Paula's Gooey Butter Cakes - Variation II

On Saturday I made another variation of Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake.. the peanut butter and chocolate variation to be exact. I've made this variation before with wonderfully decadent results. Not so much this time. I over baked. Annddd.. I suspect my peanut butter had started to get that not so fresh taste to it. I didn't think it had been in my cupboard very long as we go through peanut butter quite quickly in this house, but my cake did taste a bit "stale". Also, something else I've noticed in the last 2 gooey cakes I've made.. the cream cheese layer was pretty damn thin. I don't recall the pumpkin gooey cake I make every year for Thanksgiving being so thin, but with the first variation, the lemon one I made a few weeks ago and now this peanut butter one.. thin. Thankfully, after everyone ate the ribs they were too full for desert, so Hubbs and I were the only ones (much later that night when we had no business eating anything sweet before passing out) that were subjected to the ickiness. That cake was thrown away the next morning. But here's a picture and the recipe, because it's an excellent recipe when you don't overbake it and use ka-ka'd peanut butter. :D Peanut Butter & Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake 1 devil's food cake mix 1 egg 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened 3 eggs 1 c. creamy peanut butter 1 (16 oz.) box confectioners' sugar 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted 1 tsp. vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" x 2" baking pan (I always use a glass Pyrex dish) with butter. In a mixer, combine the cake mix, egg and butter until it forms a ball. Press this mixture into the bottom of your baking pan. In same mixer, beat the cream cheese until it's good and soft, add the eggs, peanut butter, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Slowly add the sugar until it's just combined. Pour over the cake layer and spread until it's even. Bake for 45-50 minutes. (I baked for 45 minutes and it was too done! So check after 35 minutes!) Your cake should look "done" around the sides only and the middle should look, well.. gooey. :D Cool for a few hours before serving.