My homemade Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting is an old school recipe that will quickly become a family favorite. You will find the moist cake loaded with peanut butter flavor. Then we top it with the best peanut butter frosting.
Peanut Butter Cake
Peanut butter fans are going to go crazy for this Peanut Butter cake. I am a big fan of everything peanut butter. If you follow along on my blog, you probably have already figured that out. I love my 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies. My No Bake Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake is an over the top peanut butter lovers dream. So peanut butter recipes are my most favorite desserts and I share them often.
Each year for my birthday, my grandmother would make us each a homemade cake to celebrate our day. My grandmother quickly realized that she never really had to ask me which cake was going to be my choice. Every year, I always requested her homemade peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting. It really was her best homemade cake. It is perfect for feeding a crowd. We sometimes cut our cakes into smaller finger sized pieces when we are feeding more than just immediate family. You can easily get quite a few smaller pieces from a traditional sized cake pan. I know some make an old fashioned peanut butter sheet cake when serving a crowd. Sheet pan cakes are great but there is something about a thick moist cake topped with a layer of thicker frosting.
This recipe is an old fashioned cake recipe filled with so much flavor. She has been making this same recipe for years. I thought the recipe was very tedious so I never tried to make it myself. I can’t believe I have waited this long to make her homemade peanut butter cake. I have now made this recipe a few times and each and every time, my family has gobbled it up. They now have deemed it their favorite cake.It was not difficult to make and took very little time. Sure a peanut butter cake mix would be a blessing for a quick dessert but homemade desserts are always the best. The question always lingers in my mind as to why manufacturers have yet to make a good peanut butter cake mix. Maybe someday they will excite all of us peanut butter fans with such a product.
How do you make Peanut Butter Cake?
All that is needed to make this recipe is some creamy peanut butter and some basic ingredients you most likely have on hand. Grab some of the store brand peanut butter, it will work best. It is always creamy and has the most oil content. So it is perfect for this cake. Peter Pan or Skippy will work fine too.
Ingredients to Make Peanut Butter Cake with Homemade Peanut Butter Frosting
CAKE
2 cup Flour
2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 cup Milk
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Butter
3/4 cup Peanut Butter
FROSTING
1/2 cup softened Butter
1 cup Peanut Butter
3 tbsp Milk
2 cup Powdered Sugar
How to make Homemade Peanut Butter Cake and Peanut Butter Frosting
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter. Dust with flour to prevent sticking.
Whisk together flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl.
Add milk, eggs, and vanilla to bowl.
Beat mixture at low speed until blended.
Add water, butter, and peanut butter to a saucepan.
Heat over medium heat stirring frequently until blended (about 5 minutes).
Add peanut butter mixture into flour mixture.
Stir until batter is well mixed and pour into prepared dish.
Bake about 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool.
Cream together the butter and peanut butter.
Slowly add in the sugar, if it gets too thick then add a little milk to thin.
Continue until all of the sugar is in and the frosting is blended to the right consistency.
Spread frosting over cooled cake.
Tips for Making Peanut Cake
I always heavily butter my baking dish. I also add a dusting of flour. This always keeps the cake from sticking.
Bake for long enough for your center to be baked thoroughly. Ovens and baking time can vary from oven to oven. Just use the toothpick trick. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done.
Be sure to use softened butter for your peanut butter frosting. It will blend much better with the peanut butter and make the texture of your frosting creamier. Add a couple more drops of milk if you would like your frosting thinner.
Toss your cake in the refrigerator, it tastes amazing chilled too.
If storing your cake at room temperature, cover it to keep fresh.
Enjoy with a large glass of milk. Milk with this cake is amazing.
Peanut Butter Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 2 cup Flour
- 2 cup Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 3/4 cup Peanut Butter
FROSTING
- 1/2 cup softened Butter
- 1 cup Peanut Butter
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 2 cup Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter. Dust with flour to prevent sticking.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, and baking soda in a large bowl.
- Add milk, eggs, and vanilla to bowl.
- Beat mixture at low speed until blended.
- Add water butter and peanut butter to a saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat stirring frequently until blended (about 5 minutes).
- Add peanut butter mixture into flour mixture.
- Stir until batter is well mixed and pour into prepared dish.
- Bake about 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool.
- Cream together the butter and peanut butter.
- Slowly add in the sugar, if it gets too thick then add a little milk to thin.
- Continue until all of the sugar is in and the frosting is blended to the right consistency.
- Spread frosting over cooled cake.
This recipe is perfection! Absolutely delicious!
Can you make the cake with a 9×9 round cake pan?
Obsessed, ok? Lol I cut the recipe for this cake in half and it turned out perfect! Just enough! Thank you.
I made this so many times and we all love it!! Recently I’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease I’m wondering if I can use the flower??? Gluten free?? Just wondering if anybody’s tried it
This looks just like my mom’s cake so I am working on this recipe for my sons birthday. Mom has past now but he also swears her cake tasted the best. Had tried recipe before & half of the cake didn’t seem completely baked. Wonder if cupcakes would work? Thank you for giving me this great recp!
I haven’t tried to make this yet. I am definitely going to bake it.
It looks delicious and I’m sure that it is. Thank you for the recipe.
( SANDY)
One of our favorite cakes! The cake is dense and rich and the frosting is heavenly! It freezes well too as there are only two of us and my husband can’t control himself when it comes to this wonderful cake!
Can I add a box of vanilla pudding to the recipe?
This is one of the nicest cakes I’ve ever had! The texture is absolutely perfection, so moist yet still fluffy and it literally melts in your mouth. The frosting takes an already beautiful cake to the next level. The flavour of the cake is gorgeous and so addictive! Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe, i made the cake and frosting exactly as written and they turned out absolutely perfect. It was also so easy to make! I have saved this as a go to family recipe!
This recipe dose not call for salt?? I am wondering if it got left out by mistake?
There’s usually salt in peanut butter, so maybe that is plenty for the balance of the recipe.
I wondered the same thing, I made it as listed the first time. The cake was great, but I missed the salt. I added 1/2tsp salt the next time and it was perfect. Thanks for sharing, I hope this helps.
Came across this recipe tonight and whipped it up with no issues! Myself and my family LOVED it! We all agreed this recipe is a “keeper”!❤️🤤
Was simple/easy to make. I added crushed peanuts after I frosted the cake.. delicious!
Made this as a “last resort” dessert for potlock. By that I mean that it was the only thing I found a recipe for that I had all the ingredients. Took this to work, and it is THE cake that is requested every time we have a dinner.
Moist, rich and delicious. Yum, yum, yum!
Just made this cake for my hubby’s birthday. I baked 33 minutes and it was done. Very moist. My hubby told me not to lose this recipe. Frosting is delicious…creamy and not greasy. Just the right amount of sweetness.
I am eating a piece of this cake as I type. The flavor is wonderful. I am a peanut butter lover and this really hits the spot. However, the frosting is a bit too sweet, and it’s quite greasy. I refrigerated the cake right after frosting it early this morning. I like the denseness of the cake but the edges got too done due to having to leave it in the oven much longer than the 40 min it says in the recipe… for the middle to get done. I used a 9×13 glass cake pan.
If using a glass baking dish, lower the temp 25-degrees for better results next time!
Thank you!! That tidbit of information is very helpful.
For the frosting sweetness, add 1/4 tsp salt to cut the sweetness. Although there’s salt in the peanut butter and possibly in the butter, the added small amount works without adding saltiness. For the frosting greasiness, the oils in peanut butter fluctuate between brands, so you may need to add 1/4 cup more powdered sugar. Mix well. If still oily and still soft to spread, add another 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Continue adding in small increments to get desired spreadable frosting. Definitely add salt as mentioned above, if adding additional sugar to cut sweetness.
This is absolutely the best cake I have ever made in my entire life (and I’m not a super great cook either, especially baking.) My mom is a peanut butter queen, and she absolutely LOVED this cake! She’s still raving about the wonderful flavor hours later. I was kind of skeptical of the cup of water honestly and how “soupy” it made the batter, but reading reviews I did the recipe exactly, and it’s amazing. It’s the perfect texture, has the best flavor. I made it in a round pan so it’s two tiered, with icing heavily layered between, and each piece did take that whole 35-45 minutes.
One of the best cakes I’ve ever had. My cake fell in because I didn’t want to overcook it but ended up not cooking long enough. Despite that, the cake was super moist and delicious.
Just put my peanut butter cake in the oven. I modified the recipe to make it dairy free and gluten free . It’s for a coworkers birthday, so fingers crossed that it is delicious!
Hi, How did you modify the recipe, please would appreciate . Thanks in advance
I just made this as is and it. did. not. disappoint. Wow! So moist and flavorful! Love love love!
How do you measure Peanutbutter? It’s so sticky.
You can spray it with vegetable oil and put it in a measuring cup. I usually spray my spoon too. Works like a charm. Happy baking!!
No rating yet, making it for daughter birthday but I was wondering if I can all a little chocolate Ganache to the top?
Hi Ashley! Happy Birthday to your daughter, I hope she has a nice one. I have not tried any chocolate ganache on the top but it sounds AMAZING! If you give it a try, be sure to let us know how it works out.
I forgot to heat the peanut butter and water so we’ll see what happens 😳
Same girl
I made this for my daughters 23rd birthday. She doesn’t like chocolate and requested peanut butter cup cakes. I was totally delighted she wanted a home made something, as when the kids were little I was known for my fabulous, rich, dense cakes! I made it as written, put in cup cake tins and it was perfect! Mental note: don’t use the paper cup cake liners. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
Hi. Is there an ossie with the paper liners? what do you suggest?
Thank you
I made the recipe, except substituted almond butter for peanut butter. It was absolutely delicious. So moist and yummy. My family loved it!
Hi
My cake sank.
Do i need to put baking powder in the recipe?
Thanks
The usual cause of a cake sinking is under-baking. Oven temps need to be checked with a thermometer periodically to make sure you don’t need to “adjust the dial” to compensate for a “hot” or “cool” oven. Also, sometimes opening the oven door and letting cooler air hit the cake before it’s done can cause it to sink. Of course, the pan itself (regular metal surface, no-stick, glass, or dark) can affect cooking time and what temp you should use. If you were using baking powder, I’d say to check the expiration date. I had a cake failure once when the baking powder was one day expired, but this recipe uses baking soda. Always set pans on cooling racks the recommended time. A very cool counter might cause the cake to fall. If you’re baking at high altitudes, ingredients, temperatures, and or cooking times may require adjustment. This isn’t the problem you had, but to avoid over-cooking, don’t use convection ovens for baking. I hope something in this list of ideas will be of help.
I made this cake for my Daughter’s fiancé. It was delicious. I made it as a layer cake in two 8 inch rounds….Thanks for the great recipe.
How long did you bake them for?
This was so yummy and super easy to make. Definitely going into my recipe book for the future!
I am not a fan of peanut butter but I tasted one my sister in law made. It was great! She made me a whole cake. I searched for a recipe that I wanted to remind me of the middle school cafeteria! This peanut butter recipe is awesome! I remember baking with my granny when I was younger. Last Friday night me and my granny got in the kitchen and used your recipe!! Let’s just say it was all gone Minday morning! Kudos!! Now people want men to make.them one!
The cake was very moist.. The next time I make it I will use less peanut butter in icing and do more of a buttercream icing. Seemed to have a strong peanut butter favor. My son enjoyed it for his birthday dessert!
When you say flour, do you mean All purpose or self rising? And with butter.. salted or unsalted? Just making sure I do this correctly. Thanks y’all!
The frosting tasted good enough, however, it was extremely oily and looked nothing like the picture. I followed the recipe, but it turned out oily and gloppy. I actually kept placing paper towels on the frosted cake to remove the oil. Please help. I’d like to make this cake again. The cake was very good. I just need to get the frosting right.
Thank you, Markie
You can’t use natural peanut butter in the frosting. Any peanut butter you have to stir will result in the same oily frosting.
For the frosting greasiness, the oils in peanut butter fluctuate between brands, so you may need to add 1/4 cup more powdered sugar. Mix well. If still oily and still soft to spread, add another 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Continue adding in small increments to get desired spreadable frosting. Add 1/4 tsp salt to cut sweetness. (In my buttercream recipe, there’s 1 cup of butter/shortening to 4 cups of powdered sugar, so you have some “play room” to adjust since this recipe is 1 1/2 c butter/peanut butter to only 2 cups powdered sugar)
Do you use cake flour? Or have you tried using cake flour?
Question peanut butter is listed twice in cake recipe how much hours in the cake
My dad loves this cake! His Mom made it for him every year as a kid and we have kept up the tradition! Highly recommend for someone who is a peanut butter fan. If your not or you are I suggest vanilla ice cream with it! Absolutely delicious! :))
Im going to make this next time i need to make a cake for church. So yummy. I poked holes in it when it was cooled with the handle of a wooden spoon and microwaved some strawberry jelly for a minute just to make it pourable. Then put it on the cake before putting on the frosting. My grandbabies love pb & j sandwiches so i bet they’re going to love this.
Do you measure your flour by weight? This looks like a dense cake. I want to make sure I use enough. I typically use 120 g all purpose per cup.
I requested this for my birthday in December. My mother in law made it for me. OMG the best cake EVER. So my work also asked what kinda of “professional “ cake I would like so I again requested PB cake. The over priced three layer PB was a disappointment after tasting this simple homemade cake!!! I literally ate THREE pieces in one sitting!! And a tall glass of milk goes perfectly with this cake.
Happy belated birthday to you Amber! I am happy to hear this Peanut Butter cake is one of your favorites. Thanks much! I will admit it is my favorite cake:) Each and every time I make it, I devour more than I should. Now you have me thinking I should make one for a birthday I have coming up. I hope you have a great weekend.
What peanut butter do you suggest using
I would recommend Jif Brand peanut butter. It is it best of them all, and is my personal favorite as well.
It’s an odd reason, but I plan on making this for my hamsters’ birthday in March. They’re my children and one of them loves peanut butter! He’ll only be able to have a small bite, but I think this will be a perfect way to celebrate the special fuzzy babies in the house. I’m looking forward to making it!
Hi. Excited to try this recipe. What butter are you using? Salted or unsalted?
Hi Holly! I usually use salted butter. I hope that helps. Enjoy!
What type of flour do you use and what kind of peanut butter is best to use
Sounds delicious, cannot wait to make. Several people have asked, but I do not see a response. Salted or unsalted butter in the cake and the frosting?
HI Jil! I have used both but usually use salted butter. I hope that helps. Have a great evening!
Can this be made into cupcakes? Or will it not rise the same
Getting ready to make this! Why do you use water and milk versus all milk in the cake? Just curious!
This recipe is amazing!!! The cake itself is so full of flavor and not dry at all! No need for frosting. I made 24 cupcakes, 2/3 cup full and baked at 350 for 16 minutes. Thank you!!
Hi Cat! So happy you enjoyed the Peanut Butter Cake recipe. I think I am going to make some cupcakes to have for tomorrow night:) My family LOVES this cake so, I am sure they will love them as cupcakes too!
If someone had showed me all these posts yesterday, I would have accused Jen of writing them herself or paying someone to do so. Way over-the-top praise for a simple cake recipe and not a cure for cancer. Some people, Huh? Well, count me as one of those people that now consider Jen as a personal best friend of mine whom I trust with my life and will never question or doubt a single word that comes from her mouth even though we’ve never met or have spoken to each other. What’s more shocking about how deliciously moist and incredibly tasting this cake is, is that I’ve been a sorta decent cook in mostly nursing homes for over 25 years now and until 2 hours ago, I’ve never heard of a PB cake. EVER!! THANKS JEN! Now try your hand at a cure for cancer, you know I believe you could do it Bestie.
Merry Christmas to you:) Thanks much for the afternoon chuckle!
Hi can you explain what type of flour are you using.Is it plain or self raising flour?
I’m from the uk so it is a bit different.
Hi Wei! I use an all-purpose flour for this recipe. I hope that helps.
Please advise if the flour is all purpose or self rising. I see the question several times but no reply.
I made this cake yesterday and it was great. Very flavorful and really moist. However I did make some changes. I added a tsp of baking powder used salted butter in the cake and used unsalted In the frosting. I also cut back on the powdered sugar and added a bit more milk. Still ample amounts of frosting.
Hi,
Can you tell me if the peanut butter cake uses self rising flour or all purpose flour?
Thanks
Hello Jen! Thank you for this recipe. I’m very excited to try this cake on Sunday my only doubt is if I should use salted or unsalted butter for the cake as well as the frosting.. please let me know . Thank you cheers!!!
Best cake ever!! My go to cake now. Be sure to refrigerate so you get an amazing peanut fudge frosting! Tastes exactly like fudge! Can’t say enough awesome things about this!!!!
This cake is, AMAZING, DELICIOUS, MOIST,FLAVORFUL, SCRUMPTIOUS, I could go on and on, do not change anything in the recipe, thanks for sharing, Bless your Grandmother
I think your recipe needs a teaspoon of baking powder, mine rose much better when I added a teaspoon.
Gail
Tried this recipe for something different to bake. Super easy and my family loved it!
I only used the cake recipe, not the frosting. I put it in 3 6-inch rounds, baked for about 35 min. It came out delicious. I love PB cookies and this cake tastes just like one but in soft cakey form. I ended up making a PB&J cake with it, homemade strawberry jelly in between the cake layers and frosted with vanilla buttercream. So good! Thank you for this recipe. It’s totally a keeper.
Can you make this into two round cakes to make a layer cake with frosting in between? Would the bake times vary?
New baker here. Is the flour plain, do you use baking soda, not baking powder? Sounds wonderful, will try this.
Best cake I’ve ever made! It came out perfect and it’s addictive too. Thank you for this fantastic recipe.
I had a craving for peanut butter and found this recipe. My family didn’t want to try it. However, they took one bite and the whole thing disappeared. It was fantastic! I made it gluten free too. Super easy recipe to convert. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
Oh, Sarah,
Have NO fear whatsoever. The very same thought occurred to me, but let me tell you your apprehensions are groundless. This cake is soooooooooooooooo flavorful you may be sorry – because it is honestly wonderful. A whole room full of women were swooning over this cake, and some are really picky. Go ahead and do it like she wrote it – you will not regret it.
Never have I ever had more people rave about a cake than with this one. I took it to a potluck with a bunch of nurses, many of them who are faithfully “healthy” eaters. All that went out the window when this baby was cut and “sampled”; and one lady even told me that if this cake were made every month at our potlucks, she’d be happy, happy, happy. It is a winner in every way. Nothing too extraordinarily hard; the ingredients are all there all the time; and it’s just absolutely dee-lish-us! Than you so much for sharing.
is the temperature degrees or Fahrenheit?
I made this cake last week. Instead of the frosting listed, I opted for fresh cream flavoured with peanut butter,as my daughter has an allergy to icing or powdered sugar frosting. This is absolutely THE best cake I have made. It will be a regular bake at our house. Thanks for the recipe.
Yasmin, my husband can’t have powdered sugar because of the cornstarch in it, but I found different brands of powdered sugar that use tapioca starch instead… and he absolutely loves the icing!
I made it today,the batter was enough for a 2 layer cake. It turned out perfectly. I do recommend adding more milk to the frosting to thin it out.
This was absolutely the best cake ever!! Actually tastes just as good the next day. I did refrigerate it and it did make the frosting taste just like peanut butter fudge!!
Will be making this many mire times.
So excited to make this cake. Is the flour all purpose or self rising? And should I use salted or unsalted butter? Thank you!!
Ever since I made this homemade cake for my husband he wont eat any other cake. He loves this cake. He at the whole cake by himself with in a week. He says it is the most moist cake he has ever eaten. It’s not too sweet. it is perfect. The only thing is he likes layers so I am going to try and do the cake in a few layers next time a make it. Hope it turns out just as good. I wonder how many layers that would be able to make with this recipe? Any idea?
I forgot to give it 5 stars…but here they are.
Would you recommend the density of this cake for make a layer cake?
This is absolutely up there with the best cakes I’ve ever had. My kids did most of the work and it still came out moist (kids love to stir up that gluten!) I’m obsessed. My family is obsessed. I can’t wait to share this with friends! Thank you!
I made this cake two nights ago & it is SO GOOD! I used Reginald’s Homemade Bourbon Pecan Peanut Butter; which kids can have because the bourbon cooks off, so don’t freak out…Without a doubt, this is one of the best cake recipes I’ve ever used. It will definitely be made again.
I actually followed the recipe to a “T”, which I don’t usually do. Except for a smidge less sugar & no icing. Thank you for such a fabulous cake recipe. :-D
This cake was fabulous! I was also skeptical about using water but I followed the recipe and I’m glad I did! The cake was incredibly moist and delicious! We will definitely be making this for years to come.
I am new to baking cakes, but the idea of adding water doesn’t seem appealing, so I’m wondering if you could just add more milk or oil if it needs more wet…or does the water serve a purpose?
The water is necessary to help with the consistency of the cake, it melts the sugar and brings everything together if that makes sense…. Very moist if made this way.
Oh, Sarah,
Have NO fear whatsoever. The very same thought occurred to me, but let me tell you your apprehensions are groundless. This cake is soooooooooooooooo flavorful you may be sorry – because it is honestly wonderful. A whole room full of women were swooning over this cake, and some are really picky. Go ahead and do it like she wrote it – you will not regret it.
I really love this cake; easy to make. My family loved it as it was a birthday cake for some family. I will definitely make it again .
So good! Was a bit with friends just a huge sized cake but not complaining 🤣
Made this cake today I halved the recipe because it’s just myself and my husband ,I’m glad I made a smaller version. It was so good we would have eaten all of the 9×13 ourselves .
Hi this is Kristina visiting from Wow me Wednesday. Wow this looks incredible! I am a major PB fan and will be pinning this to my real food desserts board.
This looks and sounds delicious! Do u think this recipe would work for cupcakes?
Hi Nicole! I bet it would. I have not made as cupcakes as of yet. if you try, be sure to let us know the results.
Don’t know if you tried it yet but I did and they turned out perfect! I cooked them for 15 minutes in my oven.
WOW WOW WOW….this was the best cake I have ever eaten. My grandaughter said this to be her birthday cake from now on. Thank you for the recipe.
Glad she liked it. It’s a keeper recipe for sure.
I made this cake today and my entire family demolished it. Not a crumb left. Delicious and so moist! A new favorite!
I just made this yesterday. We tried it when it was room temp., pretty good! I put it in the refrigerator overnight and WOW..yummy! Not sure why, but it tastes much better cold.
Warm or cold, I’ll keep this recipe for sure.
Thanks for sharing.
This looks amazing. The cake looks so moist. Makes me want to grab a fork and gig in!
I just made this cake yesterday. My husband was skeptical that he would like it, but hw absolutely loved it. I will keep this recipe close at hand for future gatherings. Thanks so much. Karen
So happy your family enjoyed this cake! My kiddos gobbled the one I made this past week. I only had one piece. I think I need to make another.
Do you leave it in the baking dish after it’s cooled or take it out?