Such a fun treat today! This Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting is such a wonderful combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Rich frosting paired with a moist cake is a delight to the senses!
Peanut Butter Cake
There is nothing worse than a dry peanut butter cake and I have tested enough recipes to know that making a soft, moist peanut butter cake is not as easy as it sounds. This recipe is one that always works and always shines with amazing peanut butter flavor and the soft crumb that people demand.
Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Is there any better flavor combination than Chocolate and Peanut Butter? I think it has stood the test of time for a reason… it IS the best! Making this cake was a delight from beginning to end and the second this cake came out of the oven I knew I was in love. It was pure bliss.
For the top, I went to my go-to method for decorating a cake and that is the Ateco 846 tip.
I put 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/4 cup butter softened, 1 cup confectioners sugar, and 1-3 tablespoons of milk in the mixer and blended to a nice creamy consistency. (add more or less milk to reach your desired consistency)
Then simply just piped out little piles of peanut butter frosting bliss and covered in chocolate sprinkles.
Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup (113g) butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
- ¼ cup milk
Dark Chocolate Frosting
- 2¾ cups confectioners' sugar
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8 inch round cake pan.
Cake
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream together the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes on medium speed.
- With mixer on slow, beat in eggs and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.
- Slowly beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing until just combined.
- Do not overmix. Batter will be thick.
- Bake for 32-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool before frosting.
Frosting
- Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder to assure there are no lumps. Set aside.
- With a stand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until fluffy - about 2 minutes.
- With mixer on low, gradually add the sifted sugar/cocoa powder alternately with the heavy cream and vanilla.
- Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too dark. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Some folks mentioned in the comment that their cake was dry. This is a HUGE no-no in baking and I remade the recipe (in the middle of December in Minnesota) just to see if I could replicate their results. I didn’t find the cake to be dry per say, but it was not as moist as when I first tested this recipe in 2014. I recommend adding an additional egg. When I tested the recipe with 3 LARGE eggs instead of 2, it was just as moist and scrumptious as the first time. I will test one more time to make sure it’s the best before switching the recipe!
Just found this today, and it looks divine! Off to the supermarket first thing tomorrow morning to buy the ingredients! Yum! 😀
The cake did not work for me. It was way too dry . I made sure not to over-mix and even took it out early. Disappointing. The chocolate frosting was a bit “tight” for me but that is an easy fix. The peanut butter frosting – definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing the cake.
Oh dear! So very sorry. Glad there were things you still enjoyed. Blessings to you!
I really wanted to love this cake. The peanut butter frosting was fantastic, it is a keeper. The cake was too dense and grainy, probably due to the peanut butter. I was surprised because the batter was fluffy, but in my opinion, it definitely needs modifications to improve the texture, . I completely understand comments that others made that the cake was too dry. The chocolate frosting was too thick and overly sweet for my tastes. I think that a chocolate ganache topping would be an improvement.
So sorry Miri! The recipe is from http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/02/04/peanut-butter-cupcakes-with-dark-chocolate-frosting/ . I see that the commenters on her post also felt the recipe was dry. My apologies for not trying to perfect the recipe before posting… I will work on it!
I’m trying this later today for Valentine’s Day! Can’t wait for my guys to try it!
Turned out just perfect .. love love love this recipe
Can I sub whole wheat flour for white?
So disappointed! This cake was so dry it can’t be sliced and it will choke you if you’re not careful. Something is definitely missing in this recipe.
This looks like peanut butter frosting on top??
Sounds delicuous,but the peanut butter frosting recipe is not included. Please supply it. Thank you. Sue
Hey Amanda,
I borrowed your recipe and blogged it on my own page. I linked back to your page. Hope that is ok. This is too good not to share. I am a die-hard fan of your page.
Thanks
Anneke