This is the perfect peanut butter cake recipe. It has the great taste of peanut butter without being overwhelming. I can’t wait to make it again and share it with friends! ~Marci
This old fashioned peanut butter cake is a winner!
Peanut butter cake is a good old Southern potluck staple. It starts with a base of moist peanut butter sheet cake. Then hot peanutty frosting gets poured right over the warm cake, and the whole thing gets showered with roasted peanuts. Just. Divine.
I can’t imagine there are too many of you out there who wouldn’t enjoy this old fashioned sheet cake. I loved everything about it. Starting with the cake itself; peanut butter does something wonderful to the texture. It’s not too sweet, just the way I like it, and very pillowy and moist. And I can’t even with that frosting.
gather your ingredients
- all purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- peanut butter
- I love Jiff for its flavor and texture. Regular creamy pb works best. Natural peanut butter, the kind that separates with an oily layer at the top, doesn’t work as well for baking.
- butter
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- buttermilk
- the buttermilk in the cake and in the frosting gives this cake its Southern charm.
- confectioner’s sugar
- baking soda, salt
- vanilla extract
- crushed peanuts
The hot peanut butter frosting is like peanutty caramel, so good
If you’ve tried my Brown Sugar Peach Cake or my Pumpkin Praline Cake, you might have an inkling about this one. The frosting is cooked in a saucepan, and then literally poured right over the cake. It sets up immediately, almost like fudge or caramel. You have to work quickly, but your reward is that saucepan with a thin layer of peanut frosting clinging to the sides…Let’s just say I stood there scraping it with a spoon for an embarrassingly looooong time.
we love caramel
- Pumpkin Layer Cake with Caramel Frosting
- Caramel Frosted Zucchini Pecan Bars
- Salted Caramel Pot de Crème
- Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
- Caramel Apple Bundt Cake
whisk up peanut cake batter right in a saucepan!
The batter is thin enough that you can whisk it up in a saucepan, no mixer or extra bowl needed. That makes this amazing cake dangerously easy to throw together (it could get habit forming.)
the bottom line
The older this site gets, the longer my favorites list gets, but I’m looking you straight in the eye when I say this peanut butter cake is a goodie. You’ll love it, and it will serve you well if you need an easy dessert to bring anywhere this season. The 9×13 cake can serve up to 24 people, right out of the pan. Try it.
“I never bake but I made this for my son’s birthday and my whole family thinks it may be the best cake they ever ate. The frosting is so good, like a peanut butter caramel.
Thanks for a great recipe!!” ~Gerry
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Peanut Butter Cake
Video
Equipment
- standard 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter Note: I used regular peanut butter for this recipe, 'natural'peanut butter does not work as well.
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 Tbsp buttermilk, you might need a touch more if your frosting is too stiff
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
garnish
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Heat the butter and water in a medium/large saucepan until it comes to a boil. Take off the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and oil until smooth. Let cool for a few minutes, then whisk in the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until well blended.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and whisk until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a cooling rack while you make the frosting.
- To make the frosting, put the butter, peanut butter, and buttermilk in a saucepan and bring to a full boil. Take off the heat and beat in the vanilla and powdered sugar, adding a cup at a time, until the frosting is smooth. I like to put it back on a gentle heat just to rewarm it, stirring constantly, before pouring over the cake. Note: if your frosting is very stiff and not pourable, add a little bit more buttermilk to thin it out.
- Pour the hot frosting over the warm cake, working quickly because the frosting sets up immediately. Spread evenly over cake.
- Garnish with peanuts.
Notes
- Make it chunky! Yes, of course, go ahead and use chunky PB for this cake. I would still use smooth for the frosting, but that’s your call.
Nutrition
Hi Sue, please can you tell me where the chocolate comes in for the peanut butter cake? On reading the reviews chocolate is suddenly mentioned but I can not find any reference to chocolate in recipe. Thank you
There’s no chocolate in this recipe, maybe someone suggested doing it with a chocolate cake base.
I really struggled with the frosting – I brought it to the boil, kept whisking it to make it smooth when I was adding the icing sugar and it eventually got smooth but it was so liquidy? poured it on the cake and it’s been ten minutes and not set yet 🙁
Sounds like yours needed a little more sugar Rose. It should soft set pretty quickly.
Hi Sue!
This recipe looks amazing and can’t wait to try it! However I’m from Amsterdam and here we don’t sweeten our peanutbutter. I know in the States pb is often sweet. You think I should put in extra sugar or honey or is it not necessary?
Thanks!
I wouldn’t worry about that, although this cake isn’t overly sweet, so keep that in mind. The chocolate really adds the decadent factor 🙂
Thank you! I’ll have a go at it!
I loved this cake! I followed the recipe to a tea and it turned out perfect. I had to use my own butter milk recipe as I didn’t have any butter milk to hand and it still worked out brilliantly. The only downfall is next time I might have to half the recipe as i didn’t realise it’s a very big batch for a family of four.
I followed the instructions to the T and my cake sunk in the middle. Also my oven must be hot because at 40 minutes the top was a little burnt. ?
It does sound like an oven temperature issue Kelsy, I highly recommend getting an inexpensive oven thermometer, that way you always know for sure how hot your oven is.
I’ve made a number of peanut butter cakes and this is to die for! No exaggeration either. I work in corrections and am known for bringing in treats. This is by far the most favorite of everyone.
I’m thrilled Jenny, what a lovely thing you’re doing!
I also made this cake! WOW… loved it… so easy, just follow instructions… believe me, if I can do it ANYONE can! I made it for my daughter after I failed at keto peanut butter cookies !
Awesome recipe. We made it for dessert to o accompany Easter dinner! Thank you
Loved it!!! I’m one of those weird people who is not crazy about chocolate and everything peanut butter has chocolate, so saw this recipe and was so excited it was simple and fantastic my whole family loved it!
I never thought about peanut butter always coming with chocolate, but I guess you’re right. Glad you all loved this cake Janice.
This was my first time making a cake from scratch and this was a very easy to follow recipe, everyone loved it. I don’t like peanut butter but it’s my husbands favorite so I made it for his birthday and I can’t stop eating it.
Hello Sue,
Might this yummy recipe be made gluten free without substituting all of the flour with 1:1 GF flour as Lynn did in August? Maybe you have an oat flour, almond flour or some combo recommendation up your sleeve? A thousand thanks!
I’m not sure but since it’s a moist sheet cake I think you should be able to play with the ratio of gf baking mix paired with almond flour or oat flour, or a combo.