Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
My Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake is a unique square layer cake made in a single 9x13 pan!
Servings: 16 servings
Equipment
- 9x13 cake pan
- parchment paper
- electric beaters for the peanut butter filling
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, I used Droste
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup brewed coffee, warm or room temperature
peanut butter filling
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter *, I use Jiff®
- 4 Tbsp salted butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar, no need to sift
- 7 Tbsp half and half, or more if needed
- extra salt to taste
chocolate glaze
- 1 cup dark or semi sweet chocolate , use chopped bar chocolate, chocolate chips, or melting wafers
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp butter
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray and line your 9x13 pan with parchment paper so you can easily lift the cake out after baking and cooling.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl. Make sure to whisk out any lumps in the cocoa powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisking as you go. Mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and give the pan a couple or sharp raps on the counter. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center springs back when lightly touched. (You can also ue a toothpick test.) This cake bakes quickly.
- I let the cake cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan, then gently lift it out (using the parchment paper as handles) to a cooling rack. Let it cool completely on the rack. Note: the cake can be made the day before.
peanut butter filling
- Use electric beaters to cream the 4 Tbsp salted butter, softened, 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter *, and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract. Add the 2 cups powdered sugar and 7 Tbsp half and half, and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add a bit more half and half if your filling is too thick. Add extra salt to taste if needed.
assemble the cake
- Slice the cake in half crosswise and remove the parchment paper from the bottom. Place one half on your serving plate, flat side up.
- Spoon the peanut butter filling on the cake and gently spread out to the edges. There will be a generous amount!
- Place the second half of the cake on top of the filling, flat side down.
chocolate glaze
- Put the 1 cup dark or semi sweet chocolate with the 1/3 cup heavy cream and 2 Tbsp butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for one minute. Let sit for 2 minutes, then gently stir to melt the chocolate until the mixture is thick and glossy with no lumps.
- Let the glaze cool for a few minutes to thicken up, then gently pour the ganache over the top of the cake, nudging it towards the sides with the back of a spoon. It should just start to drip down the sides.
- Let the ganache set up before serving. Refrigerate the cake if not serving right away.
- To serve slice the cake into squares or rectangle slices. I like to slice the whole thing in half, and then slice each half. Any way you slice this cake, it's delicious :)
Notes
- Use a creamy style peanut butter, and avoid natural style brands where the oil separates out from the nut butter.
Nutrition
Calories: 500 kcal · Carbohydrates: 61 g · Protein: 7 g · Fat: 27 g · Saturated Fat: 11 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 6 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 8 g · Trans Fat: 0.2 g · Cholesterol: 48 mg · Sodium: 390 mg · Potassium: 294 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 45 g · Vitamin A: 319 IU · Vitamin C: 0.2 mg · Calcium: 63 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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