Chocolate Peanut Butter Checkerboard Cake

My dad is a peanut butter and chocolate FANATIC!  So, when his birthday rolled around this week, I could not think of a better combination for his birthday cake!  I have been itching to try this checkerboard technique since I saw the Cake Boss do it on one of the episodes.   I had to improvise for the cake, since they do not sell peanut butter flavored cake mix, but the end result was very peanutty and had the texture of a Reese's Cup!  The cake was very rich and filling, and best of all everyone loved it!  I am really curious as to why none of the cake batter companies have jumped on the chocolate and peanut butter bandwagon!  I am excited to try this cake technique with some other flavors: chocolate mint, vanilla peppermint, and lemon dark chocolate!   

Chocolate Peanut Butter Checkerboard Cake 
Yields 12 - 14 servings

To Prepare the Cakes
1. To make the peanut butter cake, start with a Betty Crocker Super Moist White Cake mix.  Follow the directions on the back with the exception of the water!  Instead, use 1 cup of peanut butter, and 3/4 cup of water!  You are going to have to beat the batter a little harder than usual to get every thing to blend together. 

All of the wet ingredients mixed together!

The end result before baking!

2. Bake the cake per the directions on the box! 

3. When the peanut butter cake is done, let it cool.
4. Bake a chocolate cake using a batter of your choosing!  Be sure you use the same pan that you baked the peanut butter cake in so your cakes are the same size and shape!

To Assemble the Cakes
1. After the cakes have cooled (I like to cool mine over night), take a knife and gently level the tops of the cakes so they are flat and the same height as each other!

2. Using a set of nesting circle cookie cutters, make a bulls-eye on your cake.  Gently press the cutters all the way through!

Nesting circular cookie cutters

Try to make sure that your circles are centered!

You can see the faint lines of where the cookie cutters are after being pushed through!

3. Gently separate the circles from each other and separate them on two plates like the pictures below! 

4. Do the same with the chocolate cake and add them to the peanut butter one like the picture below!

5. Ice the mostly peanut butter cake with some smooth peanut butter.  Make sure you ice this cake...it is more dense and more heavy!  If you put it on top of the chocolate cake it might collapse! 

6. Put the mostly chocolate cake on top of the icing and peanut butter cake.

7. Ice the cake with chocolate icing, and then add some peanut butter!  Be creative and do what you are comfortable with!  I used an icing decorating triangle to get the texture in the icing, and piped some peanut butter and chocolate around the top and bottom! 

When you cut the cake, you will get this great checkerboard effect!