This indulgent combination will delight your chocolate peanut butter senses. Rich chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and a semisweet ganache filling is easy, classic, and a true crowd pleaser.
Peanut butter and chocolate go together like… Well, any two other things that go amazingly well together! This dark chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting is the epitome of indulgence. The cake is made incredibly moist with the addition of sour cream, and both unsweetened cocoa powder and black cocoa powder + whole chocolate milk give it true richness. The peanut butter buttercream boasts a full three fourths cup of creamy unsweetened peanut butter, and a semisweet ganache brings it all together. Deceptively easy and incredibly delicious, this cake will be a go to for years to come. Let’s make it.
What you’ll need to make this chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting:
Salted Butter
Granulated Sugar
A Large Egg + Large Egg Yolk
Sour Cream
Pure Vanilla Extract
All Purpose Flour
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Black Cocoa Powder
Baking Powder
Salt
Whole Chocolate Milk
Powdered Sugar
Creamy Unsweetened Peanut Butter
Semisweet Chocolate Chips
Heavy Cream
For the Chocolate Cake
This cake starts with all purpose flour, and adds in two types of cocoa powder: both unsweetened cocoa powder and black cocoa powder. Now if you cannot find or don’t have black cocoa powder, you can use all unsweetened cocoa powder. Just know that your cake will lack the deeper richness that the black cocoa powder brings.
Begin by creaming your butter and sugar, and then add your sour cream and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated, and then add your eggs. Beat until incorporated, and then you’ll add all of your dry ingredients: the flour, both cocoa powders, baking powder, and salt. Mix until no powder remains, and a rich deep chocolate cake batter has formed.
Spray or butter + flour three 6-inch cake pans, and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper. This helps to ensure that your cake will slide right out of the pans. Divide the batter evenly between the three 6-inch pans. Alternatively you can divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch pans as well.
Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top springs back when gently pressed. Allow the cakes to cool for five minutes in the pans, then flip over and gently tap the cakes out onto a cooling rack. You may freeze them to cool them quicker, but you want the cakes cold and solid for ease of frosting.
For the Peanut Butter Frosting
While the cake cools, whip up the buttercream. This frosting is so decadent, I could eat it with a spoon. I just might have had a few spoonfuls whilst re-making this recipe… 🤫.
For the peanut butter, I used Adam's 100% Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. Any all natural peanut butter will work, just ensure it's make with only peanuts and salt, or simply peanuts works as well.
Mix you butter, peanut butter, and vanilla until creamy, about thirty seconds. Add the powdered sugar. Mix until just incorporated and smooth, about thirty seconds. Do not overmix as you want this frosting to be slightly on the denser side to compliment the deep, moist chocolate cake.
For the Semisweet Ganache
After making the frosting, make your ganache. Simply warm the cream in microwavable bowl for one minute, or until hot and slightly bubbly. Be cautious as the cream will be very hot. Add your semi sweet chips, and allow to sit untouched for five minutes. Whisk until smooth, and set aside until slightly cooled, about 10 minutes.
Putting the Cake Together
Once the cake has cooled completely, it’s time to layer it up! Start by placing one 6-inch cake layer face up on a serving dish, and adding a layer of peanut butter buttercream. Pipe a small ring of buttercream around the edge, and fill it with ½ of the ganache. Repeat with the next layer of cake, this time with the cake layer face down as your only change. Add the top layer of cake face down. Frost the entire cake on the top and sides with the peanut butter frosting, and add toppings like chopped dry roasted peanuts, peanut butter cups, a swirl of ganache, or anything else you’d like!
Slice and serve immediately, or you may refrigerate the cake for up to one week as is. The frosting will hold in the moisture of the cake. Simply remove it from the refrigerator the day you are ready to serve it, and allow it to thaw for about one hour at room temperature. Slice and serve, ensuring that you cover any cut portions with plastic wrap or Reynolds wrap to prevent them from drying out before storing. Store this cake at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Dietary Substitutions
I love providing gluten and dairy free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either used and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten or dairy shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest.
As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy.
Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour is a wonderful all-purpose sub, and it’s cup for cup, so use the same measurements as you would all-purpose flour.
Miyokos butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it as a 1:1 ratio sub, same as the flour, so the recipe measurements will not change.
Kite Hill makes a dairy free sour cream that would replace the dairy sour cream at a 1:1 ratio.
Enjoy Life makes a dairy free + allergen friendly semi sweet chocolate chip (regular or mini sized) that would work great in this ganache recipe.
Silk Dairy Free Heavy Cream is also a great option for the ganache.
I hope you adore this chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and rich chocolate ganache!
If you did love it, I’d be so grateful for you to leave a 5 star rating + review.
Tag @heathershomebakery on Instagram if you upload a pic too, because I want to see your creations.
Lastly, post this recipe to any of your boards by tapping the Pinterest icon and clicking on your favorite photo. Save and enjoy!
Happy cake making
XO,
Heather
Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE:
- ½ Cup Salted Butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ¼ Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg + One Large Egg Yolk
- ⅓ Cup Sour Cream
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- ⅓ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Black Cocoa Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ¾ Cup Whole Chocolate Milk
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM:
- 1 ½ Cups Salted Butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
- ¾ Cup Unsweetened Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
FOR THE SEMISWEET GANACHE:
- ½ Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch round pans by greasing them thoroughly with butter and flouring them well {sprinkle a little flour over them, tilt and shake to distribute evenly, then tap out the excess over the sink}. Alternatively you can spray them with Pam or Baker’s Joy, which is my preference. Add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of each pan, which will help the bottoms slide right out.
- For the cake:Use a hand mixer or standing mixer or by hand, beat the softened butter and sugar together until fluffy and light, about thirty seconds. Add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream, and beat until fully incorporated and light, another thirty seconds. Beat in the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powders, salt, and baking powder. Mix until no powder remains. Finally, add the chocolate milk. Beat together on low until incorporated, scraping the sides, until no unmixed batter remains.
- Pour into the prepared pans {1 cup batter per 6” pan, 2 cups per 8” pan}, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the tops spring back slightly when pressed.Let cool in pans on wire racks for at least 15 minutes, then flip each pan over onto the rack and tap gently all over. Lift the pan slightly. The cake should slide right out. Freeze for 20 minutes, or until solid to make frosting easier.
- For the peanut butter buttercream: Add butter, peanut butter, and vanilla to your standing mixer or use a hand mixer. Beat for about 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and mix on medium for a minute or so. Do not overbeat, or frosting will become too airy and fluffy. This frosting is meant to be creamy and moderately dense, to compliment the moist cake.
- For the ganache:Place the cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for one minute. Cream should be very warm and slightly bubbly. Because when we’re moving as it could be very hot. Had your semi sweet chips or chunks, and allowed to sit untouched with the cream completely covering the chocolate. After about three minutes, whisk vigorously until smooth ganache forms. Allow to cool for about five minutes at room temperature.
- Layer the cake with frosting and ganache, and frost with more buttercream and a swirl of ganache if desired. Top with salted peanuts and crushed peanut butter cups. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator or at room temperature for up to three days. Enjoy!
Notes
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