Oh boy-- I'm in trouble here-- I never measure when I'm making this kind of icing . It's basically a butter cream but I use about 1/3 butter( maybe 1 tbsp) - 2/3( maybe 2 heaping tbsp) peanut butter-- ( either Smucker's Natural or some kind of an organic one-- just peanuts & salt-- the kind you buy with oil separated out & you have to stir up )-- cream those together-add about 1/2 tsp vanilla and start with 2 c confectioners sugar & couple tbsp hot water-- beat up and add more sugar- more peanut butter - more hot water 'til it gets to the consistancy & taste I want. I've never tried it with a pb like Jiffy or PP -- their consistancy is different .

Stacy the icing for this cake is great. It is in the dessert chapter I sent you. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Sour Cream Chocolate Layer Cake =============================== Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts 3 squares (s ounces) unsweetened chocolate 1/2 cup boiling water 2 cups sifted flour 1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cups butter 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 3 eggs 1 cup sour cream . Adjust rack to center of oven andpreheat oven to 375°F. Butter two 9 inch round layer cake pans and dust both lightly with fine,dry bread crumbs. In a small heavy saucepan over low heat melt the chocolate with the boiling water. Stir occasionally with a small wire whisk until smooth. Set aside. NOTE: I just poured boiling water over the chocolate and zapped it for 30 seconds in the Microwave. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In large bowl of electric mixer, cream the butter. Add vanilla, granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat well, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary to keep mixture smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time beating well after each. Stir sour cream and cooled chocolate together until smooth and add to batter, beating only until mixed. On lowest speed, add the sifted ingredients continuing to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat only until smooth. Turn into prepared pans. With rubber spatula spread tops smooth and then run the batter up on the sides a bit, leaving the batter slightly lower in the centers. Bake 35 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched and layers come away from sides of pans Cool in pans for about 5 minutes. Place rackes over the cakes and invert. Remove pans. Cover with racks and invert again to cool right side up. Icing/frosting 3 squares (3 ounces) unsweetened chocolate) 2 TAblespoons butter 3/4 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 pound unsifted confectioners sugar. In top of small double boiler over hot water on low heat, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until smooth and let cool completely. NOTE: I place the butter and chocolate in a small bowl and microwave on medium for one minute. In small bowl of electric mixer at low speed, beat sour cream, vanilla and salt just to mix. Gradually beat in the sugar, scaping the blowl with a rubber spatula. When smooth, add cooled melted chocolate and beat at high speed for 1/2 a minute or until very smooth. Place four strips of wax paper around the edges of a cake plate to protect it while icing cake. Place one layer upside down. Spread with filling. Cover with second layer, right side up so that both bottom sides meet in the middle. Cover the sides and then the top with remaining filling and icing, smoothing it with a long, narrow, metal spatula; then if you wish use the pack of a teaspoon to form swirls and peaks all over the sides and the top. Remove wax paper by pulling each strip by a narrow end.

Trisha Yearwood was on Rachael Ray on Tuesday and here is her recipe and Garth's favorite cake. It will be in her; Trisha's new cook book Trisha Yearwood's German Chocolate Cake with Coconut Frosting Ingredients 4 ounces sweet dark chocolate (see Shopping Hint below) 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup warm milk 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 5 medium egg whites 2 cups sugar 5 medium egg yolks, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cup buttermilk, well shaken For the coconut frosting: 1 cup sugar 4 medium egg yolks 1 cup evaporated milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 10 ounces fresh or frozen and thawed grated coconut 1 1/2 cups finely ground pecans, walnuts, or almonds Yields: 12 servings Preparation Prepare the chocolate by melting it in the top of a double boiler, stirring until it is smooth. Add 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of the butter and stir until it is melted and blended. Add 1/4 cup of warm milk and stir until smooth. Set the chocolate aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottoms only of three 9-inch cake pans with circles of parchment paper, or grease each pan bottom only with solid shortening and dust lightly with flour. Sift together the sifted and measured flour, baking soda, and salt. Whip the egg whites until stiff using the wire beater of the mixer. Transfer the beaten whites to a separate bowl and set aside. In the mixer bowl, cream the remaining 1 1/2 sticks of butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted, cooled chocolate and the vanilla. Mix well. With the mixer on very low, stir in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Do this by adding about a third of the flour and slowly stirring it in completely. Then add about half the buttermilk and stir it in. Continue adding flour and buttermilk in this manner, ending with flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir again. With a long-handled spoon or spatula, fold and stir the beaten egg whites into the batter until the batter is smooth with no visible clumps of whites. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. Bake on the middle rack of the oven, allowing at least 1/4-inch clearance between the pans and the oven walls. The cake will rise above the pan edges as it bakes but will not spill over and will settle back down as it continues to bake. The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pans and springs back to a light touch. Cool layers in the pans for about 8 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn the layers out onto wire racks that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cool layers completely before frosting. To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in the top of a double boiler. Stir with a wire whisk until the yolks are fully incorporated. Add the butter. Place over simmering water and bring to a boil (see Note below). Simmer for 12-15 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add the vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Cool. To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake stand and spread with frosting. Frost each layer completely, top and sides, as it is added to the cake. Note: You can also make the frosting in a regular saucepan, but be sure to stir it constantly, as it scorches quite easily. Also, you must use the finely grated fresh or frozen coconut, not canned or shredded, to be able to spread the frosting on the sides of the cake easily. Shopping Hint: For those cooks who use a lot of sweet baking chocolate, the chocolate used in this recipe can be purchased in bulk online at www.cocoasupply.com. Choose La Equatoriale  Dark Chocolate Coverture. The cost, including postage, is half what you would probably pay in grocery stores. Share the large bar with your friends who bake.

I vote orange flavoring..but not everyone loves it..probably be safer with a "nut" flavor...although craisins or dried cherries and orange sound really good.. But crushed peppermint would be fun too... Chocolate goes with just about anything in my book!!!!!!! LOL My personal favorite is Raspberry...But I'd not pass up any of the above...but my guys...well the "nut" flavor would be the only one they'd not turn their nose up to.