This Peanut Butter Cake recipe is simply THE BEST EVER! But don’t take our word for it, check out all the rave reviews and then experience this cake for yourself! The ultimate cake for peanut butter lovers, both the cake and the frosting are positively LOADED with peanut butter flavor!
Craving more cake? Be sure to try our popular Old Fashioned Carrot Cake, French Almond Plum Cake, and Limoncello Cake!
Before we get to the peanut butter cake recipe, two things:  1)  I need more food props, and 2) to quote my husband, “Every time you use the white table cloth and that plant it looks like something out of a 1970’s cookbook.” It’s sadly true. But it doesn’t change the fact that the cake is downright amazing.
Combine points one and two: Â No more 70’s food pics. Â Need. Â More. Â Food. Â Props.
But on to the subject of this recipe post:Â Peanut butter lovers – this is definitely THE cake for you!
Is it good?  Oh, it’s good alright. So good that it comes with a warning label: This peanut butter cake is extremely rich.  Like if you eat the whole thing in one sitting you may experience cardiac arrest. And we really don’t want that to happen. So eat in moderation only.
I created this cake by way of request from Elizabeth via the Make a Request! link. Â She asked me if I would create a peanut butter cake that is “moist, peanuty and delicious,” like the kind she enjoyed from her childhood. Â I didn’t have any more information than that to go on. Â Sheet cake or layered? Â Frosting or glaze? Â Moist crumb or goopey? Â So many options. Â At first I was thinking along the lines of a peanut butter layered cake with a hot honey glaze drizzled over it and left to seep down into the cake, resulting in a super moist, slightly goopey texture. Â Then maybe even add a layer of peanut butter frosting on top. Â I may still get around to creating that. Â In the end I settled for the more traditional version: Â A peanut butter layer cake with a rich peanut butter frosting. Â I went for oil instead of butter because oil makes cake nice and moist whereas butter tends to dry it out. Â Buttermilk also does wonders for creating a soft and moist crumb. Â So we’ve got both in here!
Can I Make This As a Sheet Cake?
Yes! If you want to cut back on calories (and save yourself some work), bake the cake in a 9X13 cake pan as a sheet cake and make half the amount of frosting to go on top (the “death factor” in this cake lies primarily in the frosting).
Also, for an even more moist, “goopier” version, see notes in recipe box. Â I haven’t actually tried this, merely conceptualized it in my mind, but I think it will work wonderfully :)
Peanut Butter Cake Recipe
Let’s get started!
Combine the brown sugar, oil, and peanut butter in a large mixing bowl.
Beat until combined and add the eggs and vanilla extract. Â Continue to beat until combined.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Alternately add the flour and buttermilk, beating just until combined.  Do not over-beat or the cake will be dense and dry. It’s okay if there are a few small lumps of flour.
Grease a 9×3 inch round baking pan and pour the batter in. Â (I used 9×3 – a 9×2 inch pan should be fine, too). Â I use the hand-forged aluminum pan by Magic Line, made in the USA. Â Love it!
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out “moist” – not wet with batter, but moist. Be careful not to over-bake or the cake will be dry.
Let the cake sit in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Then cut the cake in half.
Now let’s make the frosting:
Place the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl. Cream the two together until smooth.
Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Â Add the heavy cream a little at a time until the frosting becomes a spreadable consistency. Â Note: Â This is a fairly stiff frosting. Â Be sure to keep it at room temperature or will be stiffen even more.
Note: Â For a chocolate frosting, simply add a couple of tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder.
Spread the bottom half with frosting, frosting down the sides as well. Place the top layer on top. (Ignore the picture.  I accidentally put it on wrong and I didn’t want to try and pick it up again.  The top cake layer should have been put on upside down so that the top edges don’t slope down.) Spread the frosting on the top layer and down the sides.
This is where you can now become creative with your cake decorating skills.  Piping, crumbled up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you name it. At the time my 3 year old was eagerly waiting for me to take him and his baby sister to Petco to see the animals, so I kept it simple. Another variation:  Pour some chocolate ganache over it for some ultra decadence!
Oh, I forgot to mention.  I faced a serious challenge here.  You’ll remember from my Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies With Nutella Marshmallow Cream Cheese Frosting that I absolutely LOVE the combination of peanut butter and Nutella.  I probably stood at my kitchen table staring at this jar of Nutella for a good 10 minutes, debating whether or not to add some to the frosting or maybe swirl some into the batter.  Or a swirled peanut butter Nutella frosting… Oh, it was so hard deciding what to do!  In the end I decided to stick to the classic peanut butter cake. But I mention this because you may decide to add some Nutella – it’s a delicious option.
This is simply the best peanut butter cake ever! Check out all the rave reviews in the comments below and then give it a try to experience it for yourself!
Enjoy!
For more delicious cake recipes be sure to try our:
- Caramel Pear Walnut Cake
- Old Fashioned Carrot Cake
- French Almond Plum Cake
- German Cheesecake
- Dundee Cake
- Limoncello Cake
- Rhubarb Streusel Cake
- German Apple Cake
- Orange Buttermilk Cake
- Sticky Toffee Pudding
- German Plum Cake
- Cherry Marzipan Streusel Cake
- Chocolate Almond Quinoa Cake
BEST Peanut Butter Cake
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil , at room temperature or oil of choice (I use coconut oil). Note: Oil yields a moister cake than butter
- 1/3 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (can substitute 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice stirred into it. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes then use as recipe directs)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the Frosting:
- 1 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter (if using regular peanut butter which has lots of sugar in it, cut back a little on the brown sugar)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar (can use less if preferred)
- up to 1/2 cup heavy cream , at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.In a large mixing bowl, add the peanut butter, oil, and brown sugar. Beat until combined and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat just until combined.Alternately add the flour and buttermilk to the wet mixture, beating just until combined. Be careful not to over-beat or the cake will be dense and dry. A few small lumps of flour is fine.
- Grease a 9X3 inch round baking pan (I use Magic Line pans). Pour the batter into the pan.Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out moist (not wet with batter but moist. If the toothpick is dry, the cake is over-baked and will be dry). Let the cake sit in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To Make the Frosting: In the meantime place the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, continuing to beat. Add the heavy cream until you reach a spreadable consistency. (Note: This is a fairly stiff frosting.)Cut the cooled cake in half horizontally. Frost the bottom half of the cake and down the sides. Place the top layer of the cake, upside down, on top of the bottom layer. Frost the top layer and down the sides.
Notes
*Variation: Add Nutella to the frosting
*Another variation: Pour some chocolate ganache over it for ultra decadence!
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet April 19, 2013
Isabelle @ Crumb says
I totally admire your ability to resist the siren song of the Nutella jar, and to go with plain and simple instead. I’m normally not the biggest fan of peanut butter on its own (PB and chocolate, on the other hand? Heck yeah!), but I think I could totally make an exception for this beautiful cake.
Kim Beaulieu says
Okay, first of all I laughed out loud over the prop thing. I love shopping for props, if I lived near you I’d come pick you up for a prop shopping excursion. Try cheap places first if you go. Honestly, Walmart has lots of fun things. So does Home Sense. One of my favourite fabrics to use is cheese cloth, it’s a dollar so if you spill on it you just buy another one. Ha. I’m so cheap.
I love this cake. Peanut butter is life. I bet once I started eating this I wouldn’t want to stop.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Haha, glad you can appreciate the humor in that, Kim! I totally agree with him and I got rid of those flowers over a year ago ;) And I’d totally LOVE to go on shopping excursion with you! And burn off some calories from this cake while I’m at it :)
The Food Hunter says
this sounds amazing…I am drooling just thinking about it.
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
Peanut butter is my weakness. I’m making this for my hubby’s birthday this year!
Diana says
Let me start off by saying every time I make this cake everyone ends up begging me to make it again. It’s always the first to go at parties. I was wondering if you think it would be a wise choice to make it in a bundt pan? Or if you’ve tried? My daughter has requested only bundt cakes for her birthday party and your killer peanut butter cake is by far her favorite type of cake. I just don’t want to ruin a beautiful thing.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Diana, we just got back from vacation and I apologize for the delayed response. I’m so happy to hear this cake has been such a hit, thank you! I’ve never tried it using a bundt pan but don’t see why it wouldn’t work just as well. Be sure to properly grease and flour the pan and it should turn out perfectly. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
FrankE says
Been trying to make ‘Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup” type cake for awhile using chocolate cake with different recipes of peanut butter frosting. Never turned out quite right.
This cake recipe sounds (and looks) great. I plan to make it this weekend with an intense chocolate buttercream frosting. Not quite the ‘killer’ as your frosting, but close enough.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That sounds awesome, FrankE, happy baking and let us know how it goes!
FrankE says
Gave in and made the PB frosting. Outstanding.
THANKS
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome!! Thanks, FrankE!
Kate says
Absolutely THE best peanut butter cake EVER!!!! This was a massive hit in my family and you’ve made me a star, thank you!! :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Kate, I’m so glad everyone loved it, thank you!
Loli says
Hi Kimberly! Can’t wait to try this cake! My daughters boyfriend requested a peanut butter cake. My Question: The coconut oil that you use…. Is it refined or unrefined? Do you melt it before adding as it is a solid oil? Thanks in advance for your reply!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Loli, I use unrefined but you can use either. No, don’t melt it but it should be at room temperature so that it’s soft enough to beat it. Happy baking!
mariannette says
This must be a GOOD cake, judging by the years of comments it has generated. I found your recipe while searching for dessert recipes using almond butter. In your experienced opinion, might the pb in the cake be replaced by almond butter (also subbing almond extract for vanilla)? I do think recipes should be follwed before bakers start tweeking
them, but here I am trying to exactly do that very thing! I’m a hit-or-miss cook/baker, with some sad/hilarious/gruesome cooking tales to tell, so asking your advice before I forge ahead is, I know from experience, a very good idea.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Mariannette! Sad, hilarious and gruesome cooking tales – oh, I think we all have those! ;) Substituting almond butter and almond extract won’t change anything about the cake’s texture. Almond butter has the same consistency as natural peanut butter, which is what I use. So the only difference in outcome will be flavor – it won’t have the peanut butter flavor and with the almond extract it will taste slightly more along the lines of the flavor in almond poppy seed muffins (but the almond butter will camouflage some of that flavor). If you’re going the almond butter route I’m assuming you’d do the same for the frosting and add a bit of almond extract there as well, right? No, I don’t think it would be a disaster at all, it will just taste very different, but not a bad thing by any means. If you give it a shot let us know what you think!
Nini says
So due to several reasons (including food allergies and somebody eating most of the peanut butter), I ended up tweeking the recipe to make it gluten and lactose free, and put some amaretto in to compensate for the smaller amount of peanut butter, and some chocolate chips and raisins for texture, and it’s amazing! Going to try the recipe again properly when I have more peanut butter (and hide it from sneaky snackers), but I have no regrets making a boozy big girls version. Yum!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Nini, what a transformation, it sounds great! Thanks so much for sharing!
Aiz says
Thank you soooooooo much for sharing this recipe. I made the steamed version of this cake without frosting, but it was so delicious I wanted to eat the whole cake myself :D It’s definetely a killer!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank YOU, Aiz! :) So glad you enjoyed it!
Olive says
Where are the amounts for the ingredients?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Olive, scroll down to the bottom of the post past the step-by-step pictures and you’ll see the recipe box with all the ingredients and directions.
Alissha says
Omg! I just made this for boyfriends 40th bday (huge peanut butter fan) and told him it’s a “killer”….. He said they obviously don’t know me….I said it came with a disclaimer ….he laughed…ate 2 servings…said it was THE BEST CAKE HES EVER HAD! But has only taken a few bits here and there…told his parents about it and now I’m making one to take to them! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe! Also I used Jif… Cut out 1/3 cup of powdered sugar for cake and cut out 1 cup for the frosting and added about 1/2 cup more peanut butter for the frosting…mmmmmm so rich and dense.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
SCORE!!! I’m totally thrilled to hear it was such a hit and that your boyfriend enjoyed it, Alissha, thank you! It sounds like you’ll be busy baking for a while :) Hope his parents enjoy it, too!
Mary says
Thanks for the great recipe I actually made a bundt cake with it and used your idea for the honey glaze with 1/4 cup peanut butter added it looks great, can’t wait to find out what my friend thinks of her birthday cake
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That sounds terrific, Mary, I love that idea and I’d be excited to hear your friend thinks, too!
June Mills says
Hello,
I am vegan and am going to try to veganize this recipe…I will use 2 flax eggs instead of eggs and Soymilk for buttermilk. Also I will use unsweetened organic peanut butter but am looking to cut back on the sugar.
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi June, I am far from a vegan expert and would hesitate to make any recommendations until I actually tried and tested it myself to make sure it works. Let us know how your veganized version turns out!
June Mills says
Thank you!