Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cake
This 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.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup water, hot
- ½ cup canola oil, grapeseed oil, or sunflower oil
- ½ cup milk of choice (regular or dairy free)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Buttercream
- 1½ cup butter, softened (regular or dairy free)
- 1½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 3 cup icing sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Chocolate Peanut Butter Buttercream
- ⅔ cup 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
PLEASE NOTE: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients.
Parchment Paper: Lining the round pan with parchment paper will make your life so much easier when removing the cakes from the pan, trust me. To do this, trace then cut a circle in the shape of your cake pan out of the parchment paper and place it inside the pans.
Measuring Dry Ingredients: Either measure your flour using a kitchen scale or use the proper scoop and level method: fluff the flour in the bag/container with a fork then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then run the back of a knife along the top of the cup to even it out. Do the same for the cocoa powder.
Storage and Freezing Instructions:
The cake can be stored covered at room temperature for 3-4 days. I store mine in a cake carrier.
To freeze the cake layers, let them cool completely, then tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, then aluminium foil. Freeze in ziploc bags for up to 3 months, then let them thaw at room temperature.
Leftover buttercream can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge then mix it up using a handheld or standing mixer before using it.
To make in two 9 inch round cake pans: The cake layers will be thinner and will bake quicker. Start checking on them at around 14 minutes.
To make in a 9x13 cake pan: Bake for 18-20 minutes. You will only need half the buttercream for a layer cake, so halve the buttercream recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 584kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 518mg | Potassium: 298mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 895IU | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg