Today is my hubby’s birthday.  So, I asked what he wanted me to bake and he said “a funni bone cake.” It is a chocolate cake with a layer of peanut butter in the middle (kind of like the inside of a Reese’s peanut butter cup), and frosted with chocolate frosting.  Although there is nothing wrong with Duncan Hines or Pillsbury cake mixes, I went homemade for this and used the Hershey’s Chocolatetown cake recipe.

Chocolate cake – 1/2 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup boiling water, 2/3 cup shortening, 1 3/4 cups sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 eggs, 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/3 cups milk, 2 tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar

Directions – preheat oven to 350.  combine milk and lemon juice or vinegar and set aside 10 minutes  to make buttermilk.  Stir together cocoa and boiling water.  In a separate bowl, cream shortening, sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs.  Stir in dry ingredients, then cocoa mixture.  Blend in buttermilk.   Divide batter evenly into two round cake pans sprayed with Pam.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center comes out basically clean).  Cool completely.

Funni bone filling – 3/4 cup peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 cups powdered sugar, 2-3 tbs milk.

Directions – Combine and mix with mixer.  You can add more milk or powdered sugar to get the consistency you want.  

Frosting – 6 tbs butter (softened), 6 tbs Crisco, 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/8 cup milk or water.  

Directions – cream butter and shortening.  Blend in powdered sugar.  Add milk or water  and vanilla.  Beat to desired consistency.

Place one cake layer, flat side up on a plate.  Spread funni bone layer over, like this.

  Place second cake layer, flat side on top of peanut butter layer, and gently press down,  like this.

Then you frost, like this!

Store in covered container.