Homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake, including a one bowl chocolate cake recipe and fluffy peanut butter frosting all from scratch. This three-layered tasty cake is the best for birthdays, parties, and special occasions!
Can’t beat chocolate and peanut butter together! One of my favorite combos, and this Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake is no exception! The rich one-bowl chocolate cake from scratch goes so well with the homemade creamy peanut butter frosting. A perfect birthday cake or for any occasion. The best!
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If you’ve never baked a cake from scratch, I highly recommend it! It’s not that hard to make a cake without a box and especially this one-bowl chocolate cake. If you’re looking for something a little more colorful and complicated you might like this fun Spumoni Cake.
Make sure you have all the ingredients before you get started on this chocolate cake. If you’re not one for peanut butter, this Whipped Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting would be delish too.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Ingredients
One Bowl Chocolate Cake:
- Sugar
- Flour
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Eggs
- Milk
- Water (or coffee)
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- Smooth Peanut Butter
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Powdered Sugar
- Milk
- Mini Chocolate Chips
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
Prepare Cake:
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 9-inch round cake pans. Place 9-inch parchment rounds on bottoms of pans and grease if desired.
-
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
-
Add eggs, milk, water, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to bowl on top of other ingredients. Gently whisk the wet ingredients on top to just combine slightly and break eggs. Then whisk all ingredients together until just combined. It’s ok if small lumps.
-
Divide batter between three pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.
-
Remove cakes from oven, cool slightly, then remove cakes from pan to cool completely.
Prepare Frosting:
-
Beat together peanut butter and softened butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and well combined. Beat in vanilla and salt. Then slowly beat in powdered sugar a little at a time.
-
Beat in milk a little at a time until frosting is smooth and creamy. You may not need all of the milk, or you might need slightly more depending on how thin you’d like your frosting.
Assemble Cake:
-
Place one layer of cake on a large plate or cake stand. Top with some peanut butter frosting and spread to edges. Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top.
-
Top with another cake layer and repeat with frosting and chocolate chips. Top with third cake layer and frost.
(Full printable recipe card is at bottom of post.)
Quick Tips for Best Results
- Make ahead of time. This cake does take a while to make and assemble, so I’d suggest making it the day ahead of time.
- Use a pastry bag and tip for decorating or decorate with additional chocolate chips, chopped candy, or chopped peanuts. The chocolate chips give a nice contrast in texture to the cake and frosting.
- Be sure your cake is completely cool before frosting.
- For a deeper rich chocolate flavor, substitute coffee for the water in the cake batter.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake FAQ
Can you freeze the cake?
I haven’t tried it personally, but I don’t see why not. I would wrap any leftover pieces well and place in a resealable bag or airtight container.
Can I substitute butter for oil?
I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe but you probably could substitute melted butter. The texture of the cake will be different, however.
How far in advance can I make this cake?
The cake should last about 2-3 days on the counter and about 5-7 days in the fridge. Partly depends on how well the cake is covered and the temperature of your home. Since this cake does take some time to make and assemble I’d definitely suggest making it a day ahead.
How do you store this cake?
You can store it covered on the counter, although I like to keep it covered in the refrigerator. It will just last longer and I’m weird and sometimes like cold cakes. You can serve the cake cold or place on the counter before serving to allow it to come to room temperature.
How long will this cake last?
It should last at least a few days (maybe like 2-3 days) on the counter depending on the temperature of your home, or will last even longer in the refrigerator (about 5-7 days).
How many people will this cake feed?
So I put 12 servings, but in all seriousness, this is a rich cake and you could probably easily feed 16-20 unless everyone wants a huge slice.
Other Cake Recipes You May Enjoy
- Cannoli Cake – one of my most popular recipes!
- Lemon Loaf Cake – a refreshing lemon cake made in a loaf pan.
- Caramel Mud Cake – oh this looks heavenly!
Hope you enjoy this Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake recipe!
Give this cake a try with a big glass of milk or your favorite cocktail like a Cookies ‘n Creamtini!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
One Bowl Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 4 cups smooth peanut butter
- 2 cups unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 pounds powdered sugar (1 bag)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
Prepare Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 9-inch round cake pans. Place 9-inch parchment rounds on bottoms of pans and grease if desired.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- Add eggs, milk, water, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to bowl on top of other ingredients. Gently whisk the wet ingredients on top to just combine slightly and break eggs. Then whisk all ingredients together until just combined. It's ok if small lumps.
- Divide batter between three pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.
- Remove cakes from oven, cool slightly, then remove cakes from pan to cool completely.
Prepare Frosting:
- Beat together peanut butter and softened butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and well combined. Beat in vanilla and salt. Then slowly beat in powdered sugar a little at a time.
- Beat in milk a little at a time until frosting is smooth and creamy. You may not need all of the milk, or you might need slightly more depending on how thin you'd like your frosting.
Assemble Cake:
- Place one layer of cake on a large plate or cake stand. Top with some peanut butter frosting and spread to edges. Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top.
- Top with another cake layer and repeat with frosting and chocolate chips. Top with third cake layer and frost.
Notes
Nutrition:
(Nutrition data is provided when available for informational purposes only and calculated using an online nutritional calculator. For the most accurate information please calculate based on specific ingredients and brands you use as well as any changes you made to the recipe. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician and any nutritional information provided should only be used as a general guideline and estimate.)
Linda says
Can this recipe be made using a 9×13 baking pan?
Lisa Huff says
YES! Although I haven’t done it so I can’t say how long it will take to bake. And you’ll not need as much frosting.
Kim says
Can you make the frosting ahead as well?
Lisa Huff says
I haven’t tried it but don’t see why not.
Kayla says
Can this be made into cupcakes? I wanna make it as it’s the simplest recipe I’ve found but we prefer cupcakes 😕
Lisa Huff says
Sorry for the late response, but I would think you could make this into cupcakes with no problem.
Elliot Z says
Just made your Chocolate peanut butter cake, very good and
very easy, I love to bake but cannot eat to much of what I bake, but my friends sure do.Thank you
Lisa Huff says
So good to hear, thank you!
rebekah says
My first scratch cake and it was perfect!
Lisa Huff says
So great to hear you liked the cake, thank you!
Mark says
Followed the directions EXACTLY. My first big issue is that this does NOT make enough batter for three (3) 9″ round pans. It only filled the pans maybe 3/8″ deep, and even after rising during the baking the cake layers were only maybe 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch thick.
The frosting to cake ratio is WAY wrong. Of course, if you like eating a plate of frosting with a little bit of cake in the middle, go for it.
Lisa Huff says
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you. And yes, it does make a lot of frosting as mentioned in the recipe in the notes and can be cut in half.
Cathy G says
Will this recipe work on a 9×13 cake
Lisa Huff says
Well, it would work, but might be a bit too much batter. I haven’t tried it so can’t say for sure. You could try cutting the recipe in half or use the extra batter to make cupcakes.
Rae says
Great recipe. Used the tip to substitute coffee for water. Turned out amazing!
Tess says
I only have two round pans, will the batter fit in 2? Or do I need to bake in batches?!
Lisa Huff says
I don’t think it will fit in 2 pans but might depending on how big and tall the pans are.
Tara says
Such wonderful flavors in this cake! I love those layers. Definitely perfect for a celebration.
Raia Todd says
Beautiful cake! I love the chocolate/peanut butter combo. It’s one of my favorites!
Vicky says
You had me at chocolate and peanut butter! This is my kind of cake as I am digging your cake to frosting ratio. Yum!
Sara says
This cake was so easy and tasty. The peanut butter frosting was the best I’ve ever had, just the right amount of peanut buttery goodness. I’m going to try it again with a vanilla cake and almond butter in the frosting. Yum!
Katie says
I request this every year for my birthday. The frosting alone is so crazy good!