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
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
I have to thank you so much for this recipe! The cake is so moist and tasty, it was an easy new favorite for everyone. My friend usually really only eats cake for the icing, but I made her some mini-peanut-butter-cakes for her birthday, and she LOVED them. She told me for the first time in her life, she actually likes a cake more than the icing. She ate a whole mini cake (which, for a mini cake, was honestly pretty big) in one day and wouldn’t even let her husband taste it. Now everytime I see her, she always looks around and gets disappointed when I don’t bring her cake, lol. And my mom ONLY does chocolate, so she got “mad” at me when I made this (I evened the cakes for my friend and shared the cake tops with my family) and she liked it so much. She said to definitely save the recipe.
I’m a little afraid to make these again in case I do something and they’re not as good as the first time, but this recipe is definitely a winner!
I’m thrilled for you SVT ~ looks like you’ll be known for this cake for quite some time! Better memorize the recipe 😉
Kinda a stupid question but anyway can u make this a round cake and make it two layers
Not stupid at all, and I’m sure you can do it in layers, just be careful turning it out, because it is moist and delicate.
I guess with the icing it wouldn’t work so well with cupcakes?
Probably not, since it would tend to run off.
I halved the recipe to make some mini cakes for my friend’s birthday. I made them in mini circular cake pans and cut them in half for more frosting (as that’s typically the part of a cake my friend likes best) and it worked fine, but I’m sure the cakes being smaller made the cutting and stacking a little bit easier.
I only have natural PB in the house and need to make this right away. Will it totally mess everything up?
Just be sure to stir it really well so all the oil gets incorporated Lauren 🙂
Just made this cake tonight because I already had some peanut butter frosting. Just warmed it back up and poured it over the cake. It’s delicious! Couldn’t even wait for the cake to cool to try some. It’s great warm. Can’t wait to see what it taste like at room temp. tomorrow. I did use half brown sugar and half white sugar and I also used milk instead of the water. Love it!
Cooling is so over-rated 😉
I seriously can’t stop thinking about this cake. I’m not sure if I should thank you for this recipe or not. Ha! I tried turning some of the left over pieces (can’t believe we still have leftovers) into a “Reese’s Cake” by adding chocolate ganache on top of the peanut butter frosting and then chopped Reese’s cups on top. Woah! Delicious! Both the original and the souped up version are winners!
Has anyone doubled the recipe and made a two layered version? I’m making it for work and they’re crazy for peanut butter so I’d like to make a two layered cake.
I made this cake today. It might be the best thing I have ever baked. To those who asked about making cupcakes, something came up, so I made the frosting while the cake baked. The cake and frosting cooled for 45 minutes. I rebeat the cooled frosting a bit to loosen it up. It was a good consistency for cupcakes at that point. This cake is special. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Thanks for the tip about the frosting Leslie 🙂
Made this cake for my family and now it’s at every gathering thank you so much
It’s a delious cake.the only thing that I would change is the amount of powdered sugar in the frosting,because it is too sweet ,so maybe 2 cups????
Feel free to adjust that to your taste Debbie…you may need less liquid in that case.
I didn’t add oil and I add a little bit more of peanut butter, it was DELICIOUS. Love it, thank you !!!
You’re so welcome.
I had a question regarding the pan size you used. The pictures and recipe indicate it is indeed a sheetcake however the recipe also calls for a 9 × 13. I’m so excited to make this cake!!!!!
It’s a 9×13 Patricia, I think sheet cake is a loose term that can be used for several different pan sizes. Hope you love it!
I just snuck a bite after making it for hubby’s birthday… OMG SOOOOO DELICIOUS!! thanks for the recipe
Snuck bites are always the best!