Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake
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This triple layer peanut butter and chocolate cake is super moist and perfect for chocolate and peanut butter lovers. It’s got rich chocolate cake layers, with creamy peanut butter frosting in between the layers. It’s finished off with a luxurious chocolate peanut butter frosting!
Chocolate and peanut butter has been a well known match made in heaven for as long as any of us can remember. One of my most popular brownie recipes is these peanut butter stuffed chocolate brownies for good reason!
And while it may look like you need to make two frostings, don’t worry – the silky peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter frosting are made from the same recipe! You just divide the frosting into two bowls then add one extra ingredient and voilá!
Why You’ll Love My Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake
- This recipe has been tested with dairy ingredients and dairy free ingredients and it works perfectly both ways!
- While my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes use a peanut butter cream cheese frosting, I’ve used a buttercream base for this cake.
- The cake is easy to prepare and there are endless ways to decorate it!
Ingredient Notes
- Peanut Butter: I’ve tested this peanut butter and chocolate cake with smooth/creamy peanut butter, and I recommend the sweetened kind (like Skippy, Jif or Kraft), rather than the natural kind.
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder is my favorite to use in chocolate cakes, as I find it has a richer, deeper chocolate flavor.
Step by Step Instructions
Whisk dry ingredients together!
Add in the wet ingredients.
Pour the batter into the pans and bake!
Make the peanut butter frosting, then separate and make the chocolate peanut butter frosting.
Feel free to decorate the cake however you’d like – I personally love to add chopped up peanut butter cups or mini peanut butter cups on top of mine.
Recipe Developer Tips
- My number one tip is always the same – properly measure your flour, ideally using a food scale! If you don’t have one, be sure to use the fluff and scoop method. The right amount of flour can make or break the recipe.
- Be sure to let the cakes cool completely before trying to remove them from the pan so they don’t break – and always line your cake pans with parchment paper!
- If your buttercream frosting is too thick, you can slowly add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thin, add a teaspoon of milk at a time.
More Chocolate and Peanut Butter Recipes You’ll Love
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cup (250 g) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup (64.5 g) unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (225 ml) water, hot
- ½ cup (107.5 ml) canola oil, grapeseed oil, or sunflower oil
- ½ cup (125 ml) milk of choice, (regular or dairy free)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Buttercream
- 1½ cup (315 g) butter, softened, (regular or dairy free)
- 1½ cup (420 g) smooth peanut butter
- 3 cup (360 g) icing sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Chocolate Peanut Butter Buttercream
- ⅔ cup (57 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180℃) and line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Spray each one with nonstick spray then line the bottoms of the pans. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda together.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, milk, oil and hot water into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Divide the chocolate cake batter between the 3 cake pans and bake for 20-26 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean with no crumbs.
- Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 15-20 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
- Once the cakes are cool, make the buttercreams. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Add the salt, then slowly add powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time until combined.
- If the buttercream gets too thick, you can add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until it’s the consistency you want.
- Divide the buttercream in half. Leave half the buttercream as is (this will be used in between the layers of the cake), then add ⅔ of cocoa powder to the other half of the buttercream.
- Mix the cocoa powder into the buttercream until combined. This will be your chocolate peanut butter buttercream and it will go on the outside of the cake.
- Assemble the cake! Place the first cake layer on a cake plate and place some of the peanut butter frosting on top and smooth it over. Repeat this once more, then place the final cake on top and frost the sides and top of the cake with the chocolate peanut butter frosting. Decorate as desired.
Notes
The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.
Photography by: Kelly at Bake & Bacon