I realized the other day that I have never made a plain peanut butter cake. Sure I’ve made peanut butter banana cake, I’ve made peanut butter swirled chocolate cake, etc. but no plain peanut butter cake.
That had to change. Since peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations. It only seemed right to make a chocolate frosting to go with it!
The base of this fudge frosted peanut butter cake has a light peanut butter flavor, not too intense or overpowering. I was tempted to add more peanut butter (because peanut butter is good!), but I wanted to keep the texture from getting too dense.
It was just the right amount of peanut butter to give it flavor while keeping the cake tender.
To top this peanut butter cake I went with an old standby. I use this same frosting for my family’s chocolate wacky cake, and it’s always been a favorite. The frosting tastes just like chocolate fudge.
It’s thick, rich, and decadent. Just the right frosting for a peanut butter cake! (And just the right frosting to eat straight from the bowl. No one needs to know!)
- ⅓ C creamy peanut butter
- 1 C water
- ½ C butter
- 1 C sugar
- 1 C brown sugar
- 2 C flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- ½ C milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ C sugar
- 3 tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa
- ⅓ C milk
- ⅓ C butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan, melt together peanut butter, water, and butter over medium heat. Stir to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir in peanut butter mixture. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla extract and beat until well-combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool.
- In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar and baking cocoa. Add in milk and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Beat with a sturdy spoon until glossy and thickens. This will take a few minutes.
- Spread over cooled cake. Frosting hardens as it cools, so work quickly.
- Cut into pieces and serve.
The base of the cake is adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite says
Thank you for making this plain cake. Sometimes its all about going back to the basics!
Ashley says
Peanut and chocolate is the best combo ever! haha I don’t think I’ve ever made a plain peanut butter cake! That really must change… Happy Friday!
Amy @ Fearless Homemaker says
Ooh, I LOVE the combo of chocolate and peanut butter, so I know I’d love this cake. It looks fantastic!
Chelsea @ Gal on a Mission says
I love the addiction of the fudge frosting, Jessica! Yum-o! Pinned 🙂
laura Fulks says
Not sure if I will have the self control to wait for Paul’s next birthday (October) to make this. 🙂 chocolate and peanut butter is his favorite combo too.
Tanya Schroeder says
Peanut butter is good, peanut butter cake is BETTER! I may have to make the frosting just to eat with a spoon!
Emily @ Life on Food says
I don’t think I have ever had peanut butter cake but I don’t know how it could be bad. This looks fantastic! And of course with the chocolate frosting. That is a must.
Jen of My Tiny Oven says
Wonderful! This is my dream cake!
Angelyn @ Everyday Desserts says
Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually made a plain peanut butter cake either. Thankfully, I’ve got a fantastic recipe now! 😉
Betsy | JavaCupcake.com says
I love that you used less peanut butter in this recipe. Not that I don’t love peanut butter… your cake looks like it’s hint of peanut butter flavor pairs perfectly with the frosting! Well done!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
Mmmm so happy you finally (:P) made a plain peanut butter cake and topped it with this super tasty chocolatey frosting!!!
sarah k @ the pajama chef says
mmm, peanut butter! can’t go wrong here. 🙂
miss messy says
fudge frosting?! Sign me up please!
Nicole says
Oh my goodness, this looks delicious! The Fudge Frosting sounds amazing!
Jess says
This looks amazing- that frosting sounds heavenly! 🙂
Anna (Hidden Ponies) says
You had me at fudge frosting! I love this cake.
Ramona says
Peanut butter and fudge… I call that pretty perfect. 🙂
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
I adore peanut butter cake and that frosting looks sooooo guuuud. Fudge and PB? This combo speaks to my soul!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
This is a gorgeous yet unique flavored cake. I love this twist!
Mercedes says
Now this is a cake that would be dangerous for me to have around! I have a feeling I could eat row after row of this!
Renee@Two in the Kitchen says
I could eat this whole pan!! The frosting itself looks like its worth the calories!! 🙂
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
I will never get tired of this classic combination. I want this cake all day long!
Kara says
This frosting looks so fudgy. Must try!
Kelly says
Love this cake! Chocolate and peanut butter are so so good! I’ve never made a plain peanut butter cake before too and will definitely have to give this a try when I do 🙂
Cate @ Chez CateyLou says
mmmm, I have never made a plain peanut butter cake either! Definitely need to try this – it looks sooo good. Chocolate PB is my husband and my favorite combo!
dina says
it looks yummy!
Sam says
i need to try this!!! can anyone help with UK conversions please? (and is C sugar-confectioners or castor?) Many thanks x
Jessica@A Kitchen Addiction says
C stands for cup. So it’s just plain white sugar. Allrecipes seems to have good charts for conversions: http://allrecipes.co.uk/how-to/44/cooking-conversions.aspx Hope this helps!
Kate says
I was making the frosting for this cake, and it looked fine until I added in the vanilla. When I added the vanilla, and stirred it in, the frosting immediately turned into a powder (looked like I had a saucepan of cocoa powder). The frosting only sat long enough for me to measure out the vanilla. Does anyone have any idea as to what I may have done wrong? Thanks.
Jessica@A Kitchen Addiction says
I am not entirely certain what could have caused this. The only thing I can think of is that the cocoa powder wasn’t completely stirred in so a pocket of it was uncovered when you stirred in the vanilla. . . I will have to look into this. I’m sorry it didn’t work for you!
Jules says
This. Cake. Is. AWESOME! EASILY one of the top 3 best cakes I’ve ever had. And the frosting is absolutely indulgent! But I didn’t care for this frosting on this cake. The chocolate fudge overpowered the peanut butter flavor. Next time I’ll try the cake with a regular chocolate buttercream. And I’m going to try the fudge frosting on a regular yellow/butter cake. But both of these recipes will remain in my arsenal forever! Thank you for sharing! 🙂