings

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup cream or milk, plus more as necessary for consistency
• 1/3 cup hot fudge
• 20 peanut butter cups miniatures, unwrapped and cut in half (minis may be substituted)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cake – Line a 6-quart oval slow cooker with a slow cooker liner or spray with cooking spray; set aside.
2. To a large bowl, add the cake mix, water, eggs, peanut butter, butter, and beat with an electric handheld mixer on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes; stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. The batter will be thick.
3. Turn just over half of the batter out into prepared slow cooker.
4. Add the hot fudge and top with the remaining batter.
5. Using a knife or rubber spatula, lightly swirl up and back the length of the slow cooker.
6. Cook on high for about 1 hour 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs. Because all slow cookers vary, start checking at 1 hour 30 minutes. When cake is done, remove the ceramic base from slow cooker and place the base on a wire rack to cool. While cake cools, make the glaze.
7. Glaze and Toppings – To a medium bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, milk, and whisk until smooth. Add additional milk as necessary until desired glazed consistency is achieved. Turn glaze out evenly over the cake.
8. Evenly drizzle the hot fudge over over the glaze and lightly swirl it into the glaze.
9. Evenly sprinkle the peanut butter cups and serve immediately. Cake is best fresh but will keep airtight for up to 5 days.