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
Peanut Butter Cake
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.
Video
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
Can you use regular milk instead of buttermilk
Yes, that’s fine. I’d use whole milk.
If buttermilk is not available, just add 1 teaspoon vinegar per cup of milk. I haven’t purchased buttermilk in decades, though it is readily available here.
This cake!!!?
I believe “not natural” means to use peanut butter made with ground peanuts AND hydrogenated vegetable oil. That’s the regular kind of peanut butter that does not separate and does not need to be refrigerated. For this recipe, do NOT use “natural” peanut butter that is 109% ground peanuts. It won’t work properly in this recipe.
Omg the best peanut butter cake I have ever eaten. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. The frosting is perfect on this cake and super easy to make as well!! I however used becel margarine instead of butter for both the cake and the frosting. Again thank you so much for this recipe amazingly delicious ?
Best peanut butter cake ever.
🙂 So glad you loved it Marti.
I just made the cake and ended up with a lot of extra frosting. Can I freeze it to use another time? The cake batter was delicious, by the way. We are looking forward to tasting the finished thing tomorrow for my son’s birthday.
I’m not sure about freezing the frosting, I haven’t tried that, sorry Kristina.
Made this today. It’s delicious!
I had to add more buttermilk to thin out the frosting as I kept it warm
Definitely keeping this recipe. Thank you
I had this cake in grade school. So delicious. My question, I am a diabetic. Can I use stevia for the cake and what kind of sugar other than confectioner for the frosting?
I’m not super familiar with sugar substitutes, Janice. I usually recommend using ones that are closest to the consistency of the original sugar specified in a recipe, so use a 1 to 1 ratio granulated sugar substitute for the cake, and a powdered sugar substitute for the icing, if you can.
I used xylitol from Walmart. Measurements are the same as sugar
Thanks Sherri 🙂
This cake was amazing!! I made it for my husband’s birthday, we all had a piece and went to bed. During the night somebody (or somebodies) ate the rest of the cake and it was completely gone when I got up! Only bad part was I didn’t get a second piece!
This recipe is absolutely delicious. Thank you
OMG!!!
This cake was sinfully delicious and super easy to make.
The recipe is perfect exactly the way it is written! No reason to make any modifications.
Thank you for sharing!
Can you use milk instead of buttermilk?
I haven’t tried that, but I think it should be fine.
The cake itself turned out really really good but with the frosting it wouldnt boil and instead it separated and left me with a chunky oilly mess , what did i do wrong?