Moist Peanut Butter Cake Recipe
Print Pin VideoThis moist peanut butter cake recipe is one of the creamiest cakes I've ever had! Moist layers of peanut butter-infused cake are filled and topped with the most velvety soft peanut butter frosting. If I could define 'melt-in-your-mouth', it would be this cake! Perfect for satisfying your peanut butter cravings.
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cake
- 1⅔ cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp (24 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ⅓ cup (80 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ⅓ cup (75 g) unflavored vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- ½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (150 g) soft brown sugar - in the US use light soft brown sugar
- ⅔ cups (150 g) smooth unsweetened peanut butter - use a creamy, processed one (see note 5 if using a sweetened version like Skippy)
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1½ tsps vanilla extract/essence
- 1 cup (225 g) buttermilk - room temperature
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing or confectioners sugar
- 2 tsps vanilla extract/essence
- ½ cup (120 g) whipping or heavy cream - room temperature
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (250 g) smooth unsweetened peanut butter - use a creamy version
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cake
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) (see note 1 if using a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins. I use my homemade cake release to grease my tins.
- In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add in butter, vegetable oil, white granulated sugar, soft brown sugar and peanut butter. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 2), cream together on a medium speed for 3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in eggs one at a time on a low speed, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
- Add in vanilla and buttermilk, and mix on a medium speed until well combined. You should have a smooth creamy batter. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Add in the pre-sifted dry ingredients from earlier and using a spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3).
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and drop the cake tins lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- Before beginning: If you're making a simple cake with no crumb coat, only a thin layer of frosting on the sides and little to no piping, you can get away with making a half batch (or 3/4s) of the frosting :)
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer if using one), add in butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, cream, peanut butter and salt.
- Mix on the lowest speed until the ingredients are combined (about a minute), and then turn up the speed to a medium high and mix for a full 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl half way through. If using a stand mixer then use the paddle attachment.
- The frosting should be silky smooth and it's now ready to use! See note 4 if your frosting isn't light and smooth, or too soft.
Video
Notes
Note 1. In this recipe I use an oven with no fan function. The fan forced function cooks cakes/cupcakes faster, so if using a fan function (also known as convection mode) then you will need to reduce the temperature to 160C (320F).
Note 2. If using a stand mixer, then use the paddle attachment for the initial mixing, but continue to do the last step by hand as stated in the recipe.
Note 3. Only fold until you can't see anymore streaks of flour and the batter is uniform. By gently folding in the ingredients, it prevents too much gluten from forming, thus giving us a softer cake.
Note 4. If you find that your frosting is a bit firm and has a lot of air bubbles, then it means that either the butter or cream was too cold. To fix this, gently heat the buttercream in the microwave for 5 second bursts (don't heat it for too long otherwise the buttercream will melt), mixing in between each burst until the frosting is softer in consistency and you can easily mix it, and then re-whip it for a few minutes. If your frosting is too soft, simply pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes, and then re-whip it. You can also add more powdered sugar if you don't mind a sweeter frosting.
Note 5. For this recipe you want to use a creamy peanut butter that doesn't require mixing (i.e. doesn't have a lot of oil sitting at the top). You also preferrably want to use an unsweetened peanut butter. If you use a sweetened peanut butter (like Skippy or Jif), your cake will be a bit sweeter, however this cake isn't overly sweet, so it may not be an issue for most people. However, if you do prefer a less sweet cake and only have a sweetened peanut butter on hand, then you can reduce the soft brown sugar in the cake batter by about 2 tbsp.
Nutrition
Calories: 903kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 529mg | Potassium: 320mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 59g | Vitamin A: 1173IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
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