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An easy chocolate cake with creamy peanut butter frosting that’s to die for, topped with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!
It is SO good to be back after the holidays! Between my family and my husband’s, we had family visiting for 2 1/2 weeks straight. Fortunately, my sister-in-law likes to bake with me, so there will be some our baking adventures on here later this week.
But today is all about the peanut butter. I never thought I’d see the day where I would love peanut buttery treats, but I dare say it has happened. The peanut butter icing in this cake is to die for. So creamy and peanut buttery. I could not stop eating it. I’ve decided that when sugar and peanut butter mate, amazing things happen. Like this cake. And I have my co-worker who requested chocolate and peanut butter for his birthday to thank.
You are going to want to make sure you have a glass of milk handy – it’s a rich one! You should also get a pillow, because nap time will soon follow.
Super chocolatey and dense with just enough peanut butter, it’s like eating a giant Reese’s cup. Seriously. And for extra richness and chocolate, I added a thin layer of ganache in with the peanut butter cream cheese icing, but you could easily forgo that and not miss out.
There’s no doubt in my mind that you will love this cake – peanut butter lover or not. And if not a peanut butter lover, you might become one. It certainly made me one. Now I’m going to have to stock a jar of peanut butter for my dog and a jar for me. 🙂
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cake with Reese’s
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
An easy chocolate cake recipe with a creamy peanut butter frosting that’s to die for, topped with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups!
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup boiling water
PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CHEESE ICING
- 10 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CHEESE ICING
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 8-oz block cream cheese
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey’s Special Dark)
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 3–5 tablespoons water, depending on consistency
DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 8 oz dark chocolate chips (I used Hershey’s special dark)
- 8 oz heavy cream
ADDITIONAL
- half a bag of Reese’s peanut butter cups, chopped
Instructions
CHOCOLATE CAKE:
PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CHEESE ICING:
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CHEESE ICING:
DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
Get a big glass of milk and enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 1598
- Sugar: 137.3 g
- Sodium: 602.4 mg
- Fat: 101.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 168.7 g
- Protein: 15.4 g
- Cholesterol: 158.1 mg
Filed Under:
Get a big glass of milk and enjoy!
Turned out absolutely delicious but outside of the cake itself, everything needs some adjustments.
There was a commenter questioning the one hour cook time – it’s correct! The batter is extremely liquid and it’s only being cooked at 300. The cake came out perfectly moist.
Now for the adjustments..
I cut the peanut butter frosting down, using 80% of the measurements called for (essentially just adjusted it down to an 8oz block of cream cheese). It ended up being just about the perfect amount. I used less than 1/3 between the layers, but used the rest as a crumb coating and to fill in the gaps from the rounded edged of the layers (i did cut off the top to flatten the cakes but there was still a bit on the outer edge that wasn’t fully flat, so the extra frosting
Hi
Just want to make sure about the 300 degrees temp and 1 hour baking? Is that correct…it just seems very long baking time. Not 350 degrees for half an hour?
Thank you
It’s been a VERY long time since I made this cake. The 300 degrees is correct. The 1 hour does seem like a lot. I bake this cake as three 8 inch layers often and bake for 30-35 minutes. All that said, you might want to check out my more updated Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake.
I made this for my husband’s 50th birthday because he is a huge Reese’s peanut butter cup fan. It was such a moist and delicious cake. Every single recipe I’ve made from your site has been a hit. Thank you for sharing your talents and wonderful recipes!
Hello 😊 just wondering what changes to be madw if i need to make a 10in round 3 layer cake ?
Depending on how tall you want the cake to be you might want to do 1 1/2 recipes worth of the batter, maybe even double it.
Just made this cake. A few notes: The chocolate peanut butter frosting is excessive, I cut it down by 1/4 and still had way too much. I was afraid the cake would collapse under it’s own weight! Left out the shortening, as I do not like a greasy frosting. It has held up very well without this. The cake itself is beautiful, but good god is it decadent. It’s over 6″ tall and weighs at least 12 pounds. A very, very tiny slice is all that’s needed. Definitely for special occasions! It is an impressive cake for sure.
You make some really good cakes and while the instructions are all there, I am no cook lol. I wish you could post videos of you doing it. That would be easier for me. I’m trying to bake my boyfriend a cake for his birthday on the 10th of August. I know how to bake a regular cake but Ive never gotten creative like this before.
Videos are something I’m try to add more of. I should actually have a video going up with a new recipe this week, if you want to keep an eye out for it. It’ll do a good job of giving you an idea of how I build and frost a cake. 🙂 I also have a tutorial here for frosting a smooth cake.
I used 8 inch pans and there was way too much batter and overflowed in my oven. It was very hard to get cake out of the pans because of this. The recipe made too much of the chocolate peanut butter frosting. The cake was very hard to assemble being held together with tooth picks and the layers sliding. I finally managed to get it together but know it will not slice and serve well. For me it will get the “ugly” cake award but hope it tastes good!
15 cups of sugar in this cake…far too excessive. surely it could be made with less!?
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Hi Lindsay
This is a great recipe! I’m making it right now. I’ve used other Dutch process cocoas and this is my first time using the Hershey’s special dark. My frosting does not seem to be as dark as yours even though I know I measured correctly. Does it darken with a little bit of time?
Thank you
Hi Meghan! I’m glad you like it! It’s definitely my favorite chocolate cake. The icing does darken a bit after it sits.
Hi Lindsay, this masterpiece contains my all-time favorite sweets combination… chocolate and peanut butter. Reese’s are my favorite candy too! This one is a keeper. Thanks for another great post!
Thanks Bill!
Hi Lindsay, this masterpiece contains my all-time favorite sweets combination… chocolate and peanut butter. Reese’s are my favorite candy too! This one is a keeper. Thanks for another great post!
Thanks Bill!
Hi Lindsay, this masterpiece contains my all-time favorite sweets combination… chocolate and peanut butter. Reese’s are my favorite candy too! This one is a keeper. Thanks for another great post!
Thanks Bill!
it’s my birthday next weekend and this would be the prefect present to myself! Just got home from a holiday on your side of the world and brought home a Kitchenaid (I finally have one, yay!). Is it sad that I’m excited by that? haha!
It would definitely be a great birthday cake! Happy Birthday! And it’s not sad at all that you’re excited about your KitchenAid – I was too when I got mine! They are the best!
Can I be your co-worker and request this cake for my birthday too?? It looks absolutely amazing! So rich, so decadent, so chocolatey and peanut buttery… I’m thinking of skipping dinner tonight and diving straight into dessert!
Thanks! You should do it! Dessert is definitely the best part of the day!
I agree!! People sometimes make fun of me for it, but I always say that dessert is the most important meal of the day. It’s worth eating at least once, if not twice or three times every day!
STOP IT with your naughty chocolaty peanut butter talk! I almost want to eat this SCREEN that sounds so good!!!!! I looked at all of the ingredients and directions and have to give you props for your patience- I don’t think this is a recipe for the quick-results oriented-kind-of-kid, no? Maybe I’m wrong, but you have patience and SKILL my friend, and when you mate THAT with sugar you get amazing Live, Love and Sugar creations like THIS. Dreaming of this cake tonight..
Haha, thanks Nelly! I love you! Making any cake from scratch takes longer than a box or store bought, but it’s really not bad and the results are totally worth it. This one in particular is even easier if you loose the ganache – although truthfully ganache sounds scary, but really isn’t. I hope you enjoyed your dreams 😉
Wow, that looks amazing and delicious! And how do you get the frosting to look so smooth? I can’t get it to look like that, no matter what I do.
Thanks! It has taken practice and a lot of frustration. And the right smoother. I am a firm believer in the Ateco Decorating Comb and Icing Smoother.
Thanks! I’ll need to try it, because I’ve tried everything else. Wish me luck! 🙂
Making it a second time within a week!!! So so good! I was lazy and did a two layer so I still have enough frosting left 😉 skipped the ganache too but I might do it this time since my icing is all done!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it!
Holy! This is how heaven would be like..
Haha, thanks! It certainly transports you to another world 🙂