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
Please make recipes printable for us old folks…….thanks
Hey Sher, all the recipes should be printable, the print button is at the top right of the recipe, under the recipe photo. Let me know if you still have trouble.
Hi, I tired the recipe but in form of cupcakees. The taste is fantastic, but the inside is still gooey even though i baked it for 30 mins at 180 deg cel. May i know what should the temperature and baking time be for cupcake about 2″ diameter?
Thank you!
This is so good! I didn’t have any peanuts for the topping, but I did have peanut brittle! I just crushed it up and put it on the top. This cake is so moist that you really don’t even need frosting. PERFECT with a cup of coffee or a glass of ice-cold milk.
Have you tried making layers instead of a sheet cake? It looks delicous!
It’s such a dense moist cake that I think it does best in the flat pan, Sue. And definitely the pour-on frosting would be problematic for a layer cake.
Can I make the frosting and then let it cool and then reheat it in the microwave since I wanted to take the cake to work for a birthday amd wanted the frosting to be warm????? Will it still turn out ok????
I’m afraid I haven’t tried that so I can’t say, Kinzie.
AMAZING!
My husband and kiddos just devoured this cake. It truly did not stand a chance in our house. I’m taking it to our next family gathering!
I forgot to boil the frosting!!! I already put it on the cake!!! Do you think it will be okay???
The flavor should still be good, it will just be somewhat runny!
After reading so many amazing reviews for this recipe I’m going to give it a try for my grandmother’s 90th birthday! (A Peanut Butter Cake was her only request so I don’t want to let her down!) I’m wondering if you have any tips for making this into a round, layered cake? Presentation-wise, I’d love to put it on a round cake stand so it looks like a traditional birthday cake rather than in the sheer pan, but I’m sure the bake times would need to be tweaked and I’m not sure what size rounds I should use to attempt (or if I even should attempt with a few round stacks – I’m worried it might be a little too heavy to stack??) Any tips or suggestions would be SO appreciated!!
It is a very moist heavy cake, so I can’t guarantee success as a layered cake Lauren, I wonder if any of the comments address this. I also think the frosting would be tricky to do on a layer cake, but maybe you’re thinking of using a different frosting. If I were you I’d stick to the sheet cake, I think it’s definitely birthday worthy!
BEST peanut butter cake EVER!!! I’ve literally tried dozens of recipes trying to find the ultimate peanut butter sheet cake and I LOVE this one the most. It’s perfect..the cake is ultra moist the flavor is excellent my daughter will only eat this cake when it comes to peanut butter cake and she eats it with or without the icing it’s that good!! Thank you for sharing this is a keeper ???
Thanks so much for posting this recipe! I was looking for more of an old fashioned peanut butter cake recipe, like the school lunch ladies made back in the 70’s, and this is very close! Actually, I made this amazing cake about a month ago, and my Mister is convinced that I brought back his childhood..lol Either way, it’s so delicious, and who doesn’t love peanut butter fudge as frosting? You’re right, it’s dangerously easy to make. So dangerous, that I’m making it again this week! It’s a keeper, for sure! I’ll also be passing the recipe along to my adult daughter who likes to bake. Thanks again, and God Bless!!
Thanks Jeana, it looks like this will become a family classic in your house 🙂