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Cut open chocolate peanut butter cake.
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5 from 18 votes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

This chocolate peanut butter cake is a layered moist chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. It is topped with a chocolate drip and a peanut butter plus extra peanut butter cups.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time25 minutes
Decorating Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 845kcal

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

  • 2 ½ cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 ¾ cups White granulated sugar
  • 2 ½ teaspoon Baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ¾ cup Oil use canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
  • 4 Large eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup Buttermilk room temperature
  • 1 cup Hot water steaming

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • 2 ½ cups Unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups Peanut butter creamy
  • 5 cups Powdered sugar sifted
  • 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon Salt

Chocolate Drip and Peanut Butter Drip

  • 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup Heavy cream
  • ¾ cup Peanut butter melted
  • Peanut butter cups for decoration
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with baking spray. Line the bottoms of the pan with 8-inch parchment paper and spray again.
  • In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
    2 ½ cups All-purpose flour, 1 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 ¾ cups White granulated sugar, 2 ½ teaspoon Baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon Salt
  • Heat the water on the stove until steaming. In a medium bowl, mix the oil, vanilla, eggs, and buttermilk. Slowly add in the hot water.
    ¾ cup Oil, 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract, 4 Large eggs, 1 cup Buttermilk, 1 cup Hot water
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until just combined. The batter will be runny. Separate between the three cake pans.
  • Bake for 24-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes sit in the hot pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool the cake layers completely before using.

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • In a large bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Using a mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter on high speed for 3 minutes.
    2 ½ cups Unsalted butter, 1 ½ cups Peanut butter, 5 cups Powdered sugar
  • Add in half of the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Add in the rest of the powdered sugar and mix. Add the vanilla and salt and mix on high speed until frosting is creamy and smooth.
    1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon Salt

Chocolate Drip and Peanut Butter Drip

  • Start these right when you need them. Chocolate Drip: pour the chocolate chips into a bowl. Heat the heavy cream on the stove on medium-low heat until steaming.
    1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips, ¾ cup Heavy cream
  • Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then, use a rubber spatula to mix until smooth. If any chocolate chip chunks remain, heat in the microwave for 10 second intervals until melted. Before applying the drip, make sure it isn't warm, if it is warm it will spill off the cake.
  • Peanut butter drip: heat the peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl until melted.
    ¾ cup Peanut butter

Assembly

  • Cut the domes off the cake layers using a serrated knife.
  • Place the first cake layer down. Spread 1 cup of frosting over the cake. Repeat with the second cake layer. Place the last layer of cake with the bottom of the cake facing up.
  • Freeze for 10 minutes. Frost the rest of the cake. Freeze for 10 minutes to set the cake.
  • Use a piping bag to pipe the chocolate drips on the sides of the cake. Top the cake with the rest of the chocolate. Freeze for 10 minutes before adding the peanut butter drip.
  • Pour the peanut butter on top of the cake, use an offset icing spatula to spread the peanut butter down the edge of the cake. Freeze for 10 minutes to set the drip.
  • Optional: top the cake with peanut butter cups.
    Peanut butter cups

Notes

Flour- Make sure flour is spooned and leveled or use a kitchen scale. Compacted flour can dry out the cake.
High altitude baking- Add an extra 2 tablespoon of flour.
Pull out dairy ingredients 2 hours before baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 845kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 68g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 26g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 568mg | Potassium: 412mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 1081IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 3mg