Marbled Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bundt Cake With Salted Caramel Glaze

Every time we use the bundt pan, there is a period of at least 5 minutes where the only thing heard in our kitchen is laughter and that stuttering "it's a bundt" "a butt?" "a bundt!" "a bunk?" "A BUNDT!" "Ahh, its a cake" conversation from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. You'd thank that after all this time, 8 years, that the joke would have lost its edge. Nope, we still make it and we still laugh. Its amazing what being in a good mood can do for your sense of humor, the better the mood, the easier the laughs. Why it takes two college educated grownups to figure out what any 4 year old could tell you we'll never know, but its still as true as can be. Its also true that good food can change your whole mood too. In this case, we did this cake on a day particularly in need of a better mood: bill paying day. Bill paying day is a very dangerous day around our parts as the bank accounts go from being full of newly cashed paychecks to being decidedly less full. I think everyone can attest to that being a big wet blanket on any given day. Sometimes the fates work out and we have people over for dinner on bill paying day, which often adds a big grocery bill on top of everything else. The secret to fixing bill day is something that every woman already knows and every guy (including Eric) refuses to admit is that chocolate always makes things better. (Eric says "its because eating anything raises endorphin levels as the body. Endorphins are the bodies way of rewarding any species for acts that encourage survival and reproduction". Chraisse said that was dumb, and chocolate tastes so good because its chocoalate. And that was the end of that argument). This particular chocolate was indeed in the form of a bundt cake, marbled with peanut butter and covered in a homemade, salted caramel glaze and definitely made bill paying day better.

Marbled Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bundt Cake 
What you will need


Bundt Cake Pan
2 Cups all purpose flour
4 tsp. banking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Set your oven to 350*F and prep your bundt pan with cooking spray. Mix up the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl and set aside. In a separate mixing bowl (or KitchenAid if you have one) beat the butter for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar beating until fluffy, and add the eggs with one minute or so between each egg, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Next add the flour mixture alternating with the milk to the bowl until just barely combined.
Divide the batter between two different bowls. In one bowl stir in the peanut butter and in the other add the chocolate. Add the two bowls to the bundt pan, alternating between the two a little bit at a time and gently use a butter knife to create the swirl patter. Don't over-mix the two cake types!
Bake for 40-45 minutes and then let cool on a rack for another 15. Pull from the pan and let cool completely.

Salted Caramel Glaze
What you will need


1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 - 3/4 tsp large grain sea salt

In a saucepan melt the butter and stir in the sugar. Bring it to a boil and ad the cream. Once it boils again, let it boil for 2 minutes before adding the salt. Pour over your cooled bundt cake!

adapted from Better Homes and Gardens April 2010