I Want Kandy

If you live on the East Coast, chances are you've had a Kandy Kake. Kandy Kakes are a creation of Tastykake, which is located in Philadelphia, PA. I know that Tastykake products are not available in stores throughout the US, because it is not uncommon for family friends living in other parts of the country to ask us to ship them some Tastykake products so they can get their fix. If you haven't had the pleasure of enjoying Tastykake, you're missing out! Their treats are delicious! Both Joe and I have always been partial to Kandy Kakes, however. A Kandy Kake is essentially a little yellow cake topped with peanut butter and covered in chocolate. How can you go wrong with that?

So I was excited to attend a recipe exchange at my friend Karen's house last year and receive a recipe for homemade Kandy Kakes from Karen herself. Joe tried them and fell in love, so I decided to make a batch for him to bring to his fantasy baseball draft today. I made them yesterday, and Joe proceeded to eat four of them after dinner. They're good, but in my opinion there is too much cake and not enough peanut butter and chocolate! I don't own a jellyroll pan, so I used the largest cookie sheet I have that will fit in my small oven, which probably accounts for my thick layer of cake. Next time I'll divide the batter between two baking pans for thinner cake. Joe had no complaints though.

The only change to the below recipe I made was that I did not measure my peanut butter or chocolate. I just spread on enough peanut butter to make a nice coating over the cake - about 2/3 of a jar. For the chocolate, I just melted a small bag of milk chocolate chips and spread them on until I had a good coating. You can use your judgement (and preferences) for these steps! As I said, next time I'm using more peanut butter and chocolate!

"Kandy Kakes"

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking powder

2 c. flour

2 tsp. butter

1 cup hot milk

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

2 (8 oz) Hershey bars

Beat eggs. Add sugar, vanilla, baking powder and flour. Melt butter in hot milk and add to batter. Pour mixture into greased jellyroll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Spread at once with peanut butter. Refrigerate until peanut butter is hard. Melt Hershey bars and spread on top. Refrigerate until chocolate is hardened. Bring to room temperature before slicing into bars.