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
This cake reminds me of the birthday cake my mom made for me every year. Mom didn’t write down her recipes and I’ve had a hard time finding a recipe that’s close to what she made. This recipe is very simple to make providing you only mix the cake batter until incorporated. Too much mixing makes the cake dense. I’ve made this many times and I prefer buttermilk in the cake, and milk with 2 cups of sugar in the frosting. I frequently use Kefir in place of buttermilk. Thank you for this recipe and the memories.
You’re so welcome Penny <3
Oh my gosh, this might just be the best dessert recipe I’ve ever found online. The cake came out perfectly tasty and moist. I actually halved the frosting recipe (just to not have to use so much butter and sugar)… it still covered the entire cake and tasted wonderful. Definitely a keeper!!! I’ll be craving this regularly I’m sure
This dang cake!!!?
Does this cake not need baking powder? I madethis yesterday following the recipe exactly. The cake came out super dense.
No, this recipe doesn’t call for it, the texture is somewhat dense, but that should be in a good way!
Could this be made into a 8in layer cake?
The cake has a super moist texture so it’s not the best recipe for a layer cake, but some may have done it, you might check the comments Coco.
Does this cake need to be refrigerated?
I leave it out for a day, then refrigerate for longer storage.
I add a layer of semi sweet chocolate chips on the cake while it’s warm. So it’s not so overwhelm with peanut butter.
So good.
For anyone wondering:
I was able to make this into a two layer cake. I used two 9inch cake pans ( that’s what I had).
I put the frosting in the middle of my layers. I let my cake sit in the fridge overnight and I let my frosting cool before putting it on the cake.
I hope this helps
This cake is absolutely Amazing first time I made it I did exactly as it was on recipe and it was so good !! I just made it again I didn’t have creamy pb so I used crunchy instead and it was just as delicious!! Thank you so much for this recipe !!
Hello im planning on doing it today
Can u please tell me what do u mean by peanut butter not natural? Its the creamy one no?
And how do u do the buttermilk? In my country we dnt have it
Hi Stephanie ~ I use a creamy peanut butter, the kind that doesn’t separate into a layer of oil at the top. And you can use milk instead of the buttermilk.
You can add 1 tsp. Vinegar to milk to make buttermilk