The Recipe Rebel / Desserts
written by Ashley Fehr
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Servings 12 servings
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Last updated on June 2, 2020
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This Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is the ultimate cake for birthdays or any celebration! It tastes like Reese’s peanut butter cups in cake form. The peanut butter cake is moist and rich and the perfect complement to the chocolate frosting!
When this Peanut Butter Cake is on the table, you know there’s something to celebrate.
Four years ago (FOUR YEARS), I announced to family and friends that I’d started a little food blog.
Two years ago, I resigned from my other dream job to blog full time.
It has been a crazy ride, and I wish I could say that it’s all been uphill but, like any job, there are ups and downs and moments of extreme frustration. This wouldn’t be a very happy 4th Blog Birthday (blogiversary if you will!) post if I just sat here and dwelled on the negative.
And believe me, February was a month of huge transitions for me, and it would be easy for me to do!
But the truth is, this blog has been an incredible adventure — from a thought, to a hobby, to a full time job — and I’m extremely thankful to have you all here. I know it’s cliche, but I couldn’t have done it without you!
Because no birthday is a birthday without cake, we have this Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.
If you ask me — surely if you ask anyone?!? — peanut butter and chocolate is the ultimate combination. A little sweet, a little salty, a little nutty, a little chocolatey. Reese’s anything is dangerous in our house!
I wanted to create a cake worthy of such a celebration, and this cake is it. It is incredibly moist and has loads of peanut butter flavour. If you’re serious about peanut butter, you could stick with a peanut butter frosting, but I really like the way the chocolate and the tang of the cream cheese balance out that salty, nuttiness. You could also stick with regular vanilla cream cheese frosting if you’re not into chocolate…. or is that a thing? 😉
Tips and Tricks for Making this Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:
- I bake this cake in two 8″ round pans so I could stack it up, but you can also bake the cake in a 9×13″ pan, just keep an eye on the clock from 25 minutes on and check every 5 minutes for doneness (mine took about 35 minutes total)
- As I mentioned above, feel free to mix up the frosting! Whipped cream, chocolate whipped cream, peanut butter frosting, chocolate ganache, even strawberry frosting would be great! Get a little crazy 😉
- This cake is great for making ahead! You can freeze the cake layers before assembling, or you can freeze the cake already frosted. Just set on the counter at room temperature to thaw — it will only take a couple of hours!
*This recipe is adapted from the Yellow Cake recipe in Taste of Home’s Complete Guide to Baking — one of my go-to cookbooks!
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Pin this recipe to your favorite boardPeanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
written by Ashley Fehr
5 from 2 votes
This Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is the ultimate cake for birthdays or any celebration! It tastes like Reese’s peanut butter cups in cake form. The peanut butter cake is moist and rich and the perfect complement to the chocolate frosting!
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ReviewPrep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Cuisine American
Course Dessert
Servings 12 servings
Calories 654cal
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup peanut butter smooth (215g)
- 1/2 cup canola oil (105g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed (180g)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (115g)
- 2 eggs large
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup 1% milk
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 325g
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup dark chocolate chopped
- ¼ cup cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup cream cheese 4oz, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two round 8″ cake pans with parchment paper or grease and flour.
In a large bowl, warm the peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, just until soft.
Add the oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk until totally smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and milk and whisk again until smooth.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir just until combined. Divide between prepared baking pans.
Bake for 22-27 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs (not batter!). Set aside to cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
If desired, slice cooled cakes in half to produce 4 cake layers and make the frosting.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
In a medium bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and stir until completely melted and smooth, cooking on high another 15 seconds if necessary. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.
Add the cocoa powder and sugar and beat until combined.
Add the cooled chocolate (it can still be slightly warm) and beat to incorporate, then beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. The colour of the frosting will lighten as you beat it.
Spread frosting over cooled cake and decorate as desired. Serve or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 days or in the freezer up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 654cal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 384mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 64g | Vitamin A: 525IU | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 3mg
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Meet Ashley
My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Jace says
You should probably when to put the peanut butter in. All your recipe says is to warm up the peanut butter not not at what point to put it in the cake mix. I’m a novice baker and was not sure when to put it in.
Reply
Ashley Fehr says
Sorry about the confusion! The peanut butter is the first ingredient in the bowl. You add the rest to the peanut butter.
Reply
Judy says
Made this for Christmas. Decorated the top with chopped peanut clusters and melted chocolate ‘lace’. Awesome cake, the family loved it. Will definitely make again
Reply
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Judy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Reply
Danielle says
Happy blogiversary! That’s awesome you do this full time (that’s my secret dream). And four years, wow!
This cake looks amazing. I saw peanut butter and knew it was for me. But when I saw cream cheese frosting, I almost died and went to heaven. Love it!
Reply
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Danielle! It has been a work in progress for sure!
Reply
Happy Blogiversary! This cake looks incredible!
Reply
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Nancy!
Reply
