Reese'S Peanut Butter Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 (18 1/2 ounce) box dark chocolate cake mix
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 -8 reece's peanut butter cups, chilled then chopped

Preparation

Prepare cake according to directions for a 9X13 pan. Set aside to cool.
Mix peanut butter, powdered sugar and vanilla with mixer.
Add small amounts of milk until desired consistency is achieved. This is frosting; so thicker is better.
Spread evenly over cool caked. (Hint -- if cake is partially frozen, there is less \"tearing\" when spreading the frosting.).
Melt chocolate chips in microwave for one minute. Stir to ensure all is melted and it has a slightly \"runny\" consistency. Makes it easier to spread!
Spread this over the top of the peanut butter frosting; spoonfuls at a time. Reheat if it hardens.
Sprinkle the chopped peanut butter cups over the warm chocolate to ensure it sticks. Chill to set chocolate.
This will be easier to cut at room temperature as the top chocolate layer will have hardened.
You can bypass that difficulty by cutting thru the first layer before it sets too hard. Not a problem really if you don't; just not as pretty if the top breaks while cutting it.
As an alternative; you can also use a bundt cake pan. Make the peanut butter frosting a little thinner in that case so it \"drips\" better.
Another idea would be to add the chopped peanut butter cups to the cake mix before baking.