Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
User Reviews
4.9
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Description
This recipe produces a chocolate cake baked in rounds made from a batter of sugar, cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and soda, salt, eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and hot water or coffee. The thin, moist cake layers are baked, cooled, and horizontally sliced to create four thin rounds.
Peanut butter frosting is spread between the layers to build a multi-layered cake with creamy, nutty richness complementing the chocolate. An optional chocolate frosting made from melted butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla is used to coat the cake, and mini Reese’s peanut butter cups can decorate the top.
This cake is fitting for celebrations and can be made ahead, with components wrapped for storage or frozen. It also adapts to other formats such as cupcakes or bundt cake, with adjustments to baking time and frosting application suggested to fit those shapes and serving preferences.
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup neutral cooking oil vegetable or canola oil, generic cooking oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup water or hot coffee, boiling
For the Peanut butter frosting
- 1 batch peanut butter frosting
For the Chocolate Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 Reese’s peanut butter cups for topping on cake, optional, mini
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round baking pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
- Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the boiling water (your batter will be very thin--that's OK!). Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
- Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
- Once cakes have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to cut each cake horizontally in half, so that you end up with four, thin cake rounds.
- Place one cake layer on serving plate. Smooth 1/3 of the peanut butter frosting on top of that cake layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, adding a layer of peanut butter frosting between each layer of cake.
For the Chocolate Frosting:
- Add melted butter to a large mixing bowl. Stir in cocoa powder. Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and beat with electric mixers until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar to thicken frosting or milk to thin it, as needed.
- Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread the frosting evenly over the outside of the cake. I piped swirls of extra chocolate and peanut butter frosting on top and topped with a mini Reese's peanut butter cup.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- The baked cakes and frostings can be prepared a day or two ahead and stored properly to save time.
- Freeze cake rounds wrapped in plastic and stored airtight for up to 3 months; thaw frosting to room temperature before use.
- One-layer 9x13-inch pan variation requires 35-40 minutes baking and can be frosted similarly.
- Cupcake form requires filling liners two-thirds full, baking 22-25 minutes, and allows filling centers with peanut butter frosting before topping.
- Bundt cake baking takes about 50-55 minutes, followed by cooling and alternating layers of chocolate and peanut butter frosting.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 12Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 446 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 446kcal | 22% |
| Carbohydrates | 47g | 16% |
| Protein | 5g | 10% |
| Fat | 22g | 34% |
| Saturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Cholesterol | 52mg | 17% |
| Sodium | 453mg | 19% |
| Potassium | 287mg | 6% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 38g | 76% |
| Vitamin A | 325IU | 7% |
| Vitamin C | 0.2mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 88mg | 9% |
| Iron | 1.8mg | 10% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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