Alex’s birthday was this past weekend and in case you are new here, let me give you a loose outline of a Standard Dessert Alex Politely Requests: Chocolate. Chocolate with chocolate. Chocolate with caramel. Chocolate with toffee. Chocolate with coffee. Chocolate with hazelnut cream. Chocolate with Oreos. Chocolate cheesecake with brownie chunks. Chocolate icebox cake. Chocolate with raspberries. Chocolate with white chocolate. Chocolate with dulce de leche. Chocolate with banana cake.
What, can you sense a theme or something?
This year we added one more to the chocolate cake pile: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. Well, actually, the technical title of the cake is Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze, though it is actually a Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Peanut Butter Glaze, but all you really need to know is that if you know a chocolate-and-peanut-butter lover, you must make this cake.
Because did I mention the chocolate cake? With the chocolate-peanut butter ganache (I bet you didn’t even know such a thing existed, I sure didn’t and my life may never be the same again. I wish I could quit it.) And the cream cheese peanut butter frosting and filling? Actually, let us pause on that last part. If you’re anything like me, the thought of cream cheese and peanut butter intentionally mixed probably gives you a bit of pause. I don’t know cheese + sweetened peanuts? That can’t be right, I thought. Well, I was wrong. They are perfect together, with the tangy/saltiness of the cream cheese helping the peanut butter hit all the right notes.
You might be noticing a recurring theme here this summer, but what can I say? I’m in love with this book. I brought up Sky High for the first time after making my own birthday cake this year, that glorious Pistachio Petit-Four Cake. You heard me yammer about this book again when we were in the midst of Project Wedding Cake, where both the vanilla and chocolate cake recipes were from this wonderful book. And here we are at it again.
If you like baking cakes, especially celebration cakes, you really want to get this book. What drew me to it was that the cakes are so interesting–no plain chocolate with vanilla frosting here but petit-fours and blue cornmeal with caramel cream and gingerbread beer with bittersweet chocolate and bananas with praline and white chocolate.
But here’s the other best part (you know, if the notion of a boston cream pie cake wasn’t enough to convince you)–a lot of these cake recipes are one-bowl. I even mixed the one below with just a whisk, no electric mixer. My dishwasher thanked me. Okay fine, of course I gave him the night off; it was his birthday, after all. Which means that I applauded the smaller sinkful of dishes even more.
Peanut butter, previously: Peanut Butter Brownies and Peanut Butter Cookies
One year ago: Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Adapted, only barely, from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes
This cake is INTENSE. Serve it in the thinnest slices possible, and keep a glass of milk handy.
Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16 (the book says, I say a heck of a lot more)
2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups (500 grams) sugar
3/4 cup (about 65 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (235 ml) neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup (240 grams) sour cream
1 1/2 (355 ml) cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle (I skipped this)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)
4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (Deb note 1: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-colored frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosted, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)
5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.
Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups
10 ounces (285 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (115 grams, 4 ounces or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups (600 grams) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup (170 grams) smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)
1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
8 ounces (225 grams) semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons (50 grams) smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons (40 grams) light corn syrup, honey or golden syrup
1/2 cup (120 ml) half-and-half
1. In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.
Thank you so much for getting this up so quickly! I am going to try it Saturday for a (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup addict’s) friend’s birthday.
If I had to describe food porn I would say take a look at that first picture! Amazing!!
My boyfriend recently showed be a recipe you posted who knows when about peanut butter brownies with chocolate on top. It was the first time I’d heard of your blog. I made it and it was delicious.
Now I’m pretty sure he’s going to request this one, too. I wonder if I could use this to convince him to help me move my furniture…
This may be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen! Ah, looks heavenly!
Gorgeous Deb. This is going in my to-try list!
I hate you a little bit for posting this recipe. One because I am on a peanut-butter chocolate streak that won’t quit. Two, because it’s too late for me to go to the store and buy anything that will gratify the craving these pictures has awakened (hate, hard) and three because of the merciless teasing I will endure from my non-chocolate-fan husband when I do find an excuse to make this cake. Oh well…I’ll do it anyway…
Now if I could just figure out how I ended up in a house that doesn’t have chocolate on hand…
Oh my goodness, thank god that the summer is almost over because this will ruin me in trying to keep the bathing suit season!!!!! What could be better, chocolate and peanut butter! I am tearing up just typing about it…..
I love how the chocolate/peanut butter glaze is all perfectly glopping down the sides. It looks fancy but approachable ya know? yum yum.
Yum! I was on here earlier bc I’m making the lime melt-aways as I type and this post just popped up! I agree with the description “food porn”–that describes all your pictures! I’m drooling now!
Is it bad that I just licked my monitor????
oh-my-gawd.
you’re killing me here.
I hate to ask this, but can you recommend a non-dairy substitution for the cream cheese? I have been making buttercream instead of cream cheese frostings at our house because my husband is lactose intolerant. He can eat Greek yogurt so I sub that for sour cream, perhaps it might work in the frosting as well (well-drained)?
Use a vegan cream cheese — there are several brands and they’re honestly very good.
Perhaps I will try making the ganache using hazelnut butter, since I’m not a P.Nut Butter fan. Another good alternative to all-chocolate ganache.
Firstly, this cake looks AMAZING and I must make it.
Secondly, odd cowinkedink but my older brother, Alex, loves peanut butter and chocolate and his birthday passed by recently. Maybe he’s living a secret double life and he’s also your husband? In any case he’s getting this cake for his birthday next year.
Everything about this cake looks perfect to me! I’m going to have to check out the book, too!
wow. just wow.
Alex — Happy Birthday! I think you’re one lucky guy. Deb — Just wish I was a relative! I have to try the chocolate cake recipe. Now!
I will have to make this ASAP. Luckily there is no special occasion so I can have it all to myself!
Wow, that cake is gorgeous! Really tempting and terribly delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Cheers,
Rosa
What an incredible cake! That Alex is one lucky guy and if he really does the dishes you are one lucky woman!
Perfection. I made this cake for my boyfriend’s “passing the bar” celebration. Everyone loved it and I may have kept an extra big piece for myself and ate it during Sunday football.
So glad I made this one. One adjustment I made since I ran low on peanut butter was used pb2 in the frosting and it still turned out just as lovely. Thank you for sharing your recipes and talent with us all! The hardest part is always deciding which recipe to make!
Wow, your cake looks so wonderful, so yummy, so great…! I love chocolate and I love peanut butter – and I love cakes!!! Thanks for the recipe!
good god, that looks good. I am drooling.
I am going to have to have more children in order to have a reason to keep indulging in just the making of this beauty. It is terrible and wondrous to behold. nom nom nom. I like this cake.
drooling…
Argh!
I feel my hips expanding already!
Oh my gosh. I want to eat this. I don’t even like chocolate and this looks like heaven.
But GAH! My non-American husband doesn’t understand peanut butter and doesn’t approve of its usage. I fear that I will never get to sample this cake….
We have a chocolate bar over here called Kit Kat – do you have that? Anyway, it’s just a wafer with chocolatey goodness inside and out and now they have a peanut butter version – Oh my God. It’s totally converted me to the combo. The way that chocolate is oozing off the sides!
Also, does Alex really do the dishes like, all the time? Can you arrange for some sort of posting about this so that i can forward it to my man? Oh what a sweet arrangement, I cook, he cleans…..
I think i have to get this book as a present to self for the move i’m about to embark on. I think it’s a perfectly justifiable purchase, despite the abominable amount of $ i’ve spent already on furniture and what not, don’t you? A new home DOES need an accessory….
so, uh…yeah, I just bought this book after reading this last recipe, though you had me at boston cream pie cake ;) I cannot wait to make this chocolate peanut butter cake this weekend! Now I just need to make up an excuse…
Deb I have been looking at this cake in your photostream since you posted the pictures. I cannot wait to try it this weekend :) You are amazing! lol
Ok, I’m gonna do it! That cake looks awesome. I didn’t post on the “kitchen fears” posting, but my fear is baking from scratch…I think I will need to overcome it. I can do it!
Happy belated birthday to Alex!! Talk about a luscious way to celebrate – WOW does that cake look magnificent.
Oh. My. Gosh.
My feelings are so torn. Stay on a diet or enjoy absolute bliss?
Oh, heck. I’m getting out the peanut butter.
YOU. ARE. EVIL.
That’s all.
HOLY CRAP!
I wish I had had this recipe for my son’s birthday two weeks ago. He would have been in 7th heaven. It has all his favorites. Chocolate, peanut butter and cream cheese.
I think he deserves a second birthday cake this year.
That looks absolutely, wonderfully, unbelievably decadent. YUM.
that looks amazing, unfortunately I’m the only one in my house who would eat it. So that wouldn’t be good.
do you think the cake would work as cupcakes? my daughter has requested chocolate cupcakes with “Pink” icing for her birthday, and I want a cake recipe that is really good.
Mmm this looks so good.
I love peanut butter, I bet i wouldnt be able to keep my hands off this cake…now is that a good thing or a bad thing?! hehe
I am in love with this cake…..
I think I’ve just gone to heaven!
That looks mouthwateringly scrumptious! Peanut buetter AND chocolate!!! Wow, yummy!
Dear Lord… is it possible to put on kilos just LOOKING at a picture of a cake 100000km away?? I am going to have dreams about this concoction tonight… and the whole one bowl thing?? I’m IN!!!
:-)
BB
PS Hang on a sec? What is half-and-half??
i think i just drooled on my keyboard. this looks phenomenal, especially all that lusty, dripping chocolate! i too made my husband a peanut butter chocolate cake for his birthday. it was luscious, but, i have to say, this looks as though it takes the cake!!!
Alex is my hero!
(Happy Birthday, by the way)
Nothing is better with chocolate than peanutbutter. wow!
The peanutbrittle that you skipped???where does it fit in the recipe?
Oh my goodness. Oh my. I’ll eat the whole cake if I make it. I know I will.
Yay! My birthday is around the corner and this recipe will be e-mailed out immediately to an unsuspecting family member to make it for me. Or maybe I’ll just make it myself . . . This looks incredible. And chocolate AND peanut butter, is there any better combination?!?!?!
Bush — Half and half = 1/2 milk + 1/2 cream = 10.5 to 18 percent butterfat. I’ve got this information and more on the “Tools” page.
Chocolatechic — It would be sprinkled on top of the finished cake–Step 5.
Amy — This would indeed work as cupcakes. However, if you’re just looking for a chocolate cake recipe, how shall I say it politely, this isn’t the strongest chocolate one. The mildness of the chocolate works perfectly with the peanut butter combination, but you’re just looking for a simple, killer chocolate cupcake, I’d advice you to go with her Chocolate Butter Cake (with or without the cinnamon) or this Epicurious favorite.
Hi Deb! This looks awesome . . . do you think it would work as a two layer cake with 9″ cake pans? Or a three layer with 9″ cake pans? How would you adjust the ingredients or cooking time? Thanks!
Cake looks great! I just bought that book, and can’t wait to try it out. You might want to try the peanut butter cake with chocolate/peanut butter ganache and cream cheese frosting at Epicurious (Bon Appetit). It’s amazing. Not as much chocolate, but it’s truly wonderful – especially once the flavors have melded after 24 hours. It’s been my birthday cake three years in a row now! (without the candy on top).
hey evil-genius cake lady, STOP IT! srsly, this is going too far!
Erin — Totally forgot to mention that I don’t have more than one (oh, and I left it somewhere) 8-inch circle pan so I used 9-inch ones–it’s fine. Probably a tad thinner than the super-tall picture in the book, but I’m not showing you that because it might make mine look bad. ;)
Do you have to adjust cooking time for two 9″ pans?
Thanks!
Oh, my husband will thank you SO MUCH when I finally come up with an excuse to make this cake. (Is it bad to consider throwing a party just for an excuse to make cake?)
Looks awesome! Thanks, Deb!
OMG, thank you for this recipe! I am going to make this for my husband’s birthday next month (hopefully I can get someone to watch the kids!). He’s going to love it!
(And I’m going to love that book …)
Oh Deb, you bad, bad girl you! This is hitting my “weakness” button way too hard! All of my restraint to enjoy a quiet, baking free Tuesday just flew out the window. The commitment to finish necessary documents for a major obligation have perished as my chocolate and peanut butter obsessions have taken control. My friends will thank you profusely, and I will “begrudgingly” admit complete and total defeat. Great work!
“Doc”
ALEX, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!. Oh my god, it’s a great, fantastic and wonderful cake! ..oh! and beatiful pictures! I am drooling too!. Bye
I make a very similar version of this, but in cupcake form. I pipe the peanut-butter/cream cheese filling into the center of the cupcake, and then do a whipped chocolate ganache frosting on top. Delightful!
I’ll have to try this recipe – and get that book. I’m intrigued by the blue cornmeal with caramel cream that you mentioned in your post.
WOW!!!
This cake looks amazing….. I am with Alex, everything tastes better when paired with chocolate……My husband likes dipping chocolate pieces in peanut butter. I think he might enjoy this cake……
Thanks for sharing!
Oh my oh my… I couldn’t click over from my google reader fast enough when I saw the words chocolate & peanut butter next to each other! My two favorite things! I can’t believe I’ve never heard of any recipe like this before… if only I didn’t have to spend the day in the office, as I would much rather go home and bake!
Thanks for always putting together such lovely posts with amazing pictures. I’m drooling here at my desk :)
ps. happy birthday alex!
OH MY. I need to find a large gathering that I could take this to. Unfortuately I have a blueberry cobbler, a plum clafouti and some scones before my baking queue empties enough for this.
I’m going to kill Gertie. I can’t believe I missed this cake. Sigh.
I’m new to your blog, but I love it! Your writing is fresh and engaging, your pictures are mouth watering, and your content is so informative!
I’m sharing an Arte y Pico award with you to say “Thank you” for sharing so much of yourself with us and making the blogosphere a sweeter place to be!
Gail
This post, is a perfect exemplar of what makes this blog so absolutely fantastic and keeps me coming back for seconds…and thirds!!! :)
Incredible recipe. Cream cheese and peanut butter do go well together, though I too was unsure at first. I used cream cheese peanut butter frosting for cupcakes and they were out of this world. That cake looks unbeatable though. Thanks for sharing!
Oh. My. God. That’s all I can say.
I found myself cataloging my cabinets to see if I could make this tonight. Because it’s Tuesday, and that’s all the occasion one needs for chocolate peanut butter I’m drooling now cake.
This will be my 30th birthday cake. I will have to make it myself but that’s quite fine.
Also, I make a peanut butter pie with pb, cream cheese, and powdered sugar that it delicious so a frosting that has that plus butter sounds perfect to me!
You’re my cooking goddess. :D
Oh my goodness, I want a piece of that right now. NOW.
Okay, I think I need whatever knife, spreader you are using in the 4th photo to spread the chocolate ganache! I never have the right kitchen tool to spread frosting whipping cream, lemon curd or preserves on a cake. What do you call that??
It’s an off-set spatula. Or as my husband calls them, oscillating spatulas (which always makes me laugh).
I don’t think I’ve ever been so sold on anything in my entire life… and I’m one of those people who’s “not that into” chocolate!!! I’m seriously ordering this book from Amazon while I simultaneously try to come up with a holiday to make this cake. “Random Afternoon Day?”
Seriously. You are incredible.
oh my oh my! This looks absolutely amazing and I need to make this, and soon! I need this cake in my life…. :)
Wow. Just wow. This looks like heaven.
I think I got a cavity just looking at those pictures. My baby brother has a birthday, that this will be perfect for, thanks, for sharing.
This just made my whole body melt! There is nothing in the world better than chocolate and peanut butter!!!
what’s a neat way to measure large amounts on pb? or is it just a mess regardless?
Do you think the cake part of this recipe is better than the cake part of your double chocolate layer cake? Because that cake is the best one that has ever come out of my kitches, so I’m tempted to try it with this frosting, unless you recommend otherwise.
Thanks for this, Deb!
Mmmm..the frosting/filling sounds like it would be enough peanut butter flavor for the whole cake. Leave the ganache without PB. In the cake, I would probably nix the vinegar and use coffee instead of the water. I’d also melt butter and use it instead of the oil. There’s something about oil in cakes that just seems to neutralize some of the flavor to me. But, that’s just me!
sounds so yummy!must try this sometimes!!I love peanut butter!I just find out your blog and i like it!!=))
This looks wonderful! Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations. I can’t wait to find a reason to make this!
YUM! I think I just decided what I want for my birthday :)
Allie — There isn’t one. Just scoop it into a measuring cup, press it in really well to make sure there are no air pockets and use a rubber or silicone spatula to get it out. The only easier way would be if the recipe had weight measurements, but unfortunately none in the book do. It’s the only thing I’d want to change about it!
Stella — Actually, no. It’s just as soft and moist (and a bit hard to handle, like the other one) but not as chocolate-y. It works with this recipe, but if you’re pulling out a chocolate cake recipe, as I mention above (#45) either your favorite or the chocolate wedding cake have more chocolate pow. The wedding one is more dense and sturdy, but seriously amazingly good. (And one bowl!) Hope that helps.
Hi Deb!
I’m not a big fan of using vegetable/canola or soy cooking oil. Can I replace the same with butter. If so, what quantity of butter? And is there any alternative for the vinegar as well? Can’t wait to try out if the recepie! My sister’s coming into town for her birthday in a couple of weeks and she loves peanut butter!
Same quantity for butter. Don’t skip the vinegar; it’s necessary for rise and also that deep color.
Oh..that is one mighty fine looking cake!
72 – you can always do the water displacement method like you can do for shortening, but it’s totally not worth it, just make the mess!!
That peanut butter frosting is basically the recipe for Paula Deen’s PB pie, which is amazing and super rich. This recipe is basically having you frost a cake with pie filling. Which I’m totally behind.
PB could be my all-time favorite food. And with chocolate, wow. Can’t wait to think of a reason to make this.
I have converted to the natural PB (you know, the one that’s just peanuts and salt). I know the recipe says to use commercial PB so the oil doesn’t separate, but if you stirred the natural stuff up really well, would it still work?? I just wonder if it would be OK since the ‘commercial’ stuff has sugar added (and possibly other things). Anyone know?
I made a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake kind of thing recently. (The entire cake was made of cream cheese and peanut butter, then ganache on top.) While it was delicious, I felt really sick after eating it. So sick that I would never make it again. Just too rich. Maybe this one would be a better solution.
I love the one-bowl stuff.
So I only have two 9-in pans. Do you think it would be better to halve the recipe for thinner layers or go for the full recipe for 2 thicker layers that hopefully won’t overflow? I would bake the 3rd layer separately except for the fact that there’s vinegar in the recipe…
I used 9-inch pans, and baked the third layer separately (due to oven, and pan number, limitations). It worked out just fine.
Thanks alot.. now I have to towel off my seat at work! LOL!!!
OMG. Fatter for even looking at that. Can’t wait to try it…
okee thanks, will do 3 layers then :)
another question I forgot to ask – at what point did you freeze the layers? After they’ve cooled completely? Or after 20 min cooling in the pan?
I bet the natural peanut butter would be okay if you chilled it well first, then cut back on about a tablespoon of the regular butter.
Oh oh…not another excellent-looking Smitten Kitchen recipe. We’ve just posted two of your recipes in the last week alone. With this post, I envision a third one in the near future…
That looks so good and SO rich! To die for!
Have you never eaten a peanut butter, cream cheese and Nutella sandwich? Talk about awesome! But not nearly as awesome as this cake, which I am making as soon as I can turn on my oven again.
Happy Birthday to your favorite man! Umm… thanks for picking this cake so Deb is forced to share with everyone! I hope you both had a wonderful birthday and gobbled up all the cake. Must make this. Must make this. Must make this.
~Cat
If I go make a cup of cocoa do you think the intense craving for chocolate and peanut butter will go away???
That is a thing of beauty!
I am speechless and have tears in my eyes, never having been so moved by the sight of a cake.
Oooh, looks amazing!
I have been CRAVING peanut butter and was thinking of making peanut butter cookies. That has all changed. Can’t wait to make this cake. yum! Thanks Deb!
Happy Birthday Alex! I think you two are made for each other and both very lucky.
I love the inclusion of the cream cheese. What a wonderful texture this cake must have! My sister, also a chocolate and peanut butter fiend, requested a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cake for her birthday. Though I’m not much of a baker by comparison, I was proud to present her with my take on the theme. The oversized peanut butter cup on top was the crowning jewel.
Though, my peanut butter filling was too peanut buttery. It didn’t have the same taste as the Reese’s filling. Do you have any idea how to reverse engineer that glorious Reese’s flavor? In addition to cakes, my depression-induced homemade McFlurries will thank you :-)
IT’s official I want to marry you!! I love PB and chocolate and this dessert sounds sooooooooooo good! I wish I had a big old slice right now to help get me through the week!
wow….looks dilicious!
what are your thoughts on switching the peanut butter for nutella?
Oh yum. I made a cake very similar to this last month. I made a chocolate cake and used a peanut butter frosting from the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). I also poured a ganache on top and then smothered the sides with crushed Reeses cups. I will have to try it with this cream cheese PB frosting!
This looks really decadent. I have a picky boyfriend that only eats chocolate buttercream and yellow cake. Each year I have to try a new recipe. Each year it isn’t quite perfect. But maybe I could convince him that he should try the peanut butter and chocolate cake.
Haha Kaitlin I thought of that one too. I love nutella… but I fear in this cake it might overpower the chocolate instead of complement it like the PB would. or the hazelnut would get lost?
and well i this kind of cake i think BOTH chocolate and the pb should be spotlighted..YUM!!!!
I have been a dedicated (obsessed) Smitten Kitchen lurker for ever and ever and now I am de-lurking only to tell you that my absolute favorite growing up snack was a piece of bread topped with cream cheese covered in peanut butter then broiled in a toaster oven. And sometimes topped with some chocolate chips. Which I have entirely forgotten, and which you now bring me in cake form. Words cannot express my thanks. And also all those people who need an *excuse* to make a cake, especially this cake, oh my, how sad for them!
two ways I know to measure peanut butter:
one- line the measuring cup with plastic wrap, fill, then just pull up the plastic wrap and wipe the peanut butter off the plastic wrap.
two- get an adjustable measuring cup. it has a plastic sleeve around a cup, you lift up the plastic sleeve to the desired measurement, fill up the cup created by the sleeve, then push up on the cup, scrapes the sleeve clean as it empties. You can find them by searching “adjustable measuring cup” on amazon, I got mine from pampered chef.
i need to make this immediately. gorgeous!
This cake is for me! I am a peanut butter – chocolate LOVER! One of my favourite things to do, simply yet delicious, is melt peanut butter and chocolate chips together and then drizzle that over vanilla ice cream. Yummy! I can’t wait for an occasion to make this cake.
this cake looks absolutely amazing, and it feels like you read my mind – my husband’s birthday is coming up and he LOVES peanut butter, so i was looking around for a peanut butter/chocolate cake recipe when you posted this. thanks!
Scott — You know what I think the secret to the awesomeness that is Reeses peanut butter cup filling? Salt. Quite a bit of it. If you try to isolate the taste–and I know this is hard what with the must have it right this very second temptation of one–you’ll find that its surprisingly salty, and the chocolate is, like most candy bar chocolate, surprisingly sweet. The sweet plays off the salty and it’s like crack (um, bad analogy, I know) to those of us who love them.
Kaitlin — As for nutella, of course the caveat is that I haven’t tried this and if you’re so inclined, who knows, it may work. That said, my instincts are saying no. Nutella and peanut butter are wildly different substances. Nutella is almost all sugar and syrup, peanut butter is ground nuts with oil. They’re not a natural swap in recipes. However, if it is the chocolate-hazelnut taste you’re going for, you might want to pick up Hazelnut Butter. I know Whole Foods used to make some but I haven’t checked in eons. It’s consistency is slightly different than that of peanut butter, but it’s a fairly close match. They also made Almond Butter back in the day, and I think they still do.
When I saw the first picture I physically gagged..and quickly minimized the screen.
Not because it wasnt beautiful (b/c it is) but because Ive been forced into a chocolate peanut butter craze by my bf.
I made the double chocolate peanut butter ice cream from thekitchn.com earlier today and had a bowl about an hour ago. Im a huge fan of chocolate but not so big on peanut butter.
My boyfriend (who rarely cooks or makes requests) saw the kitchn page picture, bookmarked it, and started looking up ice cream machines on ebay the same night. This was Thursday evening and by Saturday morning we had a new Cuisinart machine (which we got fr. Craigslist for $25!!)
God forbids he sees this recipe. I’ll have to bake this cake and theres no way I can stomach more choc.+ PB for at least a few months.
So, thanks to that gorgeous photo, I’ll have to sneak to read your blog for the next week or so..
Bah!
I live vicariously through your pictures. It looks so delicious I could eat the picture lol.
This will be added to my recipe collection, we have a birthday coming up as well, perhaps this will be the cake that is prepared.
Aaaaaargh – I saw this recipe this morning, well before the crack of sparrow fart and decided that I had all the ingredients and NEEDED to make this cake… OH suggested that it isn’t really diet food, but it is brown and brown has no calories so I have categorically ignored him, invited a great friend around and we’ve made it, frosted it and eaten our first slices… NOW I’M GOING TO HAVE TO EAT MORE!!! My tastebuds thank you, my cravings thank you (my thighs have put a contract out on you…. LOL)
What a fantastic recipe! Thank you so much for sharing. Pure heaven in a slice.
Now I’ve just read the poached eggs post and NEEEEEED to make some of those too@*&%$
Ok, this is going to be my ace-in-the-hole if my husband ever tries to leave me! Or I guess if he’s really good I’ll make it for his birthday if I can wait that long. Thanks so much for the post and the amazing pictures.
That cake is a work of art! I’ve got to get my hands on that book.
You are a goddess. That looks delicious though I think I would die after just one slice. The thought of eating a lot of PB at once makes me queasy even though I love it. =)
Re the peanut butter and cream cheese combo, I used to make peanut butter and cream cheese sandwiches all the time. I have no idea who introduced me to them, but it is a great fix. And then there is my preferred hangover sandwich, which is peanut butter, mayo, sliced tomato, and generous sprinklings of salt and pepper. Another classic!
This looks delish. I bought the book after seeing the Petit Four cake on your site (and made the cake!), and I love it. I have only used the lemon curd recipe from it so far, but can’t wait until a special occasion to get stuck in.
omg. Just OMG!! I’m sitting in a puddle of drool!
It took me a while to scroll to the bottom of your gaggle of comments but, my damn, that looks good.
It’s a little after 9am and I’m thinking cake might be the perfect breakfast of champions.
I’m glancing at the photo of that chocolate peanut butter glaze dripping down the side of the cake… and I’m having a difficult time controlling myself. And I’ve not even had breakfast yeat!!
This looks like a sure winner for DH’s birthday!
For me, a devout peanut butter addict, this is exquisite. But a question: what to do about a child with peanut butter allergies? Any substitutes you might recommend?
I never thought of that thing existed also. Thanks for the share. btw, great cake!
I mentioned a few comments up that you might try this cake instead with hazelnut or almond butter. But honestly? I mean, if you’ve got a kid or a kid in the room that is allergic to peanut butter, there have just got to be better cakes to serve than this, given how crazed people are these days about peanut allergies. I link to a whole bunch of them at the top of this post.
It’s nice to know that somebody besides me makes their own birthday cakes! There’s a special caramel icing that I’ve had on mine since I was a little girl. It’s a little labor intensive, and can’t be gotten commercially, so doing it m’self is the only way!
My 11 year old ALEX just walked by the computer and boldly demanded “Make me that cake!”.
My two loves!
Deb, you have convinced me to get that book. and i will. do you know how much batter that recipe will make? the previous recipes you posted from the book stated the amount of batter in cups. it helps me to figure out how much to put in each pan. i’m challenged like that. thanks!
it looks really yummy. and i’ve been toying with peanut butter/chocolate combo but haven’t had the guts to try it.
Actually, yes! Mine made about 8 cups of batter, which I know because I combined it in a large pyrex measuring cup. I put about 2 2/3 cups of batter in each pan (and they were still uneven, grr, but oh well).
This looks delicious!
I am not that experienced with cakes from scratch, but have baked a few, and vinegar is new to me as a cake batter ingredient. Do you know anything about the food science behind this; what does vinegar do for a cake? Just curious…
Holy crap. OMG. I have got to think up an excuse to make this beauty. The peanut butter/ chocolate combination is one of the only ones that I can’t resist. You can imagine how many Reese’s cups have been consumed by me (especially the eggs at Easter). So… Happy It’s A Rainy Wednesday Day So We Need A Cake Day? Sounds good to me.
MMC — Nicole at Baking Bites has a pretty good explanation here.
This is just the nicest post since your wedding cake! I just love it/enjoy it when you post sweet rather than savory. WOWOWOWOWOW – this cake is just amazing! I bet it was yummy!
I was set on making a plain old chocolate cake with white chocolate icing for my birthday which was yesterday.. Until i read your post.. within a second of looking at that first picture i was sold and choose to make this instead, thank goodness i did cause this cake was orgasmic good.
This was my first attempt at making a layer cake.. so it didnt quite turn out as pretty looking as yours did, i guess that takes practice and then right tools. I’m looking forward to trying more of the recipes in your blog.
Wow! This looks delicious! I wish a had a piece right now.
Tried commenting to tell you how scrummy this looked, but for some reason my post wont show up. Hope this one gets through!
I have always shied away from making layer cakes — the last one i made was a coconut cake sometime in 2000 — but I am totally reinspired.
Um, YUM. I am obsessed with peanut butter (and chocolate obviously) and this is soo pretty. Not that it would stay very pretty once I got my hands on it!!!
WANT. NOW.
thanks deb. now to think of a reason to make this cake…
do you think this cake is something kids would love or adults?
Oh. My. GAWD.
My birthday is in November, in case you were looking for another occasion to make this cake… (please?!) :)
Deb ~
Once again I want to say I can’t believe how much your photos bring out the “get in the kitchen NOW!” I made the blueberry pancakes they turned out PERFECT!- DELICIOUS – LIGHT AND FLUFFY! The funny thing was, was that my husband didn’t care for them – he likes the dense ones I’ve been making all these years- HA – I can’t believe it!
I am making two of your PB cakes for two events this weekend. I liked the idea of peanut brittle and made two batches last night. Believe it or not I’ve had the britlle ingredients in my cupboard for WELL over five years now waiting for a Christmas when I’m motivated enough to make it. I thought the peanuts would be stale and nasty, but the brittle is delightful – I just have to keep the humidity down and stop snacking on it so there’s enough fot the cakes.
Thanks Again Deb!
~ Mary
I made this cake last night, and it is so good…and so rich. I did play around with it though. I made two 9 inch layers. Then I cut each one of those so that I had four thinner layers. I made a little more icing by just throwing a little more of everything into the mixing bowl. I figured since I had four layers I’d need more icing, but I don’t know if I would’ve actually needed more. Anyway…I decided to salt the icing after tasting it and thinking “What does this need?”. I must say it was even better than it was originally. In reference to Scott and the Reese’s cup discussion…the salt really makes the cake, in my opinion, much more interesting. There’s no doubt about it, the cake is ridiculously sweet with or without the salt, but it helps cut the sweetness somewhat. It tasted more like a Reese’s cup. Also, I didn’t use the peanut brittle, and I left out the corn syrup in the ganache too. Overall a fabulous cake!
I am sooo in love with this cake! and i havent even made it!
I stayed up late last night to make this after my little one and hubby went down for bed. It came out beautifully. This is my new favorite cake. I cut two slices for after dinner and took the rest to the office with me(I can’t have so much cake in the house, I will gain 5lbs). My Cake stand was clean by 10:30 am. This cake was loved by everyone. I followed your diections and everything was just right. I even had the perfect amount of icing for the 3 layers (I was worried). Also, the cake batter was more runny than I thought it should be, but the cake baked up perfectly. Thank you for another amazing recipie.
Oh, my this looks wonderful! I have to try it. I could say its for someone’s birthday, but i think i will just make it to look and eat! I can’t wait until this weekend to try it out! Thanks so much for tempting me! You take such wonderful pictures. Thanks!
I’m new to your kitchen and oh boy – new addiction alert! I’ve lost 40 pounds in the past year so most of what you have here is just food porn to me – and I have no problem with that. None – At. All.
Wow!
Holy Canoli, that looks so rich and delicious! I’ll have to mark this one as one our our friends LOVES choc/pb combo.
Okay, already a huge flurry of comments, but had to add in my 2 cents. I made this last night for the one year anniversary of our weekly Craft Night – there wasn’t a crumb left at the end of the night!
I do have to warn others, though – just because you’re running late and started making the cake at the last minute does not mean it’s ok to put together and serve before giving it time in the fridge. The cake arrived to the event looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa – but all was forgiven once everyone had a bite of it!
If I don’t get cocoa powder then can I use normal dark chocolate, melt it and use it ?
i made this earlier in the week just because i had the time. it was a phenomenal success in the tasting department, although it leaned a bit (one of the cake layers didn’t raise evenly). i brought it to work and it was declared a success and polished off rather quickly. i loved that the taste was not too heavy on the peanut-butter; it was rich, but not to the point where i couldn’t finish my slice :)
Please open a bakery so I can buy this cake!
Yummity yum.
First, I’ve already ordered the cookbook.
Second, I’ve got one of these chilling in the fridge right now. It looks just wonderful. I have some thoughts, though. I only have 9-inch cake pans, so I ran with them, and it is still a sky-high cake. Also, I thought some of the methods were unusual. The cake directions have you mix the oil and sour cream in, first. I tried, but my inner-anti-over-beating bell was screaming, so I ended up combining water through beaten eggs and adding all at once, so that I could minimize the stirring. Cake ended up delicate and tasty. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t, following the directions, but if you are concerned, or just don’t want to add everything bit by bit, I think you could do a standard-issue dry ingredient/wet ingredient mixing job and still get a great result.
Then, when making the PB frosting, I though it would be weird and deflating to add the PB at the end, after you’ve mixed for 3-4 minutes to be fluffy. So I added it to the cream cheese and butter before the sugar. Love the texture. Again, I don’t know if it is an improvement; it is just that the directions as written sort of went against my Scooby sense in the kitchen.
But this cake is gorgeous. Can’t imagine people not thinking it rocks (and I’m decidedly not a choc/PB person).
Thank you!
I love the flavours of this cake, but it really is the ugliest cake I have ever made. It just fell apart, even after I froze the layers — one was in the freezer for over an hour and it still wouldn’t stay together. The cake literally fell apart as I was frosting it. I haven’t glazed it yet or tried to cut into it — but I have serious reservations that one can even cut a piece from this absolute disaster of a cake. I don’t know what I did wrong, but this cake is beyond soft. It can’t even bear the weight of the layers — there’s severe subsidence on one side. I’m beyond frustrated — I love the combo of flavours and wanted nothing more than this to work. Suggestions for the next time (if there is one) would be appreciated.
oh this looks absolutely fantastic. i love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter! i made a chocolate peanut butter pie a few weeks ago and then peanut butter nutella brownies last night. this recipe is definitely going to make it’s way to my kitchen ASAP :)
For anyone that is interested in making this cake and is alergic to Peanuts, try…
http://www.peabutter.ca/
My kids love in PB&J sandwiches, cookies. Come in Handy for peanut free school lunches.
enjoy,
Robin
Your recipe was on digg! http://digg.com/food_drink/Chocolate_Peanut_Butter_Cake_2
OMG Dude that is the coolest looking cake I think I have ever seen! I must make one.
JT
OMG you just made my day, i cant wait to try it, my b-day coming up soon, i know what kind of cake i want this time, mmmmmmmmmm
Oh my god, this looks awesome. My roommate’s birthday is Sunday and this will be perfect. Thanks!
Wow, that looks amazing. I love chocolate and peanut butter. I posted a recipe for a peanut butter pound cake that is to die for.
i’m in the process of making this cake (the layers are cooling and the PB frosting is done) and i think i over-mixed the frosting, as it went from smooth to a sort of… like the consistency of cream when you over-beat it. so, just a warning: don’t overmix the frosting!
This looks great, and I bet it would be even better if you added Kahlua to the frosting!
that cake looks so good
Ah curse you, now I have to start running again and all kinds of exercises to off-set this cake ;)
Thank you very much for the recipe!!
This cake looks amazing. I’ve made brownies with a layer of cream cheese-peanut butter on top, so I’m hoping that this will be similar, except maybe a thousand times better.
Hey there. My boyfriend found this recipe via digg–and he said I should make it. Since he rarely ever shows interest in the recipes I make, I decided to make it. I’m glad to have found your blog, though. I had ideas of making a recipe blog and about a year ago, filled a MySpace blog once a week with recipes and photos. I kind of forgot about it after awhile and haven’t been keeping it up. I wish I could do something as nice as this!
On another note, I only had two cake pans, so I made the last in a smaller copper stewpot (just prepared the bottom the same way). Seems to have turned out fine, but the cake is tiered in a weird way. The cake’s in the fridge now, but I took some pics of what mine looks like, just on the off-chance you’re interested. Links are below…long, but should work. I did want to note that it seemed like there was a whole, whole lot of the ganache. I ended up having enough to give the cake a whole layer over the frosting…mostly because I hate to waste. I was curious if your recipe gave you extra. Anyway, off now, but I will be checking out your blog a lot more later. Thanks for the recipes.
http://a75.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/109/l_e7b5c111dda757c0847eb83018a113ba.jpg
http://a614.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/57/l_1d27f64a9025b741b79dcfcc70f4f56d.jpg
Oh. My. God. How did I miss this one? I looked at your site the other day, said “ew, tomatoes” & scurried away…but in my haste I missed the most amazing cake I’ve ever seen! That will teach me to avoid vegetables…
This was the FIRST cake I’ve ever made. It turned out delicious! It looks AWFUL though, haha. It’s falling apart and looks like an earthquake hit it. The cake is super moist and fluffy and delicious though.
The only thing I’m happy with is that I added sad to the icing and it’s a little odd now. A TINY amount of salt made it better I think but just a hair more made it a little too salty. Very very fine line. I’m quite happy with it for my first cake though! Super yummy, super rich. Also, this cake is MUCH LARGER than I expected! It’s quite huge! haha
OMG, this cake was to die for!! I made a lighter version and it came out fantastic. It wasn’t as pretty as yours, but I’m sure it tasted just as good!
http://snipurl.com/3h649 – This cake is awesome, but the 5 cups of sugar are waaayy to much in my opinion. The peanut creme was a lot to sweet.
I made this and it was AMAZING! The whole cake was finished within the hour… which is saying something because it is RICH. It was very time consuming (maybe because I’m such a perfectionist…), but actually quite simple. I -strongly- recommend this recipe. I already have requests to make it again.
Although my cake looked nothing like yours, I have to say that I believe it’s the best cake I’ve ever made! In my life! Wow! I compensated for my 9″ pans by 1 1/2 times the cake recipe. Oh my! It was a monster! I gave so much of it away and I ate so much of it. I’d be at work and tell my friends (who I’d taken cake to) “I can’t wait to get home and get into that cake!”
By the way Deb, I didn’t even own cake pans until you put up the wedding cake. Everything I’d ever made went into a 9X13 pan. Thanks for getting me to do a bit more exploring.
http://www.myspace/aliciad54 for a picture
Oh good heavens! That looks so good. My mouth is seriously watering. I wish I could be like Jean-Luc Picard and say, “Computer, chocolate peanut butter cake,” and it would be so.
Do you need a new best friend?!? Huh?!? Chocolate never looked so good with peanut butter!
Salivating……… wanna move in with me?
“Intense” isn’t quite the right word. I couldn’t get past four forkfuls. Yet another keeper.
Someone…..help me…..I’ve fallen and can’t get up.
I made this cake after reading all the above wonderful reviews and the cake tasted awesome.Absolutely yummy!!!
One complaint – who lists amounts of chocolate chips in ounces?? I don’t have an analytical balance in my kitchen.
Other than that the cake as pictured does look incredible. I’m making it tonight and hopefully it ends up tasting as good.
Sorry, that ounces thing just really annoyed me, I didn’t notice it until I was in the middle of the recipe. (BTW 1 ounce of chips turns out to equal 1/6 of a cup so you need 1 1/3 cups for this recipe)
But Stephen, you don’t want chocolate chips for this recipe. Chips contain less fat and added lecithin to keep them from melting into goo in your cookies. Chocolate in bar form melts much more smoothly, which is what you want for ganache.
This cake made an ENORMOUS hit at the 3-yr-old birthday party (adults snatching half eaten plates from the hands of distracted children, etc.). If it leads to a proposal, I’ll make it for the wedding too.
You rock.
all I can say – OH MY!!!!!! This one is a must. PB and Chocolate. What else on earth is any better. ……….. NOTHING!!!!!!
AMAZING. I had two grown men watching over my shoulder in anticipation of getting a bite. Because of that, I skipped putting the cakes in the freezer, but after piecing them back together because they were so soft and hard to handle, I can see where that would REALLY help!
WOW! This looks sooooo wonderful. YUM. I just discovered your blog and you are making me very hungry. Beautiful photos. I bet you have so much fun with this. I can’t believe you do all this in a tiny kitchen. You go girl!
Wow yummy looking cake. Can’t wait to try it.
If anyone would like to see our experiences with making this, we have photos, a blog post, a video and more available here at foodproof.com: http://foodproof.com/blogs/view/post/jessica-does-smitten-kitchen-not-in-223
Adding to the 186 comments about how wonderful this cake is… I just threw a big birthday bash for my 24th where this cake was the center of attention… not me! It was themed “all chocolate… all the time” and so I also used your truffle recipe and the Dulce de Leche cheesecake recipe. Just wanted to let you know that the party should have been named “all smitten kitchen…. all the time”. Thanks for the amazing recipes! Keep um coming!
I made this for my sister’s 40th birthday party last night and it was a big hit!!! I agree with someone else who skipped the freezing of the cakes–skipping that step didn’t work so well for me, either. But only because the cake is so moist and delicate and not at all like a commercial sponge. All of my sisters are bakers and all agreed that the cake was delicious. If you are hesitant because you think that peanut butter flavor can be too much, this is the right cake because the peanut butter flavor was tempered with the cream cheese and was just awesome. I am going to use each of the recipes separately at times, they were so good. Excellent recipe. Thanks a bunch!
Just thought I’d let you know that today I made a banana cake and used that peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter glaze.
It was an awesome combination, thanks for the inspiration!
To #179 — the recipe probably says ounces for the chocolate glaze because baking chocolate ( i.e. Bakers or Nestle Chocolatier or some of the more expensive brands like Scharffenberger ) is sold in ounces. 1 square = 1 oz. Of course, the chocolate chips will work also. But often recipes call for a higher quality chocolate than chocolate chips.
My 20 year old son is a chocolate peanut butter lover and last week presented me with a printout of this recipe. I have three teenage boys and they all loved this cake. My first attempt was a bit sloppy since I didn’t have three identical cake pans or parchment paper, but yesterday I went shopping to get all the necessary tools (who knew what an offset spatula was?) Anyway, my second attempt which I assembled on a lovely cake stand was an absolute work of art. This is undoubtedly one of the best cakes I’ve ever tasted, bar none. It will be my offering at any future gathering where I happen to be invited. Thanks for this recipe! (Next time I will use the higher grade chocolate for the glaze, but honestly, the glaze tasted yummy with just the nestles chocolate chips.)
Ok now that i have seen this amazing peanut butter cake i am going to buy all the ingredients and then buy FITNESS magazine and use every darn workout in that awesome magazine to make your awesome cake. wow.
My housemates made this cake on the weekend, we had a few structural issues and it fell apart but we learned a few lessons! I took the photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bloodycape/sets/72157606959124180/
damn that cake was good though! It’s fed over 15 people so far and there’s still some left!
I just thought I’d mention I AM having a party specifically to eat this cake! Of course, it’s also nice to have friends get together… but I’ve been trying to find an excuse to make this cake since it posted.
The first cake I ever made in my life, and it worked! I only had quite large cakepans so it was just a 2 layer cake, but amazing! I made it at work and all the stoners now love me hehe.
I forgot to get back to you on my results.
YUM! It was stunning with the large pieces of peanut brittle on the top.
The cake by itself was something else – I could’ve just eaten that it was so delicious! Since I was going to two events and traveling a good bit of the way (7 hour drive) I made a double batch and baked it in 9×13 pans and froze them for the trip. When I got to my destination I cut them in half and made two 9×6 cakes. I also added an extra cup of peanut butter to the cream cheese frosting.
At the first dinner party we ate the cake RIGHT AWAY! No one wanted to be too full to eat cake after a big meal and alcohol.
THANK YOU Deb for a STELLAR recipe!
Deb, I thought you were exaggerating when you said to serve it in the thinnest slices possible. I mean, we’re not dessert lightweights around here. But you were right. I’m still in a blissful state of sugar shock.
GREAT recipe — I made it for my friend’s birthday. Had some issues getting it to rise (I’m not the world’s best cake baker) but it still came out nicely. I see what you mean about freezing the layers — maybe I’ll freeze ’em for a bit longer next time. I was a little worried that there might end up being TOO much peanut butter but I was totally wrong — the PB and chocolate complemented each other PERFECTLY. This TOTALLY goes in the “keep” recipe pile. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!!!
I made this cake for my brother’s birthday in August. It was a huge hit. Really delicious and rich. My only comment is that I used Peter Pan peanut butter for the frosting and glaze and found that it was so sweet and un-peanutty that I wished I had tried another brand. Any suggestions???
Thanks for sharing this recipe! The cake’s awesome and it’s all explained and pictures are great,
Wow- this cake is a show-stopper!! As Deb promised, it is easy to make and comes out looking oh so professional. Like others have said, it is VERY rich, which is why it serves many more people than it seems. I added at least a cup less powdered sugar than the recipe called for and added salt to the peanut butter frosting. I also used only 2 layers. One sugesstion- make sure to serve this at a cool temperature, as the heat can make it sort of greasy tasting. YUM!
My word…this is quite possibly the best cake I’ve ever made. Thank you! I’m so glad I read this post thoroughly as the cake really benefits from being in the freezer for a bit. I also put in a cup less of icing sugar and it was perfect (for us). The flavours all blended so well together…who knew that cream cheese and peanut butter would be such good friends?!! Definitely a foodgasm moment!
Gorgeous !!! Im a Tv Director for a Food Channel. I was surfing about for some good looking food, etc. Stumbled upon yours.
Its Beautiful. lol @ Shawna for licking her monitor :):)
Raif
I made this for the Boy’s birthday over the weekend, since he is a big time devotee of peanut butter. Honestly, the first slice was a little much, but I think it’s actually gotten better as it’s been sitting in the fridge since Saturday night. If I were going to make it again – wait, when I make it again – I think I’ll do it a day or so ahead. It seems moister now, and cream cheese/ganache toppings hold up well anyway.
And the peanut butter frosting? My god. Mmmmm. There’s some left in a tupperware in there and it’s taking a lot of willpower to not go eat it with a spoon. What? It’s got protein! and calcium!
Omigod… that is one sexy cake! If it wasn’t for the three huge bags of peanutbutter M&Ms that my husband just brought back from the States, I’d be diving into the kitchen to bake this!!
This looks divine! Thanks for sharing!!!!!
Ok, just a HUGE thank you! for this recipe! I just made it for Father’s Day here in New Zealand and it was heaven. My husband loved every bite. It’s a keeper!
YUM! I have this cookbook too and made the chocolate-peanut butter cake recently (who could resist!) I am curious though–how did you get the peanut butter frosting looking so pretty! My cake was super crumbly and I could barely ice it without pulling off big chunks. It sure tasted delicious, but it wasn’t exactly winning any beauty pageants!
Oooops, haha, I should read more carefully! I assumed the recipe was just the recipe from the book that I followed, but I now see your note about freezing the cakes! I will definitely try that next time! :) (And try to read more carefully!)
This is the best cake ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. I cannot say it enough. EVER!!!!! That I have ever had. EVER. (I used Jif. LOL)
I reviewed it on my blog. Deb, thank you so much. I love making the things you make. :)
http://marineswife.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/cake/
I just made this for a friend’s birthday (I halved it, and used three little cake pans) and it turned out AWESOME. The best cake I’ve ever made. Thanks, Deb!
BRAVO! Made jumbo muffins and half the icing. Left off the glaze but promise to make it when I make the layered cake!
I just made this cake this afternoon. I think it’s the richest thing I’ve ever made (and I bake a lot of cakes, having gone thru a professional pastry chef course). A little too rich for me, but my husband loves it.
I’ve cut about 10 slices of it (to give to friends) and it’s half gone. Next time I’d halve the glaze recipe: I made 8″ layers and that amount of glaze covered the entire cake, with spillage. And yes, the cakes were very soft. I didn’t freeze them but kept them together with careful handling and judicious use of cake circles. Cut this cake with a knife run under hot water and wipe the knife with a cloth between cuts.
this looks amazing! Just looking at your pic on the screen makes me want a tall glass of cold milk…and I’m lactose intolerant! LOL Thanks for sharing the recipe. It’s definitely going in my ‘make soon’ pile!
So could I get away with making this in TWO 9″ pans instead of three? I’m not all that interested in buying a third cake pan, but I’m worried that the cakes are going to be even softer with more batter in each pan. Pour off extra batter into cupcakes? Thoughts?
I saw you this morning on the martha show and they showed the peanut butter cake.
I had to go to your web site just to fine the recipe to print out so I could make it.
I love PB and chocolate it’s a true blessing thank you for sharing God bless you.
Also saw you on the Martha Show today & HAD to see this recipe & your website! Amazing! Bookmarked & will be back :-]
Just made this cake for my sister’s birthday. OMG. The entire room was silent. It was so rich people could not finish their slices, HOWEVER, everyone requested a plate to take the rest home to eat later on!!
Everyone said it was the best cake they have ever had. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe and beautiful photos.
I wish I had a piece of this right now! It looks incredible!
Deb,
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My best friend and I are big fans of your blog – I actually found it about 2 years ago through your friend Jocelyn’s blog. My best friend made this for my birthday 2 weeks ago and it is AMAZING. I had no idea that cream cheese and peanut butter could make such a perfect combination. Your recipe made this the most memorable cake in awhile. I haven’t enjoyed a birthday cake this much since a little bakery in Banksville, NY used to make the most wonderful Grand Marnier cake.
I made the cake. And it looked nowhere as nice as yours, and I really do mean nowhere. But it was absolutely tasty! I have documented the experience here..
http://howtosavethekosmos.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/i-tried-to-make-this-beautiful-cake/
This cake looks amazing. I’m going to ask my wife to make it for my upcoming birthday. Thanks for sharing.
I’m halfway through my second making of this magnificent cake. The first time I made it my teenage boys said it was the best cake they had ever had in their life. I’m making this one for a surprise for a friend’s birthday, but I’ve already told her husband that I will have to take some of it homw with me after I give it to her or my kids will never forgive me.
My only real problem when I made this cake was getting the glaze to look as pretty as your pictures. Well, you know, not all over the cake plate anyway. I poured about half of it on and it looked just gorgeous, but I couldn’t resist trying to put more and more on… Did I just pour it when it was too warm? Should I have put it in the refrigerator sooner? (I’m sorry if this was mentioned in the comments already… I tried to look through most of them.)
The best trick to get the ganache to cling but not run too much is to chill the frosted cake before you use it. Cold is your best friend when assembling cakes. Because the peanut butter icing will be cold, it will dribble down more slowly. Just only pour a tablespoon or two at a time–you can always add more if it doesn’t drip down enough.
Oh. My. God.
I made this cake this morning, and we just had it for dessert after dinner. Quote from my 3rd grader, who is a good eater: “I can’t think of a way to make this cake any better.”
And my kindergartner, who is quite a fussy diner, was motivated to eat his BBQ chicken, blue cheese potato salad and steamed green beans by the prospect of devouring a slab of this unbelievable cake.
Finally, my wife, for whom I made the cake, and who is a chocolate and peanut butter-a-holic, was moaning at the dinner table in ecstasy.
My entire family thanks you!
I made this cake this afternoon to take to a church function this evening! It was such a hit! Everyone wanted a piece! I didn’t put the peanut butter into the chocolate glaze, I was afraid it would over-power the chocolate. I used Reese’s peanut butter chips on top of the glaze. It was gorgeous and I can’t wait to make it again! I loved all the helpful hints you put throughout the recipe, very helpful. Thank you Deb for the fantastic recipe! Have you ever made Paula Deen’s Chocolate Creme de menthe cake? You MUST try it! Google that recipe – you’ll thank me!
I just made this cake… and learned a few lessons. I only mangled one of the three layers taking it out of the pan (running a knife around the pan before inverting it onto the cooling rack really helps). My only other problem was frosting the thing. Apparently I need more practice because my “crumb coating” took a lot more icing than I anticipated. I think I read somewhere that you can coat a small amount melted butter onto the sides of a cake and it will help prevent the crumbling when frosting. Putting the cake in the freezer before pouring the ganache really helps! I poured the entire lot of ganache onto the top of the cake, and it didn’t even flow over the sides without some spreading on my part. In the end though, the cake tastes great!
I wanted to make this cake as soon as I saw it posted. I finally got the chance this weekend and it turned out beautifully. Putting the cake in the fridge to firm up, as the directions say, is really a must. The frosting and the glaze turned out beautifully with the cooling time. I’m not one to be daunted by too much chocolate, but as Deb says, this cake is really rich. I served the cake with some vanilla bean ice cream, that was the perfect complement to cut through the sweetness. I enjoyed every bite.
I saw this cake on Martha’s show Monday, September15. My son and daughter loves reeses cups, so I decided to try it for a reunion we were to attend on Saturday. Needless to say it was a great hit. Thanks for the recipe.
This cake made absolutely delicious cupcakes – just half the recipe for all three components and it will make about 18-20 cupcakes. I made the cake as well (obsessed much?!) a week before, and anyone who had a bite agreed it was the most awesome cake in the universe. Once you go triple layer, you’ll never go back!
I made this cake last week and everyone is still asking for more
Just wanted to share that I finally had an occasion to make this cake and everyone fell apart over how good it was. Thanks for sharing it and making me a hero for a day!
I’ve made this cake three times now, and it’s an absolute hit! It looks so much more complicated than it really is. Last week I made cupcakes instead of the three-layer cake. Worked like a charm.
OMG….My birthday is this weekend and I sent this to my best friend. SHE BETTER BE MAKING IT FOR ME!
Deb,
I made this cake for my husband as well and brought the rest into work. Everyone loved it and it was gone by the end of the day. As I was leaving, one co-worker stopped me and scrapped off the very last bit of cake and frosting and shoved it into her mouth! It’s been almost two months and my co-workers are still talking about the cake!
Deb,
I saw you on the Martha Stewart show and decided to take a look at your website. I found this cake and made it today for my husband’s birthday. Your helpful hints were very “helpful” and the cake was just amazing!! A tall glass of milk is a must : )
Thanks for the recipe!! It was a hit with my family!!!
Hey Guys! I am Asimah from Pakistan. I made this cake yesterday and like it says: it was succulent but way too heavy. And do, I did serve a glass of milk with it. But I had slight problem with the peanut butter filling. My peanut butter mixture was not smooth. It has granules of sugar and when you ate it, it make the ‘krunch krunch’ sound of sugar in your mouth. That was the only flaw. I have uploaded a pic of the cake too. If anyone could help, I’d be obliged.
http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1385388&l=9cb44&id=750804127
xoxo
I missed the show but heard all about it! This cake looks amazing and I just bookmarked it since we have a birthday coming up next month and I was already wondering what to make. It’s just so beautiful! {gasp!}
PS -I’ve looked but can’t seem to find a blog entry about the show. I’d love to know if there was one to see what you said about your experience!
I had my mom make me this for my birthday- it was a complete hit! Very delicious!
Thanks for posting such a beautifully delicious cake. Made it for my parents 30th anniversary party. It was inhaled within seconds. Made many referrals to your blog. Thank you thank you thank you.
I just made this cake for a friends birthday and it is insane, in a good way!!! if you love chocolate cake and peanut butter, make this cake! It will be the tastiest cake you’ve ever made. I heart you smitten kitchen!
I will try your recipe, thanks.
I just made this cake for my crazy-for-peanut-butter boyfriend, and it did not disappoint. I mean, WOW. Guest comments ranged from “wow, where did you buy this?” to “this cake is OUTRAGEOUS.” And it was.
Instead of peanut brittle, I chopped up some mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s and sprinkled them on top of the cake for added oomph. HIGHLY recommended. Click on my name to see pictures on Flickr.
Heaven is that peanut butter-cream cheese frosting. Mercy!
Just made this cake for a baby shower…was described as “orgasm on a plate!”
bangin’ recipe, turned out just like the pics and tasted so good. thanks for the tips on the crumb layer and chilling instructions, made the process go smooth.
made this cake over the weekend for my husband’s birthday. it was a huge hit! thank you so much! so yummy.
I want to make this cake for my husband’s surprise birthday this weekend. Do you think it would be ok to make it, including frosting it, and freeze it? Then I could make it several nights in advance, when he’s out, since I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to get him out of the house on Saturday.
Found you for the first time two days ago, followed a link for the squash and onion gallette. I saw the cake and new I had to make it. Everyone who has tried it has given it AWESOME reviews. My SO told me it was “THE BEST CAKE HE HAS EVER HAD!”
Not only is it an amazing cake, but it is straight forward, easy to make, and forgiving. Case in point, I only had two 9″ pans so I put the two in the oven with the third still in the bowl. A couple minutes later I realized I had forgotten to add the eggs to the batter. I pulled the pans out of the oven, scraped them back into the bowl, added the eggs then poured the batter back in the pans. Many cakes would have been offended this one took it right in stride!
I read this blog all the time, and when I saw this cake I knew I had to make it sometime soon. I am the unofficial birthday cake baker in my office and finally a self-professed chocolate peanut butter lover’s b-day came up! She is lactose intolerant so I made a peanut butter swiss meringue buttercream for the frosting. The cake was AMAZING. It earned rave reviews, and three others requested the cake for their birthdays as well. I’ve put the Sky High book on my christmas list already! Thanks for the great recipes!
AMAZING!! I made this for my wife’s birthday today and it turned out PERFECTLY!.. This is the first recipe I have tried from this site and I will now be sure to come back for more. Thanks Smitten Kitchen.
Brian (Los Angeles)
Delicious!
Call me crazy for trying to make this even richer, but would this work if i crushed up some peanut buter cups, and added them to the cake batter or mabye? butterfinger? im just trying to add some PB flaor to the make itself and cake a one layer cake
thanks for the help!
I made this for my sister’s birthday yesterday and it was absolutely amazing. Not only was it incredibly tasty, but EASY and pretty cheap.
I’m so impressed and can’t wait to do it again.
I just got this cookbook and that ws the first cake I marked. PB and Chocolate. What could be btter than than???? Glad you said it was easy. And rich. Small slices. Thanks for this one. Yummy!!!
Gee, I think I just gained some weight by merely LOOKING at the photos.
Yum!
Okay, I’ve been drooling over this recipe for the past month or so and have finally found an occasion to make it! However, I’m a bit of a novice – at least equipment wise I guess. I don’t have a double-boiler, do you think it would be okay to just either nuke the chocolate bits for the drizzling, or would it even be all right just using like chocolate sauce (ice cream sauce or similar) mixed with PB be okay?
Very excited nonetheless to do this tomorrow!
Ryane – just put a heatproof bowl with your chocolate/peanut butter/corn syrup mixture over a couple inches of simmering water, and there’s your double-boiler. No equipment needed! (besides a pot, and bowl…)
Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the simmering water though, and be careful of the steam when you lift the bowl up. I always wear an oven mitt, just in case.
seriously the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted…besides my grandma’s.
I am a noob when it comes to baking and cooking, and was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make it. I got over my fear, after looking at the pictures 3 times a day, and finally made it. It was pretty easy and I followed the recipe exact.
will make this again, certainly soon…before the holidays.
Perfecto!
WOW!!! how amazing it is to see that so many people are excited about this cake. It is definitely a family favorite. Sky High represents 6 months of just testing recipes, that does not include all of the other steps taken to produce the book. Nothing makes me happier that hearing people get excited about trying the recipes. The photographer and the food stylist did an amazing job making the cakes look a beautiful as they do in the book. Thanks to all that have given Sky High such wonderful praise, I truly appreciate it.
I just made this for my husband for dinner tonight (as a something special!) He isn’t a huge cake fan, so I always have problems getting him to move beyond my carrot cake, but he can’t wait to try this. Unfortunately, mine is no where near as beautiful as yours because my ganache was too thick and smooshed the cake a bit – I really need a double boiler! But I can’t wait to try it and I’ll see what I can do for the duplicate I’m making for him to take to work tomorrow.
I found your blog through some friends, and I have to say you’re my new favorite! Thanks!
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. I had spent some time looking for a recipe for a cake for my husbands birthday which was on Sunday – its been a few years since I baked a cake, usually I buy one from a store … this worked out perfect, it was a lot easier to do than it looked and my husband said it was the best cake he has ever eaten by a country mile …. here are my pics – thanks again Deb.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43629&l=1895a&id=700643132
WOW!! It’s too bad my husband just “gave up” desserts. :( Maybe I can make it for guests?? Can’t wait to try!
This cake was a huge hit! Mine was a bit unconventional, as I left out the ganache and shaped it into a… well, I… I made a bachelorette party cake (fyi- the pb icing makes for easy molding and a great color!!) In any case, I dream of making this cake in it’s full triple-layer glory. I have recently stumbled upon your website, and am now addicted! Plans to make the chocolate stout cake and the orange chocolate cake (can you say “Halloween Cake”??)….. oh, and also some substantial foods as well, in the near future!
This cake is a MUST DO for me. Since there are only 2 of us at home, I am going to make it and freeze each layer. I will then assemble one at a time when we desire it. The WOW factor of 3 layers will be saved for entertaining and it will be a WOW!!!! The ganache firms up and will stay in the fridge indefinately if tightly wrapped. Just take out as much as needed for the top and warm it to the “dripping” stage. I love to bake and this cake is a winner.
I made this for my birthday last week and it was delicious! Thanks for the tips on frosting the cake, very helpful. Mine was not as pretty as the pictures, but it still tasted great! I put white chocolate reeses PB cups on the top. Thank you for the great recipe!
I made this cake last week and it was a very good cake! I baked this cake for my running buddies and OL (office Ladies). The cake is super moist and even “moistier” the next day. It is super rich – I only made half the frosting knowing that it will be too rich. I frosted thinner on the top but reg on the sides. I wonder if the cake will be okay with half the oil and possibily subing the oil for butter?
Any substitutions for light corn syrup?
I tried this cake over the weekend for a family birthday and it was a huge hit! It was beautiful, and tasted amazing. Thanks for all the tips — they helped make the recipe so much easier!
This was amazing. I can’t wait to make it again and I can’t wait to eat the last remaining sliver today for lunch!!
I made this for my son’s 16th birthday…..IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! I think it was a bigger hit than the birthday iPod!!
I made this cake in the shape of an acoustic guitar for my brother’s birthday . It was perfect, the icing was the right color and my family loved the cake. The actual cake part is very moist and extremely good.
Oh. My. God. This is the absolute best ever peanut butter chocolate cake and quite possibly the best cake ever! I made it for my dad who loves peanut butter so much he eats it by the spoonful. Awesome!
You rock!
This cake is the very best chocolate cake ever, and so so easy…It’s a one-bowl wonder! I’ve always baked Hershey’s Black Magic Cake, but this recipe is even better! I think it might be the addition of the sour cream. However,rather than the 1-1/2 cups of water, I added 1-1/2 cups of cooled, freshly brewed, strong coffee which was leftover from the morning (just like the Black Magic Cake)! This is now my “GO TO” chocolate cake recipe, forever. Try the addition of the coffee instead of water…I think you’ll like it. So glad to discover your website. I LOVE IT!
Hola. iMuy delicioso!
Can someone help me, Deb, maybe? My daughter’s birthday party is tomorrow afternoon & she has requested this cake. Do you recommend making the cake layers & then freezing them & assembling the whole cake with frosting tomorrow? Or making the whole cake today and refrigerating until tomorrow? Advice from anyone would be appreciated. I’m making the cake part right now.
Thanks!!!
Hi Joylynn — You could easily make the whole cake today; it will keep fine assembled and ready to go. Alternately, you could do everything but the ganache, leaving that for the last minute so it looks as fresh and shiny as possible. Or, you could make all three cake layers today, flash freeze them (this cake is so soft, it is much easier to lift and stack the layers frozen), then wrap them well in plastic overnight and frost it in the morning. Hope that helps.
Hi Deb,
Thanks for your help and quick response. I have the first two layers in the oven now and will bake the third after they are cooled since I only have 2 pans. I think I will plan to do all of the frosting in the morning. I’m sure it will be easier with the frozen cakes because I’m kind of a layer cake novice. I’m glad you have lots of tips listed with the recipe–it will help me greatly.
Joylynn
Update: The cake was very moist and extremely delicious. Everyone at the party loved it. I made the cakes yesterday & froze them overnight. That made it very easy to frost them today and I didn’t need a crumb coat for the top. I made the ganache in a glass bowl in the microwave–I put all of the ingredients in the bowl at the same time and used very low heat & checked & stirred it frequently. It worked perfectly.
Thanks, Deb! I will definitely make this again.
I made it for a party, and this cake was delicious and a huge hit. I also froze the cakes overnight and then did the assembly the day of, and it worked out great.
The only thing was, my cake was very soft and liable to collapse on itself when cut. Did I just leave it out too long (3~ hours)?
Hi Lyra — If it was warm where you were, 3 hours might have been too long. The cake is so soft and tender, I find that having it a bit chilled–or at least not out more than an hour in a warm place–helps its flavor and sliceability.
mm perfect for tasty tuesday errrbody
zeph says orgasm in my mouth
and its not even done yet
This cake is chilling in my fridge with the crumb coat on it right now. The glaze is next. My heart is pounding, my palms are sweaty:this cake IS intense.
Hopefully I survive all the cream cheese PB frosting I just ingested.
Thanks for this.
I made your peanut butter icing from memory. I had promised my husband a chocolate cake. I made the chocolate cake from America’s test kitchen TV show and didn’t have any heavy cream for ganache but I had an open package of cream cheese, a stick of butter, confectioner’s sugar and you totally saved the day!
I made this for my roommate’s birthday, and everyone loved it! The cake was so dense and moist — the complete opposite of a box mix (which I despise). Thanks for all of your tips! We cut very small slivers! Also, I was not skeptical of the peanut butter cream cheese combination at all. We make a peanut butter pie like that, and it’s just fabulous!
My boyfriend made this cake for my birthday, and it was awful. I totally lied to him, because he is not very good in the kitchen and he went on and on about all the work he put into this. I didn’t have the heart to be honest. However, I’m afraid he will make this is “signature cake” and start making it for other people who will also be forced to lie. The cake part was really, really thick–almost like a super-thick pudding. Over all it just didn’t taste right. I kept cutting myself a piece and then proclaimed that it’s just too rich to finish. Any ideas on what could have gone wrong? I am considering making it to see if it’s his fault or if it’s just that I (and my mother) don’t like this cake.
I made this cake for my mom’s birthday party and it was an ENORMOUS hit. I’m by no means a super experienced cook, but I had no trouble at all with this recipe. It was fabulous and I’m trying to devise a reason to make it again this weekend.
This cake was slightly time consuming (probably because I made it on a lazy Sunday and had fun with it) but SO WORTH IT. I made it for the boyfriend’s birthday and he was very impressed. If you even remotely like Reese’s cups, this one’s for you.
Note: I freaked out when I realized I had used the last of my white vinegar and hadn’t replaced it yet- no time to go get more! I used apple cider vinegar to replace it and it turned out fine.
Deb-
This cake looks amazing (and the few crumbs that I’ve had tasted it too). I am in the middle of making it, just need to add the chocolate glaze. Your tips about freezing the cake periodically are totally essential! I didn’t freeze the middle layer enough and it was almost disastrous! Other readers should definitely follow your notes.
I’ll let you know how it tastes when I’m done with it. Thanks again for sharing your insights.
Deb –
This cake was great! However, I didn’t realize the cake layers would be so fragile, even with partial freezing (removing them from the plans was – um – interesting), and I would skip the brittle next time. Also, I thought the glaze was a bit too much – can one describe a glaze as “clunky”? Next time I’ll make one more like the ganache glaze topping to your mosaic brownie cheesecake.
And speaking of that cheesecake: It showed up as the “one year ago” recipe the day the peanut butter cake recipe appeared, and now I’ve made both for the same friend’s birthday dinner. Please continue the tradition next year, so I can make her another fabulous dessert!
Whoo-eee, powerful stuff! I was very pleased with the results and this cake was so fun to make. I want to try a cupcake version with an injected peanut butter frosting center next.
But next time it is necessesary to slam-dunk the competition, the whole cake it is!
I found this peanut butter cake recipe and was impressed with your narrative and beautiful photos. I chose it for my 10-year old daughter’s birthday — she’s been saying that peanut butter cups are her favorite candy lately. And all I can say is — WOW!! This may be the best cake I have ever made, and that’s saying a lot, since I pride myself in cake making, and I make a homemade cake for every family member’s birthday, plus the occasional cake for a friend’s birthday, and other special occasions. This was rich, peanut buttery, and absolutely delicious. I must admit that I just used a cake mix devils food cake as the base, since I find from-scratch cakes are rarely better than cake mix cakes (and I have tried many – I really am serious about cakes!) Anyway, thanks, and bravo! P.s. — I believe you have convinced me to buy the book, too.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made this cake for my fiance’s birthday and blew away the whole family- the best chocolate cake I have ever made!! Thank you for sharing your DELICIOUS talent with us all!
THANKS A MILLION FOR THIS RECIPE!!!!!! YOU ARE WONDERFUL AND ONLY GOD WILL REWARD YOU…..
Hi deb – i really kind of love you for posting this recipe. My hips, however…maybe not so much.
Anyway, i was planning on making this cake for a lab potluck monday. I’ll be gone this weekend so i was going to make the cake layers today and finish it up on sunday night. However, my dear husband mentioned to me just(!) last night we will be attending a thanksgiving-ish potluck this weekend and could i please make something for that? Would this cake travel well, or would you (could you) make any recommendations for other delicious (and similar) cake recipes that i could use instead? I am basically a lazy baker and would hate to make two separate recipes for the potluck monday and potluck saturday.
I am SO EXCITED about the peanut butter frosting, though.
Wow. Just WOW!
I <3 this recipe! It’s rich yet the cake is still light and fluffy. Everyone who tried the cake loved it. I’m definitely making this one again for my bf’s birthday – he inhaled the pieces he had. :)
This is the most amazing cake I’ve ever had.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/coolerthanyou/3054962370/
About a year ago for my birthday I wanted a chocolate peanut butter cake but I couldn’t find a decent recipe or even a store-bought cake so I lived in a state of disappointment until this past October. A friend recommended your blog and while browsing your spectacular site, I found this recipe. I swear the clouds parted and angels started singing “Hallelujah”. I made this and it was FANTASTIC. This was my first cake that I made from scratch. I made it as a bundt cake to make it easier on myself, and I was thrilled when it turned out. I’m making it for my family this Christmas and I can’t wait for my mother’s reaction as her two favorite things are chocolate and peanut butter. Thank you for posting this recipe and making my chocolate peanut butter cake dreams come true :)
Ok, I have made this cake twice, and rave reviews…love it. Not really difficult, I already have 2 birthday requests for it. One in January and one in July.
Hi Deb,
I am planning on making this for a party on Friday, but Thursday is Thanksgiving and I am spending all day Friday preparing the rest of the food for the party–do you think I could make the components on Wednesday, keep the cake in the freezer and the frosting in the fridge until Friday, and assemble after 2 days?
Hey its my birthday, so I made this cake for myself. Its in the fridge!!!! I cant wait to taste it, all the ingredients throughout were tasty. My son shares my sentiments!! Thanks for the recipe, my plating is far from as spectacular as yours!
I realize this is Thanksgiving day and so respond whenever you get time again…but my cakes tend to rise more in the middle and I couldn’t help notice how even your layers seem to be. After I had frosted the first layer and laid down the second,there was quite a gap on the outer edges. I just filled them with more frosting for now, but in the future, how could I prevent this?
Elizabeth
P.S. I’m thankful for Smitten Kitchen :-)
Since others are commenting on this recipe, I guess I should too. I have just made this for the third time and I am sure it will be met with just as much appreciation as the last two.
Many thanks for this wonderful (and highly impressive, although basically easy) recipe.
Sue
Deb. I love you. And I love this cake. I thank you for bringing this cake into my life. My hips hate you for it. I just made it for Thanksgiving dessert. It went faster than the pupkin pie. You are my hero.
http://dandelionsandfireflies.blogspot.com/2008/11/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake.html
In the words of my friends with whom we supped…this cake is AWESOME!!!
Good God you were not kidding. I made a four layer cake and NO ONE could finish their slice. I also topped it with Reece’s Pieces. They’re not kidding about the softness of the cake though, fridge or freezer for at least 30 minutes is required before iciing.
In any case…I ended up using the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe Ever instead of this one, it traveled beautifully, this cake dissappeared within about an hour of being set out and OH MY GOD that ganache really sends the whole thing over the moon, doesn’t it?
(My husband happened to catch me while I was making a double recipe of the frosting and was all “My god, are you sure you should be using that much butter?”. He is henceforth banned from the kitchen while I am baking for his own good.)
I am planning on bringing this cake to a party, but I need to decorate it. (specifically, with a red snapper made out of sprinkles) Do you think the cake will be really delicious sans ganache, or do you think the ganache is necessary? Also, how well do you think decorations will show up on that dark ganache? Thanks so much, this looks amazing!
Hi Gretchen — I have only made it as you see above. I do like the chocolate topping in there–I think it works, but I’m sure nobody will be pushing their plates away if you deprive them of it.
need to knw what’s half-half??? the internet says it is 50-50 proptn of MILK n CREAM, n in other places its written half half is 50-50 proptn of MILK n BUTTER. What do u say???
Half and half is half milk and half cream. You can find this and other ingredient equivalents over here.
I’m glad to know that the recipes in that book work. I also have it but haven’t gotten around to baking anything from it. Your cake looks beautiful. I can only imagine how terrific the peanut-cream cheese flavors go together.
I did find a better peanut butter frosting. It’s Ina Garten’s. It has a cup of peanut butter and NO cream cheese. It is SOOOOO much better. I also used a Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe instead of this one which turned out much more like cake. It was truly amazing and not as difficult as this one.
This is, hands down, one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten. Ever.
I am planning on making these as cupcakes. Two questions:
1. Should I still include the ganache ? I worry that would be overkill and make frosting tough.
2. Do I need to freeeze the cake if I am going the cupcake route?
Thanks!
Wow, awesome stuff. I just made this for the first time as a test run for a friend’s birthday, and everyone in my office is now both praising and cursing me for sending them into food comas!
Thanks for the great recipe!
can anyone help me, possibly deb? i don’t know why but i’m having some problems with the glaze. the first time i did the cake it came out just wonderfully, but then this second time around it’s not looking as it should.
after melting everything together and making sure everything’s smooth, i added the half-and-half after removing the bowl from the heat but the entire thing comes out chunky (kind of fluffy) and not liquidy pourable at all. what did i do wrong? i unfortunately have the worst memory in the world and don’t remember how or what i did the first time around, so i’m completely baffled…
Your chocolate may have split, or burnt. It can happen when it gets too hot. If so, there is nothing that can be done do repair it. Otherwise, I’m stumped. Not being in the kitchen with you, I’m just staggering a guess.
I love this cake!! My mom made it for church and evreyone there loved it too! We have now made it three times and it is always a huge hit. I’m 14 and it is one the must fun cakes to make and truly worth the time it takes to make. The icing is the best. It tatses just like peanut butter fudge!! Thank you so much for putting this recipe up!
I made this for my two daughters. Their birthdays are Dec. 29th and 30th. They wanted something with peanut butter and chocolate. I came upon this recipe and made it for them. I was delicious. My family-and they can be quite snobby with desserts- said it was the best cake they have ever had. I am going to try the brownie cheesecake in a few days. It looks divine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the recipes. Keep them coming-
This cake has become part of my life!!!! My brother in law is in love with it (all he wanted for his recent 30th birthday) and my kids, and son’s friends ask me to make it for them all the time!!! Since I’m the mother of three under 6-
(one being 10 weeks old) I’ve had to make some changes to cut time- The first is I use Betty Crocker butter recipe chocolate cake(I use a little vanilla in the mix)- I also have cut the amount of sugar in the peanut butter frosting to 3 cups, added a cup and a half of peanut butter (instead of 3/4 cup), and a pinch of salt (this makes it a little less sweet and more peanut-buttery) and I drizzle the chocolate ganache over the top- that way the chocolate isn’t over-powering-
Thank you for this amazing cake!!!!! You’ve made me very popular among family and friends….
Also, you can add sour cream to the cake mix…..
I have just watched the Martha show on bloggers and I could not belive the look of this cake. I immediately went searching on line, and I can see SOOOOOO many others have been here before me drooling over this sensational cake. I just wish someone would make it for me!!
I make it and i love it!
I made this cake last weekend for one of my boss’ birthdays. It was a HUGE hit! The other boss (non-birthday boy) had 5, count them, 5 large-ish pieces! He later complained that he didn’t feel so good….duh! Absolutely wonderful and made me look like a rockstar at work. Thanks! Keeping this one handy. :-)
Have been dying to try this recipe and finally got around to it today. I was so worried because the cake batter was a little runnier than I’m used to, but it baked up fine. All the individual components tasted wonderful once made, the cake looked absolutely amazing after everything was put together. I almost didn’t want to cut it up and serve it, but I’m so glad I did. The cake tastes FANTASTIC, everyone had rave reviews. Best eaten with a glass of milk. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
My friend sent me this recipe in August with the subject line of “I’ll love you forever if you make this.” It’s become my go-to dessert for game nights, last days of classes, birthdays, etc! I’ve made it in cupcake form several times, which gives it a fun spin. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I found this recipe months ago and just had to save it for my birthday this past week, and it was absolutely delicious. All of your tips were perfect, thank you for being such an inspiration with your food! The only thing we did wrong was negelecting the advice about the thinnest slices possible- this was a fantastically rich cake!!
I made this cake today for my son’s birthday. It was so good. Since discovering this blog about six months ago it’s been a huge inspiration to me. I even twitter’d the whole experience! Thank you again for your work on this blog and you definitely have my vote for every possible award.
I made this cake but substituted almond butter for peanut butter. It was so so good. I can’t wait to do it with peanut butter… now all I need is a reason.
This cake has cursed me! It is so delicious that it is now that ONLY cake that is requested for birthdays! I have made it twice and have another occasion coming up where it has been made clear I am only welcome if I come with the cake. Luckily it is the best cake ever, and watching the eyes of the unanointed widen with joy and disbelief is one of the best feelings ever.
As I type, I am making this beautiful chocolate peanut butter dream for my dad’s birthday tomorrow. My kids want a piece now and my mouth is watering, I hope I can resist the temptation!
I just made this cake yesterday, and Seriously, it is delicious. Worth the extra effort. The Peanut butter frosting works wonderfully to hold the soft layers together if they break apart as you stack them. A new FAMILY FAVORITE… I also thought of making it in cupcake form or even a 9 x 13, if i am being lazy..
OH MY GOD! This cake is something else, let me tell you. Chocolaty, perfectly moist,subtly peanut buttery and a hit of cream cheese at the end. I used 3 cups of icing sugar instead of 5 in the peanut butter icing and it was plenty sweet. Also, I omitted the corn syrup in the chocolate ganache. And do follow the cake chilling and the crumb coat steps for the icing.
You have to make this cake! *****
I tried your recipe and it was the best chocolate cake I have ever had!!I filled the cake with your peanut butter filling and then used chocolate cream cheese icing.It was so good I had to have everyone try some.And they all agreed that it was awesome!!Thank you for posting this recipe!it is now my go to when I need a chocolate cake recipe!Thanks again!
I visit this recipe (or, more specifically, the pictures!) on your site at least weekly, and today I am making it for the first time. It’s such an easy recipe – I can’t believe I didn’t make it sooner…then again, I know it will have been worth the wait. The smell coming from the oven right now is heavenly.
I have to tell you, I made this cake on Wednesday for my birthday and it is HEAVENLY! Oh my gosh, thank you so much for adding this to my arsenal. I love it a thousand times over.
Going to make this today for Valentine’s Day substituting the wedding cake for this chocolate cake recipe in hopes that I won’t break it! I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I made this over the weekend for my boyfriend David (Valentines Day Birthday Boy). He loved it! Rave reviews all around. I have already purchased a copy of this book on Amazon and can’t wait to try more recipes from it.
Thanks!
Hot damn that’s a RICH cake! And delicious! I made it today for my boyfriend’s 30th birthday and took it into his work — I’ve never seen this group of gluttonous guys unable to finish a slice of cake. (I warned them to cut thin slices, but no one listened.) It got rave reviews, then everyone promptly snuck off to take a nap.
The peanut butter frosting was a little too sweet for me, probably because I accidentally bought salt-free peanut butter. I was really pleased with the consistency of the cake — my bf is a baking snob and always complains that cakes are too dry, but this had a really moist, heavy consistency.
I helped my friend Noe make this cake. We turned it into cupcakes and it was a truly beautiful experience. The cupcakes were very dense and intensely chocolatey, and the peanut butter icing really balanced it out. The glaze was hard to put on a small cupcake, but it tasted insanely good! This recipe is officially my favorite dessert :) The only thing is when you make it cupcakes, you end up with a ton of extra peanut butter icing (like that’s a bad thing)
This sounds fabulous!!!!! One question I always have when peanut butter is involved – are you using natural peanut butter or “Kraft” sugary peanut butter? No one ever specifies! Thanks!! My mom told me about you and now I’m hooked!!!
I have made this cake twice with wonderful results and rave reviews both times. The first time I put it into the freezer for a hour or so before I frosted it. The second I made the cake on Monday and let it set until Tuesday and then I put the frosting on it. It dried out a little Monday night but after I put the frosting on Tuesday and served it Wednesday it was great. I also doubled the receipe and made 2 – 13×9 cakes, instead of the round layer cakes, just let it bake 15 minutes longer.. It will easily searve 40 people this way and I needed it for a large group. This is a cake I will be making for a long time.
So, I made this cake for my husband’s birthday and he absolutely loved it! All he could say was, “Oh, Baby.” :) His request is usually the same as your husband’s, “Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate”, but when I saw this I knew I had to make it for him. He’s begged me to make another one ever since! Thanks!
I’m making this for the second time, only I’m cheating and using a cake mix for the cake. I figure I am making up for it with the frosting, because I’m using Amish butter and the new fancy peanut butter from JIF that’s supposed to be more organic or something or other. In any case the peanut butter is less sugary, and the Amish butter plus the slightly oily, less sugary peanut butter has made something DE-VINE. It’s not as sweet and rich as it was the first time around, but I learned my lesson then and am just using the frosting as filling. Sure, a layer cake without the sides frosted isn’t as pretty, but it’ll have ganache goop drizzling down the sides to hide that part. I am really looking forward to my fiancee’s (last time I made it, boyfriend’s) birthday tomorrow…because I want to taste this cake. Now my only dilemma is whether or not I should, in the rush that will be tomorrow morning, try to make a second set of layers to go on top of this cake. It looks rather dinky when I consider potentially ten people eating this thing. Hmm.
Maybe I will try to work some magic and add two layers for dramatic effect.
I just bought the book and am really excited to start baking. Is there a group out in cyber space that bakes one recipe per week out of this book? If so, I would love to join since I plan on baking every recipe.
oh wow! i wanna eat this!!!! :((((
I just made this for a coworkers birthday and it was a HUGE hit. I like that the peanut butter flavor wasn’t over the top or ‘in your face’ like some of the cakes that use peanut butter cups in the layering or on top. It WAS SUPER rich, but not to peanut butter-y. AND, it looked delicious. Refrigerating the cake before adding the ganache made a huge difference. I’ll be trying that with more of my cakes that have a similar recipe. I loved this recipe. I’m now thinking of all kinds of cream cheese frostings (maple, maybe strawberry, oh, the possibilities!) that I could do next time instead of peanut butter. THANKS!
holy wow there are a LOT of comments on this post!
and now i know why. i made this INCREDIBLE cake for my son’s birthday this weekend and it was so so so good.
thanks for sharing this recipe – my life (and waistline) will never be the same.
<3
p.s. – here’s the photographic evidence of a cake MUCH enjoyed. :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamchanelle/3347255094/
I defied all cooking odds and pulled off making this cake last Saturday for my boyfriend’s birthday. Though not as beautiful and straight as yours, it did the job and got resounding kudos from everyone who couldn’t resist its temptation. Thanks for the great tips (like putting the cakes in the freezer) and the descriptive way you relayed the steps. Awesome!
Hi Deb,
Ive made this cake twice already and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it!
Im going to make it again for a friends baby shower, but was trying to bake it in a bigger pan and possibly doubling the recipe if necessary. I wanted to ask if you could suggest which size pan to do this in (preferably square) and if a 13 by 9 inch glass one would be ok? And if I did do it in the glass pan, would I need to double the batter? Thank you so much! The cake is soooo delicious and popular among my friends, I just wanted to make it again but bigger!
This page can help with pan size conversions. I haven’t baked a lot of cakes in glass pans. I don’t think it is ideal, but it should still be doable.
I guess your Alex and my Alex have similar tastes! I made this cake in cupcake form for his birthday, and they mysteriously disappeared before I even had the chance to get the main dish on the table! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I made this for my company open house……it was a huge hit. I actually dressed it up a bit and people were asking where we bought it because they wanted to go get one. This cake is so amazing thanks for sharing!!!!
I made this yesterday for my husbands birthday this cake is to die for so delicious looks like its from a bakery and is definately a blue ribbon cake very rich could feed up to 30
Hi-You wrote that you made first two layers then the third. Does anything happen to the batter while waiting?
IOW, am I better off placing two layers on the middle shelf of the oven and the third layer on the top shelf (Of my relatively small oven) and switching the layers midway or am I better off baking two layers and when those are done the third? Or the third option, dividing the recipe and making first two thirds of it in two layers, and then mixing up 1/3 of the recipe for the third layer (which sounds like a pain in the neck)
Your cake looks gorgeous and I’ve been eyeing it for some time. I am thinking to make it for a birthday after Passover.
I made this cake last night for my husband’s birthday today and it was my first attempt at a truly homemade cake. It went great! Honestly, the hardest part was getting the soft cakes out of the pans and peeling off the paper. They were definitely crumbly and fragile, so I took the recommendation to freeze them for a time and it was super easy to ice them! I am so proud of myself and it looks AMAZING, so I know my husband is excited to try it. He specifically requested a peanut butter cake and I am thinking I found a winner here. Thank you for posting such a delightful recipt and for including helpful tips for guiding novices along the way!
Fantastic. I made it for my sister in laws baby shower. With a table loaded with desserts, this was everyone’s first choice. It was finished before the end of the shower!
I have been lurking for a couple of months and have tried a few recipes that were fantastic. This one, however, was beyond words! I made this for my entire family (my parents/sister as well as my in-laws) this past weekend. I chose it because my brother-in-law loves peanut butter and it was his birthday. Well, I was nervous starting out because in my experience chocolate cakes can be very dry but this was ANYTHING but! I could not believe how moist and delicious the cake was! The icing was also exquisite as well as the ganache (my first time with ganache). I served 16 people with this cake. I even gave the last piece to our server at the restaurant where we were celebrating and she told me it was the best cake she had ever had in her life. Thank you for introducing me to this and all of the other wonderful recipes that I have found on your site. Your tips have been very valuable as well!!
My wife is gluten free and doesn’t always get to enjoy treats like this. However, I made this cake using gluten flour. It was incredible. Very moist, very, delicious, and it looked amazing as well. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I really appreciated the tips on frosting the cake by placing it in the freezer and making a “crumb” layer as well. Thanks again!
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday and it was unbelievable! So rich, so delicious, and perfect for a celebration! Pictures are here.
In case anyone is wondering: the consistency and flavor of the cake itself is very similar to a devil’s food box mix, and since the frosting and glaze are so spectacular, I think you could totally get away with cake from a mix on this one. (I mention this because I wondered about it and decided to go with the recipe for the first try… next time I think I’ll try a mix!)
I made this cake last night and it was amazing! My first try at ganache and it’s super easy. I even got to impress the future in-laws with my Skillz ;) So, thanks for that. I posted some pics here
I just made this for my daughters 13th birthday. This cake is so good it should be illegal. The frosting is heaven in a bowl!!
I’ve been making cupcakes like this for years and have never made the frosting with cream cheese. I can’t wait to try it!
I made the cake for my husband’s birthday, and he wants it every BD for now on he said. He took a picture of it! That was very sweet I think! It is a fabulous cake.
OMG! I dont even like Peanut Butter… but I couldnt help but lick the bowl of frosting…lol… I found this recipe for my fiance’s 40th birthday..he is a a reese’s peanut butter cup freak and I think he is going to love this cake…If I even let him cut it, It looks to perfect!…lol….And can I suggest setting aside a little frosting and a little glaze. It makes for a wonderful little treat. Just put some frosting on your spoon and dip into the glaze…lol….And remember, this is coming from someone who doesnt even like Peanut Butter!
QUESTION!
After a rousing success with the “Devil Dog Cake” made as a traditional layer cake (hoo boy that was CAKE!) I’m going for THIS cake for our next celebration — 2 weeks away. Gotta love back to back birthdays.
I’m going to make “Deb’s Favorite Chocolate Cake” recipe again, and this time frost and fill with the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese frosting from this ensemble.
Piping suggestions for the decoration and the birthday text? I’m kind of lost there, I don’t have a chocolate buttercream recipe that I love in my back pocket.
I use whatever frosting contrasts. If you’re doing the ganache topping, save a little peanut butter frosting to pipe. If you’re skipping the ganache, just make a small amount to chill enough to pipe.
Is it possible to substitute the distilled white vinegar with white wine vinegar? Will it have any affect on baking, and/or the flavor?
I made this for my boyfriends birthday. He is obsessed with peanut butter whoppie pies so i figured this would be perfect. Ohh it was!!! He loved it! Every one did!
Yummy!!
I made this cake for my son. Added small PB cups inside the cake for the extra added wow. Yummy!
Right now, I can literally smell it through the monitor…I think I’m gonna die…
I made this cake for Easter dinner a few weeks ago and it was AMAZING!!! Everyone loved it and I got so many compliments on it! A little bit goes a long way too since it’s so rich! It’s also very moist which I loved since there is nothing I hate more than a dry cake. I took some back with me when I returned to college in a tupperware and it was pretty much my breakfast and dessert for the next couple days!
On measuring peanut butter….yes, there is an easy way. A miraculous, wondrous easy way. Maybe someone else mentioned this and I missed it, but does anyone else have a plunger cup? Like the ones Alton Brown used on Good Eats? Best. Thing. Ever. Peanut butter, yogurt, corn syrup, honey…all easy peasy. I paid more than I should have for mine at Williams & Sonoma I think, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them go for around $10. You just adjust the cup to the level you want it (mine has a bunch of different units of measure all the way around it to choose from), pack the contents in up to the fill line, just like you would with a regular measuring cup, then push in the plunger and scrape the bottom of the cup(which is now even with the top, so a flat surface). The plunger-action scrapes the sides for you. Then the two pieces come apart and you can pop it in the dishwasher. I’m a kitchen gadget fiend, but this measuring cup has got to be my favorite.
Not hard to make at all. It comes out just like the pictures. Takes great!
This cake is soooooooooooooooooooo awesome!!!!!!!
Just made this over the weekend for my husband’s bday, big hit! Actually very easy to make I surprised myself! I noticed though that there was was more choc. topping than needed, so Ill just use less of it next time. If you love pb & choc make this cake asap
Dear Deb,
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I made it for my husband’s birthday this weekend and everyone loved it including my three year old. And thank you so much for the advice on freezing the cake before frosting, that really helped!
DELICIOUS!
I thinned the p/b frosting when I made the crumb coat and then refrigerated as recommended. Made less of the ganache. Used yogurt instead of Sr. Cream.
wonderful recipe
Amaaaaazing cake and directions were so easy to follow. I added a touch of expresso powder to the cake batter to enhance the chocolate, and also used a combination of cocoa powder and black cocoa powder from Baker’s Catalog. I used two 9 inch pans and made 6 cupcakes with the remaining batter. The cupcakes were a perfect serving–used the large chocolate brown tulip cupcake liners from Baker’s Catalog–so pretty! http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/tulip-muffin-papers-brown
Appreciate so much your “tested, tried and true” recipies Deb!
I just found your site when looking for a cake to bake for my brother’s birthday. Let me say that I AM NOT A BAKER! Everything I make usually turns out inedible. However, this cake was FANTASTIC!!!! It turned out perfectly moist and delicious. THanks so much!!
I made this cake yesterday to celebrate my blog’s one year anniversary and it was incredible! I had a little trouble with the first layer sticking to the pan, but other than that it was perfect. Thanks for sharing!
I am a 52 year old wife, mother & grandmother and am known for my love of cooking/baking. I was looking for a recipe for my youngest daughters 19th birthday, she asked for a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Wanting to try something new, I got online and read countless recipes. Your recipe for this cake and the picture for it caught my attention. I made this and there wasn’t a crumb left to be found. It is absolutely delicious! It looks hard but is not at all. Just a wee bit more time involved but……oh, sooooo well worth it. This is on the top of my list for favorites now. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Hi there, just wondering if the water amount is appropriate? I followed directions to a t, but the batter was incredibly watery – poured right out into the pans without any bowl scraping – and I am now at 35 minutes of cooking and not remotely close to done. Complete water in the center. Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you!
It is a very thin batter. It will bake up (you know, assuming your oven is working fine and at the temperature it says it is).
I’ve made this cake twice before and it’s become a favorite of my friends and family! I do have a question for you though- I was planning on making this as cupcakes for a baby shower this weekend, would you recomend that I use this cake recipe or another one for the cupcakes? I was going to skip over the ganache and just frost the cupcakes, but I’ve never had the cake without the ganache, have you? I image it will still taste great and no one will thing anything is missing, but I guess I just want a second opinion. Thanks for this recipe, it’s fabulous!
If you scroll through the comments, you can read from dozens of people who have successfully adapted these as cupcakes. I have not tried it yet. In comment #45, I make two other suggestions of chocolate cakes that I like even more, and that can be used with these frostings.
This cake is delicious. I just followed your instructions and had no trouble. It’s really not hard. The cake is soft, but I had no trouble freezing it and then frosting, freezing again after a crumb coat and then before pouring on the ganache. Came out beautiful! It’s very rich. We still finished most of it. Delicious. thanks for the great recipe.
Deb – thank you for sharing Alisa Huntsman’s recipe with us! I made it for my mom’s birthday today and it was wonderful! I also made some banana ice cream (Alton Brown’s recipe) to go along with the thin slices and it was a terrific combination.
Quick question though – do you put the ganache on right after incorporating the half and half? I’m pretty sure it was a mistake to wait a few minutes (which is what I did). It was delicious, just didn’t spill over as nicely as yours did. Mine was more like cooling lava – very thick LOL ;) Thank you!!!
Two options: You can let it cool a bit so it thickens or you can do as I did, and pour it over a chilled cake. I always chill my frosting layers so they set, this slows down the dribbling (I mention this in step 4). I think the second option is the better way to go. I have other cake tips in this post.
I just made my first post on my new blog and it was all about this cake that I made for my 25th birthday. I’d been wanting to make it since you posted it originally. Since I’m new to the blogging scene and I don’t know the etiquette. I just wanted to let you know I’d used your recipe on my blog, and make sure its cool with you. I know I’ll be wanting to site you in the future since you’re one of my main go-to’s for good recipes. thanks so much for what you’re doing! And if you have any advice for starting up a blog I’d love to hear it.
My attempt of the recipe went really well and I had rave reviews from my guests, I’m still getting them actually. It works well with just two layers also. I only had two pans to work with at the time. Needless to say its kind to the eyes, tongue and the belly!
I just made this cake yesterday and it was a big hit. You’re right, it’s VERY rich and one sliver at a time is best. I had no problem with the bread, I placed it in the freezer for about 30 mns to set up before frosting. The ganache was not as “runny” as I would have liked it and so it didn’t run down the sides as nice as your pics, but I helped it along and it turned out great. Thank you for posting such a beautiful recipe-I’ve already ordered Sky High!
Thank you for the recipe! I made this for my boyfriend’s bday (he loves peanut butter and chocolate) … It was sooo good!! Thanx again! I used all the tips… very helpful.
wow..i made this for my bf for valentines day and put heart shaped reeses on top and he was amazed! chocolate-peanut butter is his absolute favorite and hes having a party and he begged me to make it for him again so he can show off to all of his friends how amazing i am :)
I just had this cake. A co-worker made this cake for a staff birthday party. Can I just say that after eating this cake, I sat in a stunned silence. I’ve found my happy place!!! DIVINE!!!!!!
If you ever want to bribe someone to do something for you… make this cake!!!!
My step-daughter and I are going to make this for her Dad for Father’s Day…the man LOVES chocolate and PB. Should be an intersting feat for myself and my 6 year old non-cooking counterpart…especially while juggling the care of a 4 month old and trying to hide it from Daddy, too! It looks so good, we can’t wait to eat it!
I made this yesterday for my husband’s first Father’s Day! It made him so very happy, it was absolutely gorgeous, and I think it will be a favorite to make again and again. It tasted great too, although I accidentally used powdered sugar in the cake instead of granulated. I was going to throw it out, but I decided to try a bite (by slicing off a tiny bit of an uneven layer). So glad I didn’t! Delicious!!
Deb, my daughters and I made this for Father’s Day, for our peanut butter and chocolate loving Dad. He was in heaven! So were we all. It was absolutely incredibly delicious. Thank you!
So I just made this over the weekend for Father’s Day and it was amazing. So delicious! You are right, it is so rich it is hard to eat without a glass of cold milk in the other hand. I took my time and made this cake over the course of three days, refridgerating over night when necessary – worked perfectly! Our expanding tummies thank you!
I made this one for my dad’s birthday. He’s a choc-aholic and it was a huge hit. I don’t think I’ve ever made a cake so flavorful or moist. Love it!
Awesome cake. Before, I made a hersheys cake with similar filling, but I like this version better. I looks awesome and my friends go nuts!
This was a-mazing. best thing to pass my lips in awhile ;)
i used greek yogurt for the sour cream (fat free), mostly WW pastry flour, and smart balance 50/50 sticks for the frosting and it rocked my world.
This caught my eye just as I was contemplating my birthday cake, and then the decision was made. I did substitute almond butter, and it worked great. I may have to try it with peanut butter sometime, but for my tastes the almond butter would be hard to beat. LJ entry with photos
Thanks so much!
MMM MMM GOOOD! I made this cake for my girlfriend’s 21st birthday. She and all of her friend LOVED IT (and so did i). GREAT RECIPE.
I made this cake for my Husbands 26th Birthday, Everyone loved it very rich but the best cake ive ever made. It definitely is a project and takes alot of time to make I cooled it crumb coated the cake each layer stuck in freezer to cool and then frosted and stacked stuck it back in the freezer to get hard then the chocalate and back in the freezer but let me tell ya it looked like it came from a bakery and tasted like it to definately a keeper
Thank You For Sharing the Recipe
Ok, even though there are already 408 comments, I have to comment! This cake was seriously amazing. Yes, rich. Hello, that is not a problem – its cake! With frosting and ganache! I am actually most impressed with how moist the cake was – that always seems to be the hardest thing about cakes.
It was made for my husband’s birthday last Saturday and I think I’ve eaten a piece every day since then. We clearly need more friends!
This is amasing!!! First time I didn`t have too much time on my hand so made cake out of box but used this frosting and chocolate glaze – it was still amasing. Today I will make a whole thing. Everybody loved it!!!
My mom made me this cake for my birthday last year and it was amazing! I can still taste the moist,chocolatey,warm, cake and the rich,creamy,peanutbutter filling. It’s so good it’ll be like your tastebuds took a detour and ended up in paradise! And when the slice is done you can’t resist reaching over and having another! So go ahead,make some. Just make sure you tell your friends. Bon Appatite!
Hi Deb, 2 questions, rather 2 parts of the same – What does the vinegar do to the cake and what is the role of the corn syrup? Can I replace them or simply skip? I am not very comfortable using these, but if you suggest they are ‘musts’, would just have to stock up my shelves.
You are of course welcome to tweak the recipe any way you see fit, but it works fantastically as it is. The vinegar adds an excellent depth of flavor (think buttermilk versus regular milk, always better in baking). Corn syrup is an invert sugar, it works smoothly in ways that regular sugar does not. There’s no reason to be uncomfortable with it — it’s not like we’re talking about (gasp!) HFCS, a totally different beast. You can read more about why it works best sometimes over here.
Deb – I made this yesterday for my boyfriend’s birthday. He too is a peanut butter addict. Man was it good and super rich. It’s the kind of cake that you get to the last few bites and don’t think you can finish but then just bite the bullet:) Thanks for the great recipe. Now we will have cake for days…
Haha, true.. it’s just that never used these ingredients earlier.. but you gave the boost with the prompt reply. Thanks a lot. Preparing to try this out soon.
PS: Your strawberries and dumplings have become so much regular in my kitchen this summer, at least once a week. Easy and delicious. So are the pizzas and tarts. I am a self learner (internet based, so to say), and you are doing a wonderful job. And 100 percent dependable. Thanks can’t say how much.
I saw this recipe and thought that I just had to try it… yep another peanut butter and chocolate addict here!! Anyways, I had a little mishap with one of the cakes due to how moist and soft they are. Instead of getting upset like I wanted to do, I threw the mangled cake in a trifle bowl, then I thought “hey why not just make the whole thing into a trifle!” I layered it the same way as I would have with the original cake and it turned out to be perfect! Who would have guessed my oops would end so well!
So I am planning to make this for my husband’s birthday next week. Is this one of those cakes that tastes better the next day? or do you think i should make it day-of the party? thanks!
My mouth has been open probably the whole time i read this blog. Reese’s are a weakness of mine and this looks absolutely AMAZING. I’m going to try it out as soon ASAP!
I made this today for a good friend’s birthday party and everyone loved it! A couple people loved it so much they had 2nds and even 3rds. It was also ‘officially’ requested for next year. It is extremely rich and delicious. It was phenomenal!! No leftovers whatsoever. I can’t wait to try out more of your recipes.
Thank you so much!!
I made this today for my husband’s birthday and it was beyond delicious. This was my first time making a recipe from the site. The instructions were easy to follow and the results were to die for. A++, would make again!
Thinking of making this for a SNICKERS bar fan (my boyfriend)’s birthday. Do you think the tastes are about the same? Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
After seeing this cake, i immediately bought the Sky High Cakes cookbook. Its amazing! I just made this choc pb cake this weekend and it was, of course, absolutely delicious! moist and rich and addictive. I accidently only bought 4 oz of chocolate for the ganache and didnt have enough time to buy more, so i just went with it. Turned out better than i think it would of if i had used the correct amount! It spread and dripped perfectly, i know people were having trouble with it being too thick so i think this is the secret! 4 oz semi sweet choc and the same amount of the rest of ingredients. hope that helps!
Just had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, made by someone else, when attending an open house this weekend. It was absolutely spectacular, and very showy!
This was great to have a recipe that was so easy to follow! Everything went perfectly. I don’t have anything new to add, except that I’m not sure what to do with the rest of it! It’s like one cake is enough to feed an army! It’s like lembus bread: you can eat a bite and be set all day long.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/battlmnkey/3804756337
I made 6 cakes this weekend and this one was the stand out winner! I didn’t change a thing about the recipe!! YOU HAVE TO TRY IT- Super easy to make- great presentation.
Okay – my husband and I just stared at this cake with our mouths wide open. I think this may be what I want for my upcoming birthday! It looks *too* amazing.
My 15yo son thanks you from the bottom of his heart – as does the rest of the family – i just spent the afternoon making this for Connor’s 15th birthday today. The peanut butter frosting is a revelation. We haven’t eaten it yet, but are looking forward to it greatly. Thank you.
This cake was served at a baby shower I attended today. It was absolutely, over-the-top delicious. A wonderful recipe! I will have to make it soon!
It seems like every time I post a comment here, I am saying the same thing.
BUT, thank you for posting this. I think this was the best thing I have ever baked!
I only made two layers because I don’t have 3 cake pans, but I am more fond of cake than frosting, so I loved the extra thick layers of perfect chocolate cake.
I have a good amount of leftover frosting, so I may make a little cake this weekend and just have it with the frosting, if it keeps.
AMAZING! I made this as cupcakes. I cut the cake and frosting recipe in half. The glaze was delicious, but I thought it was too messy for the cupcakes, so I left it off. Someday I’ll make the cake in it’s entirety, but the cupcakes with just the frosting are delicious. I’m a huge peanut butter/chocolate fan and this is a very grown-up and decadent version of my favorite combination. Oh, and one cupcake will knock you out! Thank you, I love your site!!!
I made this cake for a friend’s graduation party in late June. I was lucky to pull it off, because an enormous (ENORMOUS) storm knocked out the power for days. I had made the layers in advance and stored them in the freezer, and I didn’t need electricity for the frosting, but had to go to a friend’s house while she was in the middle of moving to make the icing and assemble the thing. It was rather monstrous to handle and nearly reduced me to tears while my friend’s brothers lurked in the shadows for dropped crumbs.
Regardless, the cake was BEAUTIFUL to behold and absolutely DELICIOUS. It was a huge hit and some people said it was the best cake they’d ever eaten :)
Deb – first, this cake is a masterpiece. I made it for Christmas Eve last year, and it was a HUGE hit.
Second, I was going to make it for a block party this coming weekend, but I got to thinking that it might be easier to eat as cupcakes. What do you think about doing it kind-of like your Irish cupcakes where you core out a bit in the center for the ganache and then frost over it with the regular peanut butter frosting? Do you think the cake will hold up for that? I remember the cake being crumbly. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
i’m always making peanut butter chocolate desserts for my boyfriend’s birthdays because it’s his favorite. i plan on making it for friday- what can i make ahead? will the frosting collapse in the fridge?
Holy hell. This cake is fantastic. I am definitely not a baker … I clicked on this via your espresso cake post just before my husband’s birthday (who could -and used to- live on peanut butter) and thought, ‘ok, let’s do it.’ We just happened to have received a care package of homemade peanut brittle from my mom (with secret ingredient puffy rice paper layer, I know!). After being confused to find not just one or three but 4 (four!) cake pans in the depths of my cupboard, one of the cakes got stuck so it ended up a two-layer masterpiece. The ganache spread & dripped just right (also chilled the cake a bit). My husband said it was his best birthday cake ever & I was incredibly happy to succeed at my first “real” cake! Yes, so super-duper-rich but absolutely delicious. Second on serving slivers though with plenty o’ milk. :) I also shared a piece with our landlords who deemed it restaurant-worthy. Yay!!! Thank you AGAIN Deb!
I just found your wonderful site & LOVE IT! This is the first recipe I tried & it came out WONDERFUL! My family loved it. I followed your recipe, the pictures & instructions were right on. I did bake the cake in two 9″ rounds vs the three 8″. Saw were some people said the cake was so fluffy it was unsteady while icing so since I didn’t have three 8″ rounds I did the 9″ with great turn out. Thanks for giving us a new family favorite.
I didn’t read through any of the comments on this post. There’s just too many. So if you’ve answered this question before, I apologize,
In step four, when you talk about chilling it so the frosting has a better drip effect, do you suggest the freezer or the fridge to chill it in?
Freezer if you only have a couple minutes but otherwise — and in general — the fridge is best to let it firm up.
Deb!
Made this cake on Mon night for my husband’s bday yesterday! Many of our guests said it was the best cake they have ever eaten! Thanks for sharing!
I made the cake then crumb coated & frosted on Mon night, refrigerated overnight , then put on the choc glaze just before the party. I topped it with quarters of Reese’s PB cups for decoration… But I am MOST grateful for your suggestion to serve it in smaller wedges – it is so rich & yummy – after cutting a large piece for my husband, I served 24 people this cake!
Just made this for my colleagues at work.
Looks fit, but I did it as a 2 larger layers cake.
Also my choc glaze was a bit fin as I onlt had 200g of Choc, and forgot to reduce the amount of cream & milk (half and half as I am British!)
But looks amazing!
Cheers
This cake absolutely flew together– one of the easiest multi-frosting cakes I’ve ever made without a mix. And it is AMAZING. Even cutting quarter-inch slices and serving with tall glasses of milk and cups of black coffee does *nothing* to cut the overwhelming sweetness. Gorgeous, delicious, and likely to feed all my neighbors as well. Thank you for the recipe!
Forgive my ignorance, but are we supposed to use UNSWEETENED or SWEETENED peanut butter (I get the “commercial” and the “hydrogenated” in order to prevent separation, but it’s not obvious to me if this means commercial like the sweetened stuff my parents never let me eat or not. Sky High, which I happily own, doesn’t make this explicit either.) Thanks so much for your help.
I have never seen peanut butter labeled as sweetened or unsweetened but I know that most packaged peanut butter does have a small amount of sugar in it. So, yes, I guess “sweetened” then.
Made this for a friend’s birthday, and then brought the leftovers to the office. People went absolutely apesh*t. There was a line down the hall to get one of the remaining slivers. People have offered to pay me to make it again.
Couple of notes from me. I would have made more frosting, getting it completely covered was difficult near the end, another cup or so would have been handy. I used the Reese’s peanut butter and Hershey’s chocolate, which made it a true peanut butter cup flavour (which I love). Lastly, I cannot agree enough with the note to chill the cake before frosting it and then before glazing it… it I hadn’t it would have been a nightmare.
I made this cake over three days, I baked the cake layers on Tuesday night, froze them and then made the frosting and layered the cake on Wednesday night and let it sit in the fridge till this morning (Thursday) when I made the chocolate ganache and poured it over. The ganache had a wonderful consistency and the way it poured over the cake was beautiful. We’re eating the cake for my brother’s birthday tonight and I’m looking forward to tasting it!
Alison, I made the frosting with unsweetened peanut butter (and cut down on 2 cups of the sugar) and it was fine.
Deb, I found my cake layers each had a slightly darker, moist looking area in the centre even though they were fully baked and a cake tester came out clean. Did I do something wrong with the way I mixed the batter? I don’t think it will affect the taste though.
I made this for my sister-in-law’s birthday and it was amazing. I made it as a two-layer cake because I only have two pans and it still worked flawlessly. You made me look like an incredible baker today, and for that I thank you!
I absolutely LOVE your blog, and frequently repeat things you make. Last night was my friends 21st birthday, and there is nothing she loves more than chocolate and peanut butter. Let me tell you, if I hadn’t come across this recipe I would have been lost. THANK YOU!! It was freakin’ amazing!!
Wow that looks absolutly scrummy.
Wish I could bake like that…
Need to go out and buy some cake now..:)
Thanks
I just have to let you know that I found this recepie last year right before my peanut butter and chocolate obsessed boyfriends birthday- and my entire family rejoiced after eating this cake. We all loved it SO much that it has now become a tradition to make it on his birthday. I can say we will be eating it on that day for the rest of our lives since he just became my fiance (and I’m sure it’s partly because of this cake recepie LOL!) THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!!!! It is very time consuming, but the end result is nothing short of the best cake I have EVER tasted!
Interesting that this recipe calls for vinegar, baking soda AND eggs. I thought vinegar and baking soda were an egg replacement. I’ve seen many eggless chocolate cakes that include vinegar. Any idea what purpose the vinegar serves here? Just makes the cake extra springy? More moist?
OMG, this is an amazing cake. i love the flavor of the sweet peanut butter in contrast with the chocolate glaze. Definitly this is going to be on my top 10.
Making this for my son’s 18th birthday. Um… Good thing it has a purpose. I may have just scooped the frosting on the layers and eaten them like that. This is going to be so good.
I made this today for my boyfriend’s birthday! Thank you for posting it, it’s wonderful.
Just made this wonderful cake…surprised myself since I am not a baker….the batter was thin but baked up fine…re the choc/peanut butter top frosting…I only used 1/4 cup of half and half then put it in a baggie cut the corner and drizzled back and forth…it looks like it cam from the bakery…:) Yeah…for my daughter’s boyfriends BDay this afternoon…hope it tastes as good as it looks ! :)
Wow! Just made this last night for a staff party. It tastes better than the cakes we usually buy…and it was SO simple. Really decadent and over the top. Btw, I am officially obsessed with your lovely blog!
First of all, I love your blog! SO many great recipes with such great photos that I sit here and lick the screen on a daily basis ;)
I made this cake last weekend and absolutely loved it! It is SOOO GOOOD. Thank you so much for posting this recipe :) My cake doesn’t look nearly as good as yours, but I tried haha. You can see my sorry attempt here: http://eclecticsamya.blogspot.com/
On my post I said that this cake was special to the holiday I was celebrating, but I think I’ll be making it very very soon!
Thanks! And never stop blogging, please.
I made this cake today exactly as written. It’s a peanut butter cup lovers, dream cake! It is so very, very good. The cake itself is so moist and tender. That was good advice about chilling the cake to firm it before putting on the crumb coat. I also brushed the loose crumbs off with a pastry brush before chilling. The peanut butter and cream cheese frosting was delicious. I’d have never imagined that combo, but the peanut butter flavor was good and pronounced in it. The ganache was also delicious with just enough PB flavor to remind you of a peanut butter cup. I have the book, but thought I’d reviewthe recipe here since this is where I initially picked up the recipe. Thanks, Deb.
I made this cake in two 9″ pans and did not make any changes to the recipe. It was AMAZING. It turned out picture perfect and everyone raved about the taste. Thanks for such a great recipe!
I made this cake for my Mom’s 75th birthday. What a hit! A less mature birthday girl might have been jealous of the attention it received!
I have to agree, though, that this is a very moist cake. Without placing it in the freezer / frig along the way, the construction would have been a lot more fussy. My ganache seized up (at this point I had too many helpers in the kitchen!) so I heated the cream and added it to the chocolate/PB mixture. Smoothed out nicely.
I made fondant leaves in fall colors ahead of time and scattered them around the top edge. It looked almost as good as it tasted!
Wow!! This cake is amazing! Thanks for posting it! I made it for my husband’s birthday since he LOVES peanut butter and chocolate.
can this be made the day ahead??
also- can the light corn syrup be replaced with anything?
I’ve made this cake before. It was my first attempt at layer cakes (and a massive disaster, btw) but I promised myself I’d try it again and am planning on baking it for my birthday next Saturday.
I have one question about confectioner’s sugar/powdered sugar in frosting. When I add sugar (it says powdered sugar on the box) I get a mildly crunchy taste in the frosting. This has happened every time (cupcakes, cakes, cookies). Everyone ends up saying I used too much sugar, but I always use the amount in the recipe. Is it because I’m not beating it enough and it’s no dissolved or am I really using too much sugar?
Would love to get this cake right for my birthday, so anyone who can offer advice is welcome to comment.
Powdered sugar frostings do get a crust on them after drying out for some time. It’s just the nature of the ingredient.
So it won’t be the smooth frosting that you have in professionally made cakes? The kind where it’s perfectly smooth? Even when fresh?
I have made this cake twice & it was a huge hit both times. I baked the cakes one night, iced it the next & served it the next day. I kept it in the fridge in containers. It was delicious! And since it got to sit for a while all iced the flavors really melded together. It is a very moist cake & can easily fall apart, but just take your time – it is worth it!
ummmmm…… nice cake
I’ve had birthday cake success with this cake two years in a row. This year I read the directions better and it was a lot easier. The freezing part: essential. Wax paper on the bottom: life saver.
I made it as a two layer and used the leftover batter to make a mini two later cake, by baking the leftovers in ramekins.
Holy cow, this post has 468 comments LOL! Deb, thanks for this, I loved this cake. I give a lot of my treats away to neighbors, but not this one! Blogged it here http://www.amandascookin.com/2009/10/chocolate-cake-with-peanut-butter.html
I’ve been wanting to make this cake for a long time and it is in the oven at this very moment… However, I am dubious about my success. That is a LOT of water and this is by far, the thinnest “cake” batter I’ve ever made. I can’t imagine how two lowly eggs are going to thicken this batter. Sigh.
I used unsweetened peanut butter with great success, but I think the trick to avoid the oil separation is to use fresh pressed not something that has spent months sitting around in a jar. The consistency was a bit chunky, but everyone who ate it was pleased with the results. I ended up making two layers and cupcakes with the extra batter. Maybe next time I’ll have another cake pan or not be too scared to assemble and frost a three layer cake. Deb, your frosting tips and recipe advice are most excellent!
Ooops, I forgot to mention that I only used four cups on sugar in the frosting, and it was still plenty sweet (even with the unsweetened peanut butter). I think I may only use three cups next time.
At 11:30 tonight, I did a search for “chocolate peanut butter” and came up with this. It’s Now oh, 2:46am and the cake is frosted and ganache’d in my fridge for tomorrow. What can I say? I’m a late night baker and THIS was right up my Chocolate Peanut Butter lovin’ husbands alley. He’ll thank me tomorrow.
Alright just an update. I just ate some and man oh man was it fabulous! Insanely rich- my husband said it was hands down the best cake I’ve ever made. Thank you for this fabulous recipe.
This is AMAZING. I have entered our church bake off the past 3 years and have only come in 3rd or not placed at all. Determined to win this year I ran across this recipe last minute and was so thankful. First place ! I would agree with doing the ‘crumb layer’ , it was hard to frost without it. I also used regular chocolate chips instead of semi sweet. Either way its a great recipe, thanks!
Dont worry about the batter being watery, I was also confused but it turned out really moist.
making it for my husband’s birthday tomorrow. but my mouth is watering now!
I’ve been waiting to try this for a goodly while now … our son’s one-week birthday seemed the perfect occasion! (Have a look at my Flickr site if you’d like to see how impressed he was.) It was soooooo wonderful, such a treat for this brand-new mama. Thank you.
My very kind co-worker and friend made this for me for my birthday and OMG DELICIOUS. The cake was so moist the peanutbutter filling was not sweet but fantastic in it’s own right and the chocolate glaze topping pulled the whole thing together in a wonderfully playful dance in my mouth. As I have not been able to stop talking about this cake my family is insisting I make it for Thanksgiving. Not sure I can hold out that long…
Easily the best cake I’ve ever made in my entire life.
Since my husband *glare* left one of my cake pans at his work, I only had 2 and made a double layer cake instead. Worked out fine, but possibly led to one of the best problems I’ve ever had in my entire life…
Nearly 2 cups of left over peanut butter frosting…
I’m thinking cupcakes ;) Actually I’m thinking about using it in your oreo recipe…
thanks SO MUCH for the recipe, it made my husband’s 30th just fantastic.
wowzers. I’m almost intimidated by this thing. Your pictures of the cake are astounding. What camera do you use for the shots?
I made this cake for my wife’s birthday and everyone loved it! INCREDIBLY RICH! good grief that was an awesome cake!
I made the cake layers last night and iced them today. This cake turned out perfectly!!! I can hardly wait to take it to our Christmas dinner tomorrow.
I tried your cake for my boyfriend’s birthday and it was such a big hit among my friends. Thank you so much!!!
I have two 8.5 in. circular pans that are 1.5 inches deep, do you think that they are big enough for the cake?
Oh, I was also wondering if Swiss Miss could be substituted for cocoa powder here, since I don’t have any on hand.
I made this today for my family and it is wonderful!
I made this cake twice in 2 days, thanks to a bonehead moment on my part! (Forgot to add the baking soda the first time around. Zoinks!)
Since I used disposables for disastrous attempt #1, I had to cheat and make my 2nd try in a 9 x 13 cake pan. It needed an extra 12-15 minutes of baking time, but it came out fine.
Actually, I think “divine” was the word of choice! :o)
Made this for my wife’s birthday yesterday – amazing! I used two 9″ rounds instead of three 8″. Increased the cooking time a little, but otherwise still turned out perfectly. Thanks for the recipe!
I just finished making it! Thanks for all the extra helpful notes! It’s for my birthday and I am so excited to have one fancy cake for once!
Everything came out perfectly!
I believe the solution to the crumbly overly moist cake is to cut back the water by 1/2 cup. I have not tried this yet, but I believe that the cake recipe has way too much liquid in it. I have just finished baking the cake, and have allowed it to cool completely and the cake is literally falling apart and sticking to the cooling rack. The flavor of the cake is wonderful . . . it is just the texture that needs a little fixing.
Lauren Lincoln, I haven’t had that problem with this cake. I had to make the cake mixture twice though, because it just wasn’t enough for the pans. I could only really fill my smallest pan once with it, which sucked.
Everyone LOVES this cake, and i’m sad I haven’t been able to have a piece yet:(
LOVED the cake… served it for New Year’s Day and everybody raved about the cake AND my baking abilities (thank you smittenkitchen) but I couldn’t taste the peanut butter in the filling. I admit I added 1 less cup of powdered sugar– could that have reduced the peanut butter’s intensity?
Made this cake for New Year’s Eve. I was concerned about spending so much time on a nice cake for a bunch of 20-somethings who were … uhm … enjoying their champagne, but everyone was blown away. My boyfriend said (not to tell his mother) that it’s the best cake he ever had, and one of his friends will not stop talking about it. Amazing, amazing cake!
Also, Carol — I wonder if the sugar would make a difference, because maybe there would still be a strong cream cheese taste? It could have also been the peanut butter. I used Jif Natural Creamy, and that peanut butter is VERY peanut-y and not very sweet, so it worked really well in the frosting. Just a thought!
Since I am on a commenting streak, I had to come to this page and let you know how I did. THIS WAS A FRIGGIN HIT. Luckily, I make a tiny pan for myself, or I wouldn’t have had any. I just added chocolate mousse (the easy no egg kind) into the layers along with the peanut butter frosting. I doubled the recipe and it was GINORMOUS. But delicious. and rich. it hurt my belly after I was done. . .it also hurt my feet when I got up to get some more…
The first time I made this wonderful cake, everything was perfect. Today however, my peanut butter frosting wasn’t smooth, it looked a bit grainy so I added a few tablespoons of whipping cream and it fixed it. Just saying :)
Made this cake for my family…super rich! Forgot to tailor the recipe for for 2 layers instead of 3. Will definitely make again…loved it!
I plan to try this Peanutty cake on my ‘old ladies’ bridge group this week. But WHAT IS THIS “LIME MELT A WAYS’ one of the comments spoke of? I need that recipe….How can I acquire it ? Thanks for all the great recipies. I baked/decorated Wedding and special occasions cakes when I lived in California
(and was some 40 years younger…I’m now 75) I still keep looking for new recipies in every catagory as I entertain a great deal still. I especially would like some VEGAN recipies for my grandson who doesn’t touch, meat, fowl, fish, or ANY dairy products or biproducts. Thanks !
The Key Lime Meltaways recipe is at this link.
Hi Deb,
What is “commercial” peanut butter?
Can I use normal Kraft peanut butter (the one that people put on their toast)?
Thanks,
Christian
Yup, Kraft is commercial, as is Jiff, Skippy, etc. They tend to be more consistent in baked goods than freshly-ground ones.
I just made this today for my graduate school get-together and it was a huge hit. There was one sliver left and everyone couldn’t believe I made it instead of my mother. I would definitely recommend sticking the layers in the freezer for a while, it would have been much easier to handle. Oh and make more frosting than called for, I started to run low near the end. I’m not sure if its from too much coverage or from my mom and sister sabotaging me by sneaking spoonfuls out of my mixing bowl.
I made this for my boyfriends birthday, it was amazing. I ended up with more chocolate glaze so I covered the whole thing. I did burn one of the layers a little (our oven can be a bit mental at times) and thought I’d spoiled the entire cake…but it turned out fine and the two of us ate cake everyday!
Thank you so much for the post, I am now an avid follower!
I made this cake for one of my cosmo friend’s graduation and it not only looked perfect it tasted divine…. I have been asked to make this cake several more times (like tomorrow)… I love it… I’m not sure if my convection on my oven wasn’t working or not but the cakes baked uneven… puffy on the perimeter and sunken in the middle… I evened them out with frosting! SOOOOO GOOD! I LOVE THIS CAKE! I wanted to make a peanut butter, chocolate cake so I googled and this fit the bill!
1. Do you think I could sub shortening for the oil?
2. Do you think this would survive as mini-cupcakes? I find sometimes minis come out either like wet sponges or very dry.
nevermind 2! i think i’d better double layer slab this than mini cupcake it. unless you have a better recommendation for a smashing dessert to feed 30?
I think this is almost better than sex! Just kidding. I made this for my sisters birthday on last Christmas Eve It was the biggest hit of the night
Hi, sorry in advance if someone asked this already. I tried my best to screen, but 500 comments are quite a bit to scan through, so it’s definitely possible I missed it.
In you cake tips section you recommended baking cakes at 300 degrees so they would be flatter and easier to trim. This recipe listed the baking time as 350 and I tend to be horrid with temperatures; I always over or under bake slightly. Needless to say the idea of guesstimating how long to bake this cake for terrifies me. I was wondering if you could recommend a jumping off point, so to speak, for how long I should bake this cake.
Thanks so much, and sorry if this is a stupid/previously answered question,
Elizabeth
It’s the same rule. However, this cake did not dome particularly much, so you may not need to worry much about leveling it even if you do not reduce the baking temperature.
thanks so much! I really appreciate it.
I went to a birthday party last night and this cake was such a hit! For the rest of the evening, it was the topic of conversation. I’ve been off of sugar for the past three weeks and after eating a small slice of this…sugar shock!!! It took me over 20 minutes to savor all the goodness in that piece of cake! Love it!
I made this cake for a second time (I think its going to become a yearly birthday tradition!) Instead of making three layers, I poured the full amount of batter into one large circular pan, and frosted and glazed, as dictated. Just fabulous and delicious….: )
I made it in two loaf pans (plus 6 cupcakes to finish the batter), and it became a two layered train cake for my 6-year-old’s birthday. I have a photo of it here:
http://public.fotki.com/dannyerez/choo-choo-cake/cho-cho-cake-2.html#media
I think it was the best cake I’ve ever made. Incredibly rich, and still impossible to stop eating. The inspiration of the presentation is from AllRecipes:
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Train-Cake-Video/Detail.aspx
Thanks for the recipe and the tips!
I have made this cake twice now. It was dubbed “Orgasm Cake” at my husbands work!! It is now a forever tradition to make this cake for my husbands birthday.
This is definitely the best cake I’ve ever made or even eaten for that matter. Only problem I have is, it broke into 3 overnight! It seems like my cake rounds didn’t flatten so overnight it slowly slid apart. It seemed so beautiful, if only for a day.
Deb, do you have any tips on how to keep that from happening? The only thing I didn’t do was cool the cakes on a wire rack, and instead did it on a plate. Should that keep it from happening? Thanks for this amazing recipe.
I’m not sure I followed… did they split once stacked and iced? If so, then you would want to level the cakes before you stack them, so they’re not “bending” as they are stacked on top of a curved top.
I’ve never baked a cake before, but I promised my best friend I’d make her something chocolate & peanut buttery for her 21st birthday. Even though it didn’t look as pretty as yours, it turned out so delicious and amazing. Now I can’t wait to start my next cake-baking endeavor!
The cake split once it was stacked and iced because the tops of all 3 layers remained rounded. What is the best way to level the tops before stacking them? Squashing the round down or cutting it flat. I figure it would of flattened out if I had used a wire rack while cooling, as opposed to a dinner plate. Could the layers just be more rounded than they should of been from a mixing error?
Hi Charles — No squishing; the cake will always want to bounce back. You can use a long, serrated knife (or even a piece of non-minty dental floss, a trick I have picked up from readers) to bevel the tops of the cakes so that they will be flat. I’ve got more tips like this in this post.
Charles–
I usually cut mine flat the best I can. Or, my grandmother uses a piece of thread to even them out, that works pretty well too. It stinks when a cake splits at the very end!! :(
This cake looks fantastic for those peanut butter lovers!
-Sylvia
this looks PERFECT for my fiance’s upcoming birthday. do you have any recommendations for scaling down the recipe into 6 inch pans instead? it will only be the two of us, and we’re both sugar addicts, so if we make the whole thing, it will be gone (and it shouldn’t be)!
I think I was potentially cursed when I was making this ganache — I burned no less than 4 batches. Four! I’m not even sure how that’s possible. I tried a double boiler, a glass bowl over a pot of boiling water, a plastic bowl held six inches above a pot of boiling water, and the microwave in ten second intervals. It went from slightly melted to a glue-y, dull mess in ten seconds flat.
Eventually, I heated up the half and half and used the residual heat from that to melt the chocolate, and that finally did the trick. It had to have been the chocolate I was using, right? The first two batches were made with Ghirardelli bars, and the second two were made with Ghirardelli chips. I’ll have to try this again with a higher quality bar (or, you know, never attempt it again because obviously the gods don’t want me making it).
This cake is amazing. I agree that making the frosting a little saltier is a plus – also I made it once with Jif and once with fresh ground roasted peanut butter from whole foods and it was waaay better the second time. I think the brittle on top gives a nice crunch, and might even try mixing it into the frosting that goes between the layers. I also made this into cupcakes. The batter made a little less than 2 dozen, filled to the top. I let the ganache cool a bit and spread it on top of the cupcakes, then refrigerated them and piped on the frosting when they were set, sprinkling some brittle on top. Amazing!
Just made this. There are no words.
I couldn’t assemble it because I demolished a considerable slice of one of the layers straight out of the pan shmeared with a good 1/4 cup of the oozy, nutty icing. I am in sheer bliss. Off to finish the rest of that pan…
I MADE THIS AGAin for my GIRLFRIENDS’S 22ND BIRTHDAY AND SHE LOVED IT AGAIN!
I make this for my husband’s birthday last week. I don’t think I’ve made a birthday for him in about 5 years. (I am perpetuating the rumor that I hate baking…it saves me a lot of time and aggravation). His favorite candy is Reese’s peanut butter cups. he even steals them from our kids at Halloween. This cake was just the ticket! He loves it. It was easy. I didn’t even break out the kitchen aide. I have been trying to convince him to give some to our neighbors to remove the temptation from our house but he won’t part with any. I think if I had this recipe in my arsenal when we were dating, we would have been married much sooner! I topped our cake with toffee coated peanuts — yummy.
Any suggestions on how I can make this in a heart-shaped pan? :S
I saw above that you used 9-inch cake pans – that’s what I’m trying at the moment, however my cakes are turning out … somewhat less than high & fluffy – the pic that you’ve got of the slice of cake is at an angle so it makes it hard for me to see, but roughly how high did your layers come out?
My layers were maybe an inch or so tall each. The total cake with all of that filling and ganache was pretty tall, however. I remember it bumping into the top of the cake box!
C Ho — Just check the volumes of your heart-shaped pans. Compare them to the volume of an 8- or 9-inch round and adjust the recipe accordingly.
This cake is just heavenly amazing! Just baked it for my friend’s birthday tomorrow and turned out great! She’s gonna love it! :D
Thanks
This is one of the most amazing cakes I’ve ever made. I didn’t top it with the chocolate ganache since it was for a low key afternoon lunch with friends, and it was still out of this world. I can’t wait to use this frosting on cupcakes. It is SO good. I had some leftover and ate by the spoonful all week.
Wow…I’ve been keeping this one in the back of my mind ever since I read about it. My husband thinks peanut butter was created on the 8th Day, and I was just waiting for a chance to surprise him with this…so yesterday was Valentine’s of course, and I DID IT.
Oh…My…Sweet…Lord…
Turned out just like the pics (HUZZAH!!!) and was just as excruciatingly delicious as promised.
I am a little late to this party, but I must concur with the comment about using commercial PB. I only buy organic because I can’t in good concious buy a commercial brand knowing all the other ingredients/chemicals they put in it when the only one should be peanuts. That being said my frosting tasted delicious but was not light and fluffy after adding the PB and was difficult to to ice with and ended up looking like a child’s play doh project. Even though I thoroughly mixed the PB so there was no separation it was still flat and hard to work. Thank God for the Ganache to hide all the ugliness.
Cake is delicious and getting wonderful reviews.
I topped with crunched-up Heath bars… as if it wasn’t decadent enough already!
I just wanted you to know that I made this for my graduate school department bake-off (a VERY competitive affair) and it won best in show! Thanks for the great recipe- it was FANTASTIC!
Thank you, Deb! I love your website and have tried many of your recipes – they’re all so good!! I came across this cake just after my roommate had asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday. I immediately showed it to her (and everyone else I knew!). I was so excited about this cake that I wondered if I’d be let down. Nope – it lived up to its expectations! It was pure peanut butter/chocolate birthday bliss! :)
hi deb… just wondering if I can substitute whipping cream (35%) instead of using half & half for the chocolate-peanut butter glaze… i ask only because I have a bunch of whipping cream to use up in the fridge… i definitely don’t mind getting (or concotting) the half & half if you think using whipping cream instead is ill-advised… looking forward to making this cake for my husband’s birthday next week… thanks again for a terrific website and recipes…
Although I have been a reader for about a year now, I made this over the weekend as my first recipe off the site, and it was beyond delicious. I brought it to a party and it was a huge, huge hit!!! Everything about this thing is rich and peanut buttery and wonderful. And the cake really is one bowl. I was shocked.
I don’t know if I read more for the food or the baby now. I keep telling my friend if she can manage to have one as cute I will quit my job as an accountant and be her full time nanny. Jacob is seriously the cutest kid I have ever seen. Ever.
Wondering if this cake can be stored at room temp in a glass covered cake plate? It’s already chilled and set in the fridge for 30 minutes, the glaze looks perfect, but wondering now if I can keep it at room temperature or if it’s supposed to be kept in fridge all the time except for serving.
This recipe is to die for, and very user friendly, I thought. Thank you so much for sharing!
Fridge because of the cream cheese frosting.
Oh awesome, thanks for the quick response! I’ve never made a homemade cream cheese frosting before today, so I wasn’t sure. After I put my 2-yr old down tonight I cut a big piece and had a big glass of milk – YUM! Thanks again=)
Deb, I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for almost a year, intending to make it for my sister-in-law’s birthday in April, but I decided to try out out on my mom’s birthday first — just made it today, and it turned out beautifully!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/87832879@N00/4385832605/
Can’t wait to see how it tastes at the party tomorrow. Thanks for posting it!
I have made this cake many times and every time people go crazy for it! I have yet to come across a recipe that rivals it! Perfect combination and so much fun to make. It’s beautiful to the eye and a party in your mouth!! LOVE IT :)
Deb! Would like to start by saying thank you so much for sharing so many wonderful recipes with us. This blog is freaking amazing. I enjoy it and your thoroughly NYC tone immensely. Your son is also gorgeous beyond words, your photies of Mr J make my hormones go through the roof, lady! Those cheeks and mop of hair are the best thing you’ve baked.
I finally got around to making this cake, although being short on time, I went the cupcake route. I slightly hollowed them out, filled with the peanut butter stuff, pipped more peanut butter stuff on top, then pooled over some of the chocolate stuff. This recipe yields the most ridiculously amazing cake EVER, and I bake a minimum of weekly. I have also replaced my standard chocolate cake with this version. I have gotten non stop raves, even from those who claim to hate either chocolate (whaaaa?) and/or peanut butter, so, thank you very much!
Made this cake for my husband’s poker night. SOOOOOO good! I will continue to make it for many special occasions!
Made this cake yesterday for a friends birthday.
It was the first time I’ve ever made a layer cake. Not too hard!
My only advice is that you have to work fast with the ganache. I read the tips on spreading it over a cold cake for the gooey look, but I think I was too cautious and moved too slowly, so it didn’t drizzle quite as nicely. I’ll remember it for next time.
Very moist, everyone loved it.
Soooo good, Deb. Thanks for sharing. I made this for my 28th birthday this weekend and everyone gushed over the cake.
I just made this cake for my dad’s birthday, and it was so well received I’ve been told I have to make it for his birthday every year.
I used Yoghurt instead of Sour Cream, and cut the icing sugar in the frosting down to just 2 cups. As well, I used Kraft Natural Peanut butter and didn’t have any problems with the frosting being too thick.
I also used two rectangular glass pyrex dishes to make this into a 2 layer cake, and baked it for 35 minutes.
All of these substitutions still resulted in something that is to die for.
I know this post is from a while ago, but I’ve been eyeballing this cake ever since you first posted it. I FINALLY had an opportunity to make it for a birthday party yesterday and it was a serious hit! Thanks for all the useful tips. I’ve referenced your Project Wedding Cake post several times.
I made this Monday for my cousin’s birthday Tues, she’s a big choc/pb fan. It was delicious! I didn’t bother making it look great with the crumb layer and it didn’t end up horrible looking and of course didn’t affect the taste! Thank you so much for sharing this.
Amazing! Thank you!
my gawd! the house smells soo good! I’m surprising the husband with this tonight for his birthday. but- my chocolate peanut butter glaze does not look like the picture. it’s a bit runnier & not as dark. should I be concerned? it’s chilling now & my hope is it just sets up in the fridge…
I labored over this last night as I decided to enter it into a Dessert Bake-Off at work today. All that work paid off as I won 1st place! Not terribly surprising as, once I saw the finished masterpiece, I had a good feeling it would win. I can’t tell you how many kudos I received. I topped the glaze with chopped pieces of Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cups. It was simply incredible. Thank you for posting this recipe and for sharing your pictures!
I made this tonight as cupcakes (32) instead of a cake and they are amazing. Thanks Deb.
How long should they cook for if in cupcake form?
I made this yesterday for my best friend’s 20th birthday and it was UNBELIEVABLE. I used coffee and instead of water and eliminated the vinegar. The cake was so moist (definitely a good idea to refrigerate or freeze the layers before frosting), and the frosting was delicious. The ganache was perfect, like eating fudge. Such a cool presentation also, everyone was impressed. I bake constantly and everyone said this was their favorite thing I’ve ever made. I will make this again and again and again.
I cannot tell you how many people loved this cake. I made it twice in one week–first as a practice round for a friend’s birthday, then for the actual birthday party. Friends, neighbors, colleagues–everyone RAVED about it. For days. Weeks. I still have people mentioning it to me. It has given me newfound baking confidence, and I really appreciate you sharing this recipe!
Now for the bad news: The cake takes a lot longer to bake than the recipe indicates (20-30mins more), and the center falls in. Both times I checked the cake at the appropriate time that it was supposed to come out, and the center was still practically liquid. It was in that last 20-30mins that the center sinks. I checked, and my oven temp is accurate. I also mixed the batter thoroughly. I’m baking in two 9″ round pans on the center rack.
I did a quick search above and didn’t see anyone else with the same issue, but I’m hoping there’s someone out there who can offer advice…?
This will be made again and again in my house as it is, hands down, the most delicious, rich and satisfying cake, ever. If you are a chocolate+peanut butter fan, it may be fair to say this cake will ruin you for all others.
I made this cake a couple weeks ago and let me tell you it was perfect. I did it in 3 9-inch cake pans (would you believe Target doesn’t sell 8 inch cake pans? WTF?). I do believe the words “tastiest food item of the night, nay year” and “you’ve ruined baked goods for me” were uttered. Of course I have to find something to make for the NEXT birthday in the lineup but I’m sure I’ll work something out… and leave a comment on your blog to thank you for the recipe :-).
So I made this cake for my 30th birthday today. My boyfriend had some, too. He’s a 250lb bald headed, muscle bound, motorcycle riding bruiser who eats peanut butter cups like it’s his part time job. And he wanted me to let you know that this cake kicked his @ss. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this birthday cake for my boyfriend, coincidentally his name is also Alex and he’s a huge peanut butter/chocolate fan, and he loved it. And there is plenty leftover. Thanks!
I just made this cake for my friend’s birthday party and it was an absolute hit!! It is a very time consuming cake, but completely worth the effort. The directions were all very helpful. My only comment is that I think you meant that you should use 1/3 of the icing when doing the first layer, instead of 2/3. Thanks for such an amazing recipe!! Keep ’em comin’! :)
This cake = perfection. I am now a convert to buttercream frostings. Hallowed be thy name.
My son had requested a Peanut-Butter / Chocolate / Pretzel Cake for his birthday. I made this cake and sprinkled broken Pretzel Sticks over the top and then added unbroken (small) Pretzel Sticks standing up / leaning on each other all over the top for a striking appearance.
We had it last night to rave reviews. My daughter said she looked at the piece on her plate and thought she couldn’t eat it all, then after trying it decided she could very well eat the whole cake.
The cake is fabulous and will become one of my regular celebration cakes, with or without the pretzels, although the saltiness was a nice countertpoint to that rich, rich cake.
I just made this decadant cake to take to Easter Supper tomorrow with my family. My Aunt who is hosting the dinner requested Choc w. PB frosting -her favorite. For how much I bake (weekly) I have never ever made PB frosting. LOL. I am liiterally just finishing up the cake now and am sad I am going to have to share ;) Thanks for a rich and decadant dessert that I am sure to be making again!
Happy Spring!!
I’m making this cake right now to take over for my boyfriend’s mom’s 50th birthday party tonight. We’re having lobster and Prosecco, but I’m thinking this over-the-top cake might overshadow everything else. Nom nom!
@Kristi (commenter 561) – the recipe says 2/3 cup of frosting, not 2/3 of all the frosting. :)
Holy cats! This cake is good. Or actually, I think it’s the combination of cake and frosting that makes it so perfect. I found myself wanting the cake to have a bit more oomph…a chocolatier flavor? More salt? I often think this about oil-based cake recipes versus butter-based ones, but I also concede that this cake is SUPER-RICH as it is and doing a butter-based cake might push it over the edge.
As usual, I made changes:
Batter:
– 1/4 cup less sugar
– 1/4 cup less water
– 1 teaspoon more vanilla
– extra pinch of salt
Frosting:
– used salted butter
– 11 oz cream cheese
– 1 cup or more pb, and I DID use a grainy, salted, natural brand (Adams)
– added 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
– a few extra pinches of salt
I kept pb out of the ganache and topped the cake with chopped, roasted salted peanuts. Freezing the layers is very good idea. MAKE SURE TO CHECK IF YOUR OIL IS FRESH! Mine was rancid and I had to bake a second cake….. but it was totally worth the sleep deprivation. Seriously. This might be the most deliciously Reese’s PB Cup-like cake, or ANY kind of cake, I’ve ever eaten. MAKE IT NOW, before it’s too late!!!!
Do you think by chance that I could use mashed bananas in place of the oil???? I’m looking for a banana chocolate cake with pb frosting or some sort of combo like that. Guess I could try…. just curious. Looks wonderful!
I’m making this for birthday. So so good, cannot wait.
I cannot wait to make this cake!!! It sounds like heaven.
I am making it tonight for my father in laws dinner party i am hosting tomorrow, he is a chocolate and a peanut addict so its a great excuse to make it and not eat it all by myself , thank the gods for leftovers.
Hi Deb
Tried your recipe the 1st time and the result was excellent. But when I did today, after baking the cake, when I turned over the cake, the whole cake fell apart. Where did I go wrong?
Can you give me more info? Did it break because it was soft? Underbaked? Not firm enough to be lifted? Did it seem like there was an ingredient missing, like it was bound well?
Thanks for responding fast Deb. The cake tasted perfect but whenever aft baking,
when inverted onto wire rack and peel off the paper liner, the cake cracks and opens up. Otherwise, the cake is fine. I did the cake 3 X last nite and all the cakes turned out the same.
I really do not know why it started cracking but the cake was well baked. Everyone loved the cake but I was just dissapointed that it was cracking up in the middle.
I did a search looking for a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting to make, that my husband requested for his birthday. Your site was the first that popped up, but I think I’ve found the perfect cake, this looks delicious!
This cake is so delicious. We have made this for my husband and daughter each year on their birthday for the past few years. They LOVE it and request it every year!
is the cake batter supposed to be watery mine was really liquidy not like other cakes i’ve baked
megan — The batter is surprisingly thin. It still bakes up wonderfully, or it should!
Your so right I baked this yesterday for my sister’s birthday and everyone agreed that it was the best cake ever! I love your site!
I just made this cake for my dad and he absolutely loved it! It was such a rich cake but he had to go for a second helping (it was his birthday cake after all) even though he was still stuffed from dinner.
And you’re definitely right about the cake feeding a lot more people than 12. We barely made a dent, so he’s taking half the cake to feed his colleagues at work today. Thanks for a great recipe!
Making this Friday for a friend’s going away party. I’m going to take the day off work. Can’t wait!
We don’t keep PB in the house, so i was a bit worried that the significant other would turn his nose at the cake… I made this one for a winter-ending bbq with friends and it was a hit!! Little slices only, as dinner was filling, so the leftover cake was sent into the freezer and has since been turned into a go-to “we have to have this at all times” sort of snack! Your directions and pictures helped me out so well!!
im so glad ive found this!
my best friend doesnt live in my country anymore but hell be coming this weekend for his bday!!! and i really wanted to surprise him with his favorite flavour (chocolate peanu butter) cake!
i so looking forward to do this!!!
oh and one question ( i hope you read it before friday)
is it possible to make the cakes on fiday and the rest on saturday to ensemble it for saturdays night?
or is better to do the whole cake at the same day is gonna be eaten?
priz — You can do either. It’s a moist cake, and fairly forgiving of a day’s rest. That said, I prefer to bake the cakes in advance, stash them well-wrapped in the freezer, and frost and fill them the day I need them. More layer cake tips, if you’re interested, over here.
thanks a lot! ill bake them on friday then :)
I baked the cakes yesterday, stored them in the fridge overnight and iced it this morning for my sister-in-law’s birthday. We all swooned over this cake. I wanted to follow your recipe to a T, but the sour cream I thought I had on hand was a figment of my imagination. Using plain yogurt in it’s place worked splendidly. The cake was incredibly moist and tasty, the icing and ganache, incredibly rich- perfect for a special occasion. Thanks, Deb. You never cease to amaze me:-).
Made this today because we just bought our first house and it was our “we just bought a house” cake. My boyfriend loves chocolate and peanut butter. This was so easy to make especially because of your tips on chilling it. Thanks for posting such awesome recipes.
When I saw this cake, I knew it was going to be on my list of possibilites for my birthday cake this year. I just made it over the weekend and it was AMAZING!!! If I didn’t like trying new things so much, I’d make it for my birthday every year :o) Needless to say, it goes into my repertoire to make for special occasions in the future. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out beautifully. THANK YOU for such a great birthday cake!
I made this last weekend, and everyone loved it! I changed it up a little, and just made a double layer cake to bring to a friends house, and 12 cupcakes so I could keep some at home, worked out perfectly! Thanks for the recipe :)
this is awesome. my peanut butter addict boy turns 10 tomorrow. the cakes are in the oven now. thanks!
I asked my sister to make this for me for my birthday, and it was one of the best cakes we’ve ever had. The cake itself is just sooo moist and perfect, everything about it was excellent, we wouldn’t change a thing. I especially love the double layer of frosting, each layer having a unique consistency. We sat down to slices of it 4 times in less than 48 hours (I was visiting for the weekend). Definitely a recipe that will stay in our family forever! Thanks.
Just made this for my boyfriend’s 30th birthday! It’s actually currently setting in the freezer — we ended up not having enough time before our dinner reservation to finish frosting it. It looks AWESOME — can’t wait to snack on it! However, my ganache sucks! After I added the peanut butter and tried to stir it over the double boiler, it just seized up. It’s more like dry, crumbly fudge than a sauce. Not liquid at all. How did I “break” it?
Never mind — I added the milk (didn’t have half-and-half) and it immediately broke back down and melted into a lovely glossy goo! It was a last ditch attempt — I thought for sure the cold milk would ruin it! Looks gorgeous, we are hungry now!
I made this yesterday for a friends birthday. It was fabulous. Everyone LOVED it! The only problem I had was with the PB frosting. Once I added the PB the frosting kind of separated and I couldn’t get it to a smooth consistency. It almost seemed like it had air bubbles in it. I was able to wet the spatula and smooth out the frosting, but am wondering where I went wrong. (The PB was Peter Pan brand). Would love to make it again and have it turn out right. Thanks and love your site!
OMG, this cake is like a giant Reese’s peanut butter cup. I am a chocolate and peanut butter addict, and I made this cake for my OWN birthday yesterday. Everyone loved it, and I can’t get enough! YUM! Thank you thank you thank you.
I made this cake the other day for a friend, turned out great. I used Maranatha peanut butter for the frosting, which is what I always use for recipes that call for commercial brands. It has a much richer peanut-buttery taste than commercial, but the oil does separate out as much as brands like Adams. It has the closest consistency to commercial that I’ve found, but doesn’t contain yucky things like hydrogenated oil. I use it often for baking and it has never let me down…just thought I’d pass that along.
WOW…made this cake for my Hubby’s birthday…it is ridiculously good. I got comments like “best cake ever” and “best thing I ever ate”. My guests are still talking about it 2 weeks later. It was a little labor intensive but I followed all of the tips provided and I got a pretty and fairly level 3 layer cake. I am going to make it for Father’s day, for my own birthday next month and any other occasion I can come up with…Thank. You. Deb.
Deb- I’ve made this cake, and it is absolutely delicious! I need to make a birthday cake this weekend for a chocoholic, so I’m thinking about doubling this cake recipe and making it in two 9 x 13s for a giant double layer sheet cake to feed a crowd. How do you think this would work? It’s a soft cake, so do you think it would be manageable? (Also, any estimates on baking time would be greatly appreciated!) I wouldn’t make the peanut butter frosting and ganache, but would use your raspberry filling recipe (the one on the double chocolate layer cake post- I think one batch should be enough?) and the ganache recipe on that post also (1 1/2 recipes? 2 recipes? Any ideas?). However, how stable is the ganache frosting? Can it handle being left at room temperature for a few hours or does it need refrigeration? I was going to make and assemble this cake the day before and refrigerate it until the party- do you think it would keep moist and fresh overnight? Sorry for bombarding you with questions, but I would really appreciate advice from the master baker! Thanks!
I was just reading through the comments and noticed that you frequently recommended both the chocolate butter wedding cake and the chocolate layer cake for an even more chocolatey cake than this one. Which one do you prefer in taste and think would be more manageable for a large double layered cake? The only reason I was hesitant to use these two recipes was because of the coffee- does it impart a strong coffee flavor into the cake or does it just lend a depth of chocolate flavor? I think I would need to double both to bake in two 9 x 13s- what do you think? Thanks again!
The wedding chocolate cake is sturdier, the double layer one is softer. Both are good. For a large cake, go with the wedding one.
Oh goodness, I read through so many comments regarding the cake being too soft and was just about to go with the double layer recipe, which is my chocolate stand-by and the recipe I used for our wedding cupcakes. But now I’ve read comment 601 where you say that the double layer cake is softer. I am making a standard 3 layer cake with PB filling and chocolate frosting (in lieu of ganache), which recipe do you recommend?
The double layer cake is ever-so-slightly softer. Soft cake is a good thing! It will be tender and moist. If it gives you any trouble lifting and moving, just use the freezer to firm it up while you work.
I just had to come back to tell you that I went for the double layer cake because it is my absolute favorite. Making it reminds me of all the test-rounds I did for our wedding cake last year. It came out perfectly, I froze the four(!) layers for a bit and made the p.b. frosting from this recipe for the filling. Divine. Tomorrow I will add the ganache and present it to the lucky high school graduate. I hope she loves it!
I made this cake in February for my boyfriends birthday, and I got rave reviews. Everyone that had some told me it was the best cake they have ever had.
Now, his sister has requested it to be her birthday cake as well. I love this recipe, and I love this site! Thank you so much! <3
Delish! Perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio. Moist light cake,whipped yummy peanut butter frosting, topped with chocolate. Perfection. Thanks, Deb! You are my go to site for ideas, recipes, and cooking hints!
I am now the official birthday cake hero of my family. Big hit. We liked it best served cold right out of the fridge the next day- I think I left it out too long before the initial serving so it was pretty soft and squishable. I agree on the serving size, we served 15 pretty generously and still had about a third of the cake left the next day.
Thank you so much for including all the tips and hints- my cake literally turned out like your picture, somehow! All the chilling in between the steps of handling the cake definitely seemed to make a difference. Thanks for sharing all the details and such a fabulous recipe!
This cake looks terrific! Its my boyfriends birthday on saturday and I really wanna try making it for him he ll love it! Quick question what is half and half? :S
Aliya — It’s a light cream sold in the U.S., half milk and half heavy cream. You can make your own.
Okay, I think I’m going to have to sue you for… something, because this cake was too damn good for my hips and thighs. I used melted semisweet chocolate rather than cocoa and butter rather than oil, with some chocolate chips in the batter. I didn’t have enough of the same size pan, so I used a 9″ springform pan and made it a single layer, which took forever to bake, but it still turned out alright. I let it chill for about an hour before putting on the crumb coat, then let that chill before frosting it and pouring on the ganache. It made way too much cake and it’s still sitting in the house because it’s too rich to eat a lot at once, even though I made it on Thursday night (birthday cake for my Mom). My Mom put it in the freezer so that we wouldn’t eat it all, but that hasn’t deterred me one bit, since it seems to taste even better frozen. The frosting is my favourite part.
I cannot thank you enough for posting this on the website. I haven’t actually eaten the cake yet, but making it, from tasting the cake that fell off when I was putting it together, to tasting the icing for both the peanut butter and then the ganache! Oh me, oh my!!! I cannot wait to taste it tomorrow for my husband’s big 29th birthday! ;) I feel like I should have a party now, to show off my domestic godessness!!!
Thanks Deb! You are a definite bookmark and a favorite. Your tips made this cake so much easier to handle and it looks like your picture, except the top of mine is rounded out a bit… to get that “flat” look, do you put the top layer upside down?? and if you do is that why you use parchment paper in the bottom of the pans??
Is it possible to cut the recipe in half? I am going to make this for my 3 year anniversary with my boyfriend, and since it’s just the two of us, we don’t need that much cake. I was going to go buy the small 6″ round pans to make a smaller version of the cake.
I figured I would just halve all the ingredients, but am not sure about the adjustment in baking time.
6-inch pans should halve the recipe just fine (keeping the same height, though). You’ll have to watch for baking time adjustment… it will need more than half of the baking time.
Wow, wow, wow! I made this for my birthday, and it was completely amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe. I had two requests for the recipe; so there are two new smittenkitchen followers. I thought that the balance of the delicious, soft, but not overly sweet cake was perfect with the frostings. The only think I might change next time is to put a bit less of the chocolate glaze because it overpowered the peanut butter cream cheese frosting just a bit. Thanks again, Deb!
WOW!
I wish I had this recipe for my wife’s birthday. OH WAIT! She always says that July is her birthday month! So perfect I can still make another birthday cake!
Thanks for the post!
I made this cake yesterday for a friends birthday, it is incredible!! I made the layers a week before though and froze them – the cake was so easy to work with this way and was still moist and delicious. The frosting on this cake is what makes it – it’s unbelievably good. Just one tip – if you use wax paper to protect your cake board/plate remove the wax paper after the icing and before the glaze. It takes away from the presentation if you lose the bottom of the dribbles of the glaze. This cake is even better cold the next day from the fridge :) Thanks for sharing it Deb!
Wow, your recipes look amazing. I cannot wait to make this.
Just like all the other comments, this cake it a huge hit. It is the most requested thing I have ever made. I also have never added the peanut brittle to the top of the cake, just not sure I’d like that crunch with the super moist cake. I have however started adding chopped reeses peanut butter cups to the top and it looks great sitting on top of the ganache.
I just finished this cake for my father-in-law’s 52nd birthday tomorrow. I made 3 8.5inch layers. The cake is ridiculously moist and springy, the pb/cream cheese frosting almost mousse-like. My 3.5 y/o and 15 m/o were fighting over who got to lick the spatula used to spread the glaze. The only problem is having to wait until tomorrow to have a piece. Thank you for a this recipe. Your recipes never fail to be amazing!
My cake may not look beautiful, but it tasted *amazing*. Great recipe!
http://s59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/anaaki/?action=view¤t=P8088846.jpg
I had no problem cutting the recipe in half. It translated perfectly into a 6″ cake. Baked it for about 20 minutes.
You were right about how rich it is. Small slices were a good idea. We got about 12-14 slices out of the 6″.
I’ve made this twice and am having problems with the chocolate glaze. First time it was smooth but it didn’t dribble down the sides. The second time I used 1/2 semi-sweet and 1/2 unsweetened chocolate. It was thick so I thinned it with the 1/2 and 1/2. It plopped on the cake and smeared down the sides. UGH!!! Both times the cake was tasty. I guess I just have to keep on making it to get the glaze right. The PB frosting is, as a told a friend, inspires one to smear it on someone’s body and lick. It is THAT good!!!
Some cruel woman posted a picture of this cake on my pregnancy boards last weekend. It was pure torture for a woman 27 weeks pregnant to make or NOT make this cake, and so I did. It was wonderful! I admit I used tin pans because I don’t own 8 cake pans of the same size, but they were great because the cakes popped right out. My husband liked it too & did not know there was cream cheese in the peanut butter frosting (he hates cream cheese). He said it looked like a bakery cake, which I took as a compliment because I admit I don’t usually spend much time on decorating. And it passed his “oh this is going to give me a migraine” test for being super rich, so cutting thin slices was defintely the way to go. I froze more than half because I’m afraid continuing to eat it will make me fail my gestational diabetes test Friday. :) This chocolate cake recipe was so moist, I may use it with other frostings, too – it surpasses my old stand by that’s been passed down in my family for generations.
I should add that on the ganache, I couldn’t get the chocolate to smooth out on the double boiler. So I whisked in the half and half on the double boiler a quarter at a time. It worked great. It was pretty thick, but I spread it over the top, allowing it to drip down the sides and it was perfect.
I made this cake for my husbands birthday. He loves chocolate and peanut butter confections, but claims he does not like cake.
Well I put an end to that notion with this cake.
One note, have a big group to eat this cake. I have half a cake stored in my freezer that I will have to finish. Poor me.
My husband is a HUGE peanut butter fan, tmrw is his poker party, i will def try this and might add reeses chunks on top. I have a question the choc ganache can I add peanut butter to that too? Was wondering your thoughts on that.
Hi
I tried out your icing and I loved it I did add one or two things .There is nothing I enjoy more than peanut butter and chocolate together .I used it on some chocolate cupcakes I made. Have a look at the end result
They were a massive hit with everyone at work!!:)
Your peanut butter icing was lovely I used it in my chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes recipe. They were a huge hit at work!. I added 1tblsp of brewed coffee to it as well, and used crunchy peanut butter.Was Yummmy, was so good I had to add it to my blog! If you want to see how they turned out check it out!!
I made this cake tonight for my husband’s birthday! My husband, who is quite the foodie, just fell in love with this cake. I never heard him rave so much about a cake I made. Thank you so much for the recipe!
This cook looks awesome! Today is my husband’s birthday and I have been planning on making this for him. Unfortunately, I lost my shopping list at the store last night and just barely realized I didn’t remember to get half and half. Annoying. Do you know if I can substitute anything for it? I don’t bake a lot or drink coffee so I don’t have cream in the house. I have milk, sour cream, butter, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Do you think that I could monkey with any of those and be safe? Or should I just make something else? :(
(I meant this “cake”,… hahah…..)
Jan, I used evaporated milk because I don’t keep half & half in the house – it turn out perfectly. I just finished this cake for my daughter’s birthday, and it was PERFECT.
“Chocolate peanut butter ganache? Shut up!!”
“No, really.”
“Oh my god.”
“I know.”
Thank you for a fantastic recipe.
I’ve been waiting half a year to make this cake. Living in a low-sugar, peanut butter- hating, chocolate-misunderstanding family in law means I had to wait until my own birthday. I halved the recipe and made 2 7 inch layers, baked for 30 minutes. It was fantastic!
i finished making this cake last night and am delighted at how amazing it looks!!! can’t wait to taste it.
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8020/pbcake.png
This is fantastic! I used a bundt pan and it fit fine. I was worried it would run over so put some in a small dish but once it was done I realized I had a ton of room, apparently it doesn’t rise as high as some other cakes. Thanks so much for such a great recipe!
Thanks so much for the recipe! I made the cake for my birthday and it went over like a house on fire! For a friend’s birthday, I did cupcakes and filled them with the ganache using the cut out cone method and then frosted them with the peanut butter icing. They were just as delicious but much more portable!
I did omit the corn syrup in the ganache for the cupcake batch so that it would be a little firmer in the center.
This cake is SUPER DELISH…I have made it a few times…as written…with great success. It doesnt last more than a day or two in my home!
okay, this was out of control. it was so much fun to make! i thought the peanut butter frosting was going to be a little too….subtle….so i melted some peanut butter in the microwave and spread that on each layer before frosting, sort of like the crumb coat, and in the end it tasted like a peanut butter kandy kake tastycake except with chocolate cake. mmmmm. i think it would also be good with yellow cake, believe it or not, which is more like the tastycakes of my childhood. only this time, with a dark chocolate bang. thanks, deb. you are a goddess.
I made this cake for my daughters 21st birthday. WOW! They couldn’t get enough! Katie drove 15 minutes to see me today and her first question was, “Where is the cake”. Question. My layers dipped in the middle. They were cooked all the way through perfectly and they did not fall. Ideas?
Hi! I”m new to the site. I discovered it doing a google search for a chocolate/peanut butter cake to make for my boyfriend’s birthday. I found this this cake and just knew I had to make it. It is an amazing cake. So good. Unbelieveably good. I’m pretty sure he’ll be begging me to make it every year now. Thanks so much for the recipe!
holy shit deb! i made this last night for a birthday and we finally cut it a few hours ago. hands down THE BEST chocolate cake ever. i’m guessing the cup of oil has something to do with it hahah. and the frosting, i’m going to dream about it for days. so freakin good!!!! thanks so much for this recipe.
I made this for my husband’s brithday this weekend. It was AMAZING. SO moist!!
I was looking for a “last blast” before diet cake. . . so good. I have a time-limiting two year old so I used a box cake with the 1 cup of sour cream, then pretty much followed the recipe (well. . ok. . I had 4 ozs of unsweet chocolate, so I bought a 4 oz bar of hersheys. . to finally use that up. . lol. Worked well) Thanks so much. My neighbors thank you too, since after 2 pieces each we gave the rest away. LOL. I will say I love fudge, so this cake was best served cold out of fridge for me. I had it at room temp and it was nice and light, but, really, I liked the cold fudge density even more. Thanks again for the recipe.
I did a search looking for “peanut butter chocolate cake” when my other half requested just that for his 30th. I came across your post for this recipe and I knew I just HAD to make it. While mine didn’t turn out as nice looking as yours, the birthday boy said that this was possible the best cake I had ever made (and I’ve made A LOT of cakes). Thanks for the inspiration! Though now I’m not sure how I’m going to top that next time… at least I have a year to find something equally amazing :)
I make my hubby a chocolate/peanut butter dessert every year for his birthday, and it’s getting harder to find new things to try. This looks FABULOUS! He is going to love, love, LOVE it! I can’t wait to make it. Thanks!
Well Deb, I am here to report that I have made this cake a total of four times now, for four different audiences…and it has been a resounding, wild, runaway success each time. I even made a gluten-free version for my Celiac-afflicted mum-in-law (gross gluten-free bean flour and oily separating organic peanut butter) and it was INDISTINGUISHABLE from the original…its sheer awesomeness defied the changes. I think this cake has made a bigger impact on my husband than anything else I’ve ever cooked for him, and I’m not exactly a slouch in the kitchen. He begs for it constantly. I think he’d trade a kidney for it.
Oh I just love it when you mix chocolate and peanuts. It’s just irresistible.
first things first, i absolutely love your site. Every now and then when i have the time i try your recipes, and for my boyfriend’s 21st birthday i tried this one. it was absolutely delicious, and you are so right, you definitely need some milk lol.
check it out: http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b398/ieatpicturesforlunch/38952_524362820582_4101084_31058242_6056466_n.jpg
thanks for having great taste in food and sharing it with all of us! :)
I love this cake – made it last year at Thanksgiving, and it was a huge hit. This past weekend, I followed the same recipe, but instead of peanut butter, I used nutella in the frosting (and skipped the ganache). It was delicious!
Made this cake over the weekend for my peanut butter-chocolate-loving boyfriend. Both he and I loved it. It is very rich, but delicious. I made it using two 9″ rounds instead of three 8″ rounds. Only needed to bake for an extra 5 minutes (40min), and it came out great! Keep posting the great recipes!
LOVE this cake – thank you for sharing! It is so delicious, but I am having one problem. My peanut butter frosting never comes out smooth. It looks like it has tiny lumps throughout making it visually less appetizing though the taste and texture is still good. I’m using room temp ingredients and skippy peanut butter. I feel I’m following the directions to a tee. I just made the cake for the third time and tried beating in my mixer (paddle attachment) for longer than the recommended time, but made no difference. Any thoughts on what could fix this problem? And, as long as I’m asking questions, any suggestions about adapting the recipe for cupcakes?Thank you!!!
Are you sifting the powdered sugar? Mine always has lumps and makes a lumpy frosting if I don’t sift it
OK, reading at my computer instead of my phone I see lots of advice about cupcakes (sorry!). But do you have any idea what I’m doing wrong in the frosting that would leave it with the tiny bumps? Thanks for your help!!!
Rebecca, did you sift the sugar and/or did you make sure the butter was at room temp? Those would probably be the first culprits.
I just finished making this–over the course of 3 days! We’re going to eat it tomorrow for my husband’s 40th birthday. Looks great but my ganache was pretty thick and I couldn’t get it to drip down the sides. I still think it’s going to taste amazing though, and in the end that’s what counts!
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and Christmas and each day it got better and better with a wonderful cup of hot coffee. Thank you for this recipe! Love it!
Wow, this cake is AMAZING.
Making this cake today for the second time. It is the best cake ever! Thanks so much for sharing…
Hi Deb!
I think you answered this but I wanted a more specific response. It is Wednesday and I want to make this cake for Friday. However, with work I am worried I won’t have time to freeze after each step, etc. 1) Is it okay to make the cakes tonight, wrap and seal them dry (no icing or anything) and keep them in the freezer for Friday? 2) Can I ice them while frozen? I hope they defrost within a few hours?? and finally 3) Is it okay to take it out of the fridge (for the ganache to set) while we got to dinner…it will be a few hours at room temperature.
Thanks so much!! Hopefully you see this before tonight. LOVE your website:)
Katie, I made the cakes on a Monday and froze them, did the first layer of frosting on Tuesday (frosted while they were frozen) and left the cake in the fridge uncovered, did the ganache on Wednesday and we ate the cakes on Thursday, it all worked beautifully. There were a few nights where it sat out for a few hours at room temp and it was fine. HTH!
I made this for my cousin’s birthday and it turned out horribly! The frosting and glaze are wonderful, but the cake just did not turn out well. It was chewy and flat. I felt like I was chewing on play-doh. Maybe it didn’t turn out because of the humidity here. Too bad… I was so excited!
I am making a birthday cake for a customer, and from reading some of the comments in this recipe, would this recipe work using your double chocolate layer cake recipe for the cake part, AND then using the pb-chocolate ganache and peanut butter cream cheese? My customer wants the cake to be super chocolatey, and after reading Stella’s comment and your reply i am thinking of using the double chocolate layer cake recipe, and then frosting it with the pb cream cheese frosting and the pb chocolate ganache from this recipe.
Thanks
I cannot explain how amazing this cake looks and tastes! My daughter has chosen it for her December wedding cake, and the cake chef recently made us a sample cake of the recipe. It was without doubt the most delightful cake any of the 30+ tasters of this sample had ever tasted. I savored every morsel of my slice, and my daughter and fiance’ drove 3 hours to get a taste. We even froze a couple slices for our son and his wife, and they thawed to the original taste and consistency. Moist does not begin to describe this cake! The icing is heavenly, and the ganache is beyond words. As a matter of fact, I had never heard the word “ganache” before, and now I feel so cultured when I use it. Whether compliments go to the cake chef or recipe originator I’m not sure, but tasting it was a moment in time I shall never forget. We expect to completely run out of cake at the wedding reception!
I am “Allyson…the daughter of Jan who posted right above this”…and I could not let her EnThUsIaSm for this cake stand alone from our experience. For every chocolate and peanut butter lover out there…LISTEN!!!….this is A-MAZING!!! I mean I know…I promise! If I had a dollar for every dessert I’ve ever tried, made, or purchased because it’s ingredients contained chocolate and peanut butter…I would have to be a stinkin’ MILLIONAIRE! But in all serious…I CANNOT WAIT to have my non-traditional wedding cake on that oh so special day :) I’ve always known that my cake would HAVE TO BE chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, but then you couple that unforgettable creation with the chocolate and peanut butter ganache and WHAMMO!!! Absolute LOVE IN YOUR MOUTH!!! I will have to stop back by to post again once the wedding is over to tell of all the compliments and ooohhhsss and aaaahhhsss we got over the cake. It is quite true…I drove 3 hours just to taste it…and I’d do it ALL OVER AGAIN! HaPpY EaTiNG!!!
Hi, I have never posted before, but after looking at all the scrumptious cakes and other confections, I stumbled upon this one and this looks FANTASTIC. I love all things peanut butter+ chocolate, and i wish i could eat a slice of this just from looking at those pictures!
I have a peanut butter cake recipe that I discovered in one of the BBC Good FOOD magazines, from British BBC Jane Hornby. Its a peanut butter sponge cake with peanut butter icing, caramel, and a simple melted chocolate top. Ive tweaked it to have homemade caramel, more peanut butter frosting, and chocolate ganache in the centre and on the top of the cake, but I never thought of making a CHOCOLATE cake! After looking at yours that looks so fantastic that I think I might make one of these for our Slava holiday in two weeks.
i made this for my own birthday a few weeks ago, and it turned out beautifully. i halved the recipe and made it in six inch pans; each layer baked for about 22 minutes. i only have 2 6 inch pans, so i kept the third portion in the fridge while the other two baked. i froze the layers as recommended, and am thankful i did as even getting them out of the pans and wrapped for freezing was tricky. also halved the frosting and ganache, and reduced the powdered sugar to about 1 1/2 cups. i saved about 1/4 cup of frosting to decorate with after the ganache set. it was a huge hit with everyone who tasted it!
Deb help! I just made the glaze this morning and seized the chocolate three times before I finally tried it without the corn syrup and then it finally worked. what’s my problem? i’m using the lowest heat possible. seized chocolate is just about the saddest looking thing in the world to me.
Could it be the chocolate you are using? By “seized”, do you mean that it split, and the oily part came loose from the chocolate?
Deb-My daughter (7) has requested a Reese’s cake for her birthday this Sunday.(She’s already had lemon and strawberry cupcakes for her class-demanding girl) I was going to make the Devil Dog cake and find a peanut butter filling for it, until I found this one.This looks like the perfect thing…only one possible problem. We live in Florida and this Sunday afternoon in the park it will be about 80. I’ve made many successful birthday cakes over the years but the one problem I always have is frosting slipping and sliding off the cake when it’s warm. It either won’t completely set up or it thins out and slides off. Please help! Nobody likes a cake in a pool of frosting, no matter how tasty!
heyy…this cake looks amazinggg…i tried making it as cupcakes (they are cooling right now in fact)…they taste really good but they sank a bit in the middle…what did i do wrong?? ok i did open the oven after 20 mins cause i wasn’t sure how long they would take…would that cause them to sink? they sank after i removed them from oven…
Deb,
Of course you have never seized chocolate before — you are just that good! Seized chocolate gets all grainy and lumpy and becomes a mush that just pushes around and around but does not melt. After more researching I found out that this happens if the chocolate gets too hot, or if water gets into the chocolate. I’m thinking my corn syrup had water in it possibly. or maybe next time i’ll try adding the corn syrup after it’s been removed from the heat. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond!
I’m new to baking and had to look up dutch process cocoa powder and am a little confused. Here it says that it doesn’t react with baking soda and requires baking powder, but this recipe doesn’t call for baking powder. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/CocoaTypes.htm Could you tell me why that is? I’m just curious! Thank you!
It reacts less with baking soda, from what I understand. It’s an acidity issue; it is not as alkaline. Don’t worry, the cake works great as is!
Oh I see! Thanks Deb! : )
Just made this cake for a potlock dinner party at a friends’ tonight and it was a huge hit. Thanks for the great recipe as well as your extra insightful tips.
PS Instead of chopped peanut brittle I used crumbled Butterfingers mixed with chopped candied peanuts sprinkled on top. (Inspired by http://blogs.stitchinheaven.com/blog/?p=1969) Yum.
Hi Deb!
I really really love this cake! I was thinking about experimenting with it though and instead of using peanut butter I would really like to use Grand Marnier. Any thoughts??
I don’t think you can exchange a liquid for a fatty solid. You might try adding Grand Marinier to a more basic chocolate layer cake.
Thank you. I make desserts for our work potlucks fairly regularly and have become somewhat of a celebrity there, all thanks to you. I made this for our Thanksgiving meal becuase ever since I saw it here I had been dyin got try it. The cake part is surprisingly easy to make, and after freezing was really easy to apply the frosting. I didn’t even have to worry about crumbs coming off with the first application. The top glaze made the cake though. I used a dark chocolate 80% cacao and it was a perfect contrast for the rest of the sweetness in the cake and frosting. It was rich and decadent and gone in less than two hours. Thank you, and keep ’em coming.
I have never made a cake from scratch before…. I decided to make this… took me all day… but the turn out was absolutely amazing…and i was very pleased!! Now everyone knows that i can actually bake something haha
Thank you!
Ah-ma-zing. And the tip on freezing the layers was brilliant.
I have been making this for the last two years and it is always a hit!!! It has become a favorite at the holidays!!! I am re-vamping the recipe into cupcakes for a holiday party next week! :)
I made this for a friend’s birthday party a year ago and it is, without a doubt, the most requested thing I make! It’s now my standard birthday cake! Thanks so much! I’m making the homemade Oreos this weekend. Can’t wait for the cookbook! No pressure. :)
this cake was amazing. stellar compliments all around! I used light sour cream in the cake and it turned out great. also, I agree with Deb on this one- eat while drinking a glass of milk to wash down all of the chocolate-peanut butter goodness :)
This looks amazing! I’m planning to make this tonight for my boyfriend’s 30th birthday, which is tomorrow. Any tips of keeping this at its best for a day? So excited to try this – thanks!
I’ve made this twice now since Thanksgiving and it truly is an amazing cake. The 2nd time I made, I did add in a small amount of salt to the peanut butter frosting like some have suggested. And I added probably another 2 Tbsp peanut butter to the frosting as well. It was very, very good. A definite crowd pleaser!
Hi Deb!
I’m going to make these into cupcakes for Christmas this year. I read all of the suggestions for cupcakes but I am wondering how LONG to bake them. Any suggestions from anyone?
Deb
I’ve been reading your site for years and often make recipes that you post. We made this cake yesterday for my little boy’s birthday party and I have never in my life received so many compliments on anything ever. That deserves a comment from a generally non-commenting fan. Thank you thank you.
oooh, this glaze is exactly what i was looking for to top the chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake i plan on making for my husband’s birthday next week – thanks!
after a long three months in a foreign country with no access to baking equipment, chris and i are finally back in the u.s. and are making this. thanks, deb, and happy holidays to you and yours! :-)
I made this over the course of the last two days for a friend’s birthday. It may well be the most heavenly thing I have ever made. And I am good! It’s going to be my 2011 birthday cake, I do believe.
Mine looked almost exactly like yours, only it was taller -because I have 8inch pans- and my ganache didn’t run down as much – because it’s December and there’s a frost warning.
Have a happy New Year
Deb, this looks AMAZING. I am making it tomorrow for my Mom’s 60th birthday. She will be in heaven (as will the rest of us, as long as I do everything right.) Instead of the peanut brittle, I think I will sprinkle the top of the cake with chopped salted peanuts. How gloriously indulgent this cake will be (my Mom’s 60th birthday is simply an excuse for me to splurge!)
Thanks for all the incredible food. I love your blog.
I made this today for my son’s 2nd birthday and it was definitely a great recipe, everyone loved it. I was skeptical when you said a thin slice would suffice per serving, cause I love a big hunk of cake, but this is so rich and satisfying that I have to agree, serve it in thin slices!
Deb, do you have a recommendation for a substitute for cream cheese in the frosting? I really dislike the taste, but really would like to make this cake for my birthday! Thank you!
I made this cake for a friend’s birthday at work last week. It was a huge hit! One of my co-workers said it was “da bomb”. It satisfied even the most die hard chocoholics and then some.
Thanks for a great site and wonderful recipes.
I made this for my birthday last June (yes, I bake my own birthday cakes too) and I am still thinking about it, because it was that good. The best cake I have ever made, hands down, and I make a lot of cakes.
Thank you from another silent fan!
Deb (or Kate or Robin who posted above in 657/658 about storage):
Can you put the ganche on and then, let the cake sit out at room temp (or fridge then room temp) for a while? I’m thinking of making, freezing, and frosting on a Saturday evening (storing in fridge in air-tight container) then, doing the ganache on Sunday right before I bring the cake to a brunch. What concerns me is the cake will sit out at room temp for 1-2 hours before being sliced. Will the ganche still be firm/hold?
Also, did you level their layers (i.e. cut off rounded tops)?
DONT add the vinegar!!! I litterally JUST made this, let the cake cool some and tried a bite (without frosting) and it’s horrible. I can taste the vinegar in it, and it masks whatever chocolate taste you were supposed to like.
This is the best chocolate cake ever! I’ve tried out so many recipes only to be disappointed. This cake came out moist and flavorful! It is now my go to recipe! Thank you so much for posting it!
I made the cake on saturday and after it cooled I froze the cake and made the frosting and put that in the fridge. The next day took the cake out frozen and frosted it and had no problems frosting because the cake was frozen it worked great so I had no crumbs from the chocolate cake and lighter frosting. I then made the glaze and that also came out wonderful and I was able to leave cake out so that it was defrosted for when I needed it. It was a great hit we all loved it and like someone else said the chocolate cake it self was wonderful very moist you will love it. thanks again
my sister’s making this cake today for my birthday, which is tomorrow. i chose this cake for her to make and have been dreaming about it for at least a week. I’M SO EXCITED! IT’S GUNNA BE AWESOME!
just took my layers out of the oven :) plan to freeze them and frost the night before I serve…I’ve never frozen cake layers before. Do you have to let them thaw completely before frosting?
Made this for the second time yesterday – 2/3 cup of peanut butter is 6 ounces – crushed peanut brittle might not be necessary but it sure adds to the pretty factor – I just sprinkled it around the outside of the top – Natalie (comment 699) don’t defrost at all – just frost
Hello! I’m new to posting here, sort of new to SK. This cake SCREAMED at me. I *just* finished making it for my Bro-in-law’s birthday; sadly I don’t get to eat it because I’m on a four-letter-word starting with D. But it’s mighty tempting.
The only issue I had with it was that the PB frosting was really difficult to work with. I’m a veteran of icing and decorating cakes, and this PB frosting was only too happy to stick to the spatula, and roll off the crumb coat. It was not smooth at all … I actually ended up *patting* it on with a gloved hand – something I’ve never done before. Not with icing anyway. Maybe it was the PB I used.
Keep up the good work, this website is the best food porn out there for someone who, temporarily, can’t eat anything good. Can’t wait to make more of your recipes!
I loved this cake. Next time I will leave off the glaze. i don’t think it needs it and the peanut butter frosting is so good all on it’s own. I thined mine down with a little water to make it easier to spread.
I’m thinking of making this with the “Double Chocolate Layer Cake”as the base. That cake is the best chocolate cake Ive ever had, but is quite intense on its own. You mention that this cake is pretty intense. Would the very strong chocolate flavor of the layer cake recipe be too much with this? Or would it be cool to use that recipe instead of the cake recipe here?
@ Jennifer (694):
I’ve made this cake five times now, vinegar included. It’s undetectable and the cake is perfectly luscious. I wonder if perhaps you mis-measured?
Tone – I made this awesome cake with the Epicurious (Double-Layer) Chocolate Cake as a base the first time and thought it was a bit too much richness. Still outstandingly good taste, but just too intense. The Double-Layer Chocolate Cake base is IMO a far better chocolate cake than this one. But when you’re slathered in a peanut butter & cream cheese frosting in addition to a chocolate & peanut butter ganache topping, the milder chocolate cake offering from the recipe proper is actually a better balance choice.
This cake, BTW, is all sorts of greatness itself though; once-a-year (lifetime?) indulgence of calories.
Deb – There’s 2 small spelling errors in the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze recipe. It should read “semisweet” in the ingredients section and “In the top of _a_ double boiler” in the directions section.
Esme — Thanks!
So bf is a chocolate and peanut lover and I’m not a fan of either (sad really) How should I divide the recipe so that it makes a 2 layered 4 inch cake since I have pans for that and it seems like that would not be too much (since I know he’ll eat it all at once no matter how much I make) ? Since there are 2 eggs, should I just half it and get rid of the extra? (seems a waste)
You’d probably want to quarter the recipe at least. This cake is three layers, and each layer holds almost four times the batter of a 4-inch cake.
Brought this in as a Valentine’s treat (chocolate, if not red or pink) for my office and it was a superstar! I thought the texture of the cake, in particular, was really splendid. Keep up the good work, Deb.
Made this on Monday. Delicious.. but so soft and fragile! Frosting/Glaze was a breeze to work with, but I have not been able to cut a clean slice that stands up and keeps its shape. We’re not in a warm weather area, so I really have no explanation for it.
Other than the slices falling apart, no complaints! I’d gladly make this again and eat my smooshed up cake slices.
I just made this cake for a friends birthday party. It was a HIT! You are totally right about needing milk to cut the sweetness. I will totally be making the cake again. I have always wanted a dark chocolate cake recipe that was easy and tasty. I just realized I have the Sky High cookbook! I moved recently and haven’t unpacked my cookbooks yet (the horror!). I will have to get it out and reread it!
Also how did you get the cute little drips? Mine were much bigger, tasty, but not as cute.
Thanks for posting this!
I made this on Thursday for a meeting at work. Unbelievable! So delicious, and totally worth all the freezing and fussyness. It was like a work of art! I would recommend cutting the slices with a serrated knife, and having a bowl of warm water to clean the knife with in between slicing to cut down on the smooshing of the cake though. Yum!
Ack. You already have over 700 comments, but I’m saying thanks for this recipe, anyway. I followed your lead and made my own birthday cake, using this recipe for the past two years. For any chocolate and peanut butter fan, this would be a huge hit! I even bought the book.
I am a long time reader, and have tried some of your recipes before. Although they resulted in tasty results, this recipe literally takes the cake. SO GOOD. The icing tasted awesomely of chocolate and peanut butter, and the cake was light enough, so everything balanced well—heavy icing with light cake. Everyone else called it dense and delicious, but I think the cake was light. It was greatness.
I made this cake for my husband’s 32nd bday, and he declared it ‘the best cake’ he’s ever had in his life! This coming from a true sweet tooth is high praise! It was a fair amount of work, but worth it. I made each of the layers in store-bought 8-inch cake tins…I froze the cake in the tins, and then later wrapped each layer in plastic and froze overnight. I had no problems handling the frozen layers to assemble the cake, and like Deb said, they defrosted wonderfully. The frosting tasted amazing…I added a bit of salt as others had done to cut the sweetness. I used Jif creamy pb and Philly cream cheese. I highly recommend this recipe, it’s delicious and impressive!
My mom made this for me for my birthday and it was absolutely the best cake I have EVER had. Absolutely divine. I made all my friends come over to try it. My mom knew to choose something on your site because I follow it so religiously, thank you!!
Jess
x
Someone mentioned using bananas and I am of the same mind. I think maybe either replacing the sour cream or the eggs with bananas… which is a better option?
I made this for my roommate’s bday party and someone I had just met hugged me and thanked me for making it. It is sooooo rich that eating the third layer was purely an act of will. I am not even a fan of pb pie or cookies, but the frosting was perfect (although mine wasn’t as pretty – the glaze was everywhere). I had a little leftover batter, so I made cupcakes, which were much more tolerable with a single layer of all the good stuff.
One quibble: I used the hand mixer for the frosting and it and I struggled. My shoulder was killing me by the end. Next time, stand mixer all the way.
Hi. I am going to make this cake in a couple weeks for a baby shower. Is it possible for you to explain how to get that perfect falling of the ganache that you have in the picture? Or do you have any general tips? I assume that you just put the ganache on and spread it a bit over the top, but yours looks so amazingly gooey.
Btw… I am new to your blog. I found it on flipboard for ipad and i cannot stop reading it. Its amazing and so inspiring. Absolutely love it!
Maureen — At the end of step 4, I give this tip: Once the cake is fully frosted, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze. You can also let the glaze cool down enough that it’s on the thicker, but still pourable, side.
my apologies if this q has already been asked, but it was difficult to find this answer with a simple “control F” key- how long would you say this takes from start to finish (active time)? it’s a beautiful cake and the photos are gorgeous. x shayma
Somebody quick! I need some help with some last minute advice. Do folks think this case could be cooked, frozen (refrigerated?) and then frosted for dinner tomorrow night? Should I frost (do it all, etc) tonight?? I’ve been dying to make this cake and seems like nows the time!! Any advice is SUPER DUPER appreciated!!!!
*cake (sorry, not *case :)
I most enjoyed reading an article about cooking a very complete lists step by step process makes it … I also write about cooking recipes but no details like this … great.
Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said this cake was intense. We had 12 people over for a surprise birthday party last night, and I served it to them. Like you suggested, I sliced the cake as thinly as possible, and there were still people who couldn’t finish their serving. We got through just a little over half the cake. I took the rest to work this morning in the hopes that I won’t have to polish off the rest at home. My boyfriend commented that it is almost TOO delicious, and I think that I have to agree.
This was such a success… rich, but oh-so-good. Btw, if there are any vegetarians out there, I made the cake egg-less by adding two tablespoons of plain, whole milk yogurt instead of two eggs. The result is the same, super-moist cake… although I DO recommend following ALL of Deb’s freezer tips.
Thanks, Deb, for a great cake recipe :)
I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips on decorating this? I’d like to make it as a birthday cake and write on it.
Ideas I am having:
1. Will the chocolate glaze set enough for me to write with it on top of the PB icing? And then maybe set up drippy ring around the edge?
2. What if I made it as Deb did and just wrote on it with regular icing? I think that would taste weird and possible look weird….
Help me people!
You can use either icing. Keep the cake in the fridge until the chocolate draping is totally set.
Hi Deb –
I was wondering if I could use this recipe (and some others) for a silent auction style bake sale I’m running to raise money for the victims of the earthquake & tsunami in Japan. The baked goods from your blog are so fantastic – I’m hoping to feature the cocoa brownies and chocolate raspberry cake as well, among others. I’d also love to use your pictures, if at all possible. I’d of course credit your site. Please let me know if this is a possibility at all!
Thanks!
Hi okiram — Can you shoot me an email? Thanks.
sent! thanks Deb –
wow. made this choco-pb-love for hubby’s birthday. unbelieveable. used chunky (all I had in the house) pb and enjoyed the texture – it didn’t have that smooth appearance but was fine looking a little rustic. you are a goddess.
Thank you for your blog and this recipe. I made it for my husband’s birthday and it was delicious. I then had left over frosting and used it on cupcakes for some friends and everyone raved about how amazing the frosting was!
I was wondering would it make any difference to make these as cupcakes instead of making it a whole cake?
@raechel. i almost always make this as cupcakes. they bake for 18-20 minutes, but start checking at 18 and fill about 2/3. i also skip the glaze and no one seems to mind. my most requested cupcake!
Thank you! I made this cake to celebrate my boyfriend returning from Afghanistan. It is gorgeous! (well, not nearly as gorgeous as your’s since I may have used different size cake pans for all three layers, but that’s besides the point) the frosting hid the different sizes pretty well and the ganache is BEAUTIFUL! Holy cow. Thank you so very much!
Just made this cake for my husband’s birthday and it is, without a doubt, the most successful cake I have ever made. Thank you so much! The technique for making flat layers (freezing, putting in for longer time and lower temp) worked a charm. When you publish your book, I am going to order it straight away. It better be available here in the UK!
Oh my lord….my birthday is Saturday and I’m pregnant and LOVING some chocolate peanut butter combos lately so I googled chocolate peanut butter cake and saw Smitten Kitchen pop up and I actually giggled out loud and clapped I was so excited. My husband was all “Whatcha looking at over there?” because I was so happy. I LOVE your recipes, and this looks no different…UMMMMM!!!
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time and finally talked the boy into making it for my birthday! Fabulous! The cake itself turned out wonderfully (very moist–yes make sure to freeze before frosting). We made a two-layer with 9-inch rounds without hassle (and 6 cupcakes leftover). The cream cheese in the peanut butter frosting adds just a perfect amount of contrasting tang. And the chocolate ganache made with peanut butter? Genius! If I messed with this recipe like I was considering (I usually go for stronger/darker chocolate flavors whenever I have the chance), I would have messed it up. Very nicely balanced!
A friend made this cake for a dinner party, and then passed along your blog. When I woke up the next morning, I was dreaming of the cake! My brothers are chocolate+peanut butter lovers, so I’m making this for easter. Note: my friend dropped the chocolate ganache and it was scrumptious!
So nobody will notice the crater in the bottom layer of the cake where I got a little excited, right? I’m sitting here licking the peanuty goodness of my beater and just had to say…this is the best cake I’ve ever had and I haven’t even eaten a slice yet. I’m used to altering recipes a little, but I’ve done this one AS IS and it’s awesome. Yes the cake is super soft and a little tough to move around, but I tasted a couple (okay…more than a couple) crumbs that fell off and it is SO moist and delicious. YUMMMMM!! It’s sitting in my fridge firming up before I ganache it.
I made this today (4/16/11) for my bff’s birthday and it was a smash hit! Thank you SK! <333
I made this cake, and while it was lopsided(my fault when doing the layering), my friends LOVED it. Thanks Deb!
I made this cake yesterday for a birthday party and even the cake haters were wanting seconds! It was SO good!
I made this cake late last night and it turned out to be a hit. I was up till about 330 in the morning making it but it was all worth it. Everyone that tried it loved it. This was my very first cake i have ever made and although i ran into a couple obstacles, it turned out pretty great. My aunt said it was the best homemade cake she has ever tasted, and she knows a thing or two about desserts. My mom, who is not even a fan of peanut butter (has never had a peanut butter jelly sandwich in her life), Loved it and even went back for seconds! Thanks for the great recipe
Like one of the people who left a comment earlier (if there is another recipe that has more comments than this one, please let me know which one it is!), when I saw this post I immediately began thinking of a suitable occasion to take it to. Barring that, I saw no problem in creating an event in order to feature this spectacular creation. Luckily that season of chocolate and sweet goodness was upon us and I didn’t have to wait for long… Deb – this is an amazing recipe, thanks so much for sharing it. I made it into a gluten free recipe for a gluten intolerant sister by substituting the plain flour with 1 1/2 cups of white rice flour and 1/2 cup of cornflour. One of my family commented that it wasn’t possible to tell that it was a gluten free cake… Everyone loved it, even if we did vacate the table in a sugar induced haze. (Or should that read ‘sugar induced high’?) I have two thirds of it left, and that’s after gifting some of the leftovers to family – we are only 7 after all and, as you say, the pieces have to be very small! – so I plan to go gifting cake around the neighbourhood tomorrow in order to ensure that last portion does NOT end up in my tummy – it is precisely because I would like it to end up there so very much that I believe it is vital that I give as much of it away as I possibly can.
I think I have said this before, but I completely adore your site. I’d love to make every single thing on it. Just one teensy tiny problem – you have a five year headstart on me. Keep up the good work – fantastico!
p.s. couldn’t agree more with Helen (comment number 737) – I am looking forward to your cookbook coming out, but in my case I’m hoping it makes it to New Zealand! I am doing my bit to expand your fanbase down here ( I share your blueberry boy bait recipe with everyone who cares to listen) so perhaps there will be a sufficiently big market for it by the time the publishing date roles round?
So i ‘googled’ choc/PB cake and came upon this unbelievable recipe with the oh-so-inspiring photos! I decided to make it for a family Easter lunch but was a little nervous about ME succeeding w/ it (esp the ganache type glaze – never have gotten one of those right) Well thanks to your detailed tips & instructions I DID IT!! I must admit I used a box mix for the cake (sorry! :-( ) but b/c of the success with the rest of it (taste & appearance) I am now inspired to go for the whole “homemade deal” next time!! Thanks for your wonderful insight & inspiration!!
Thanks for the great recipe. This is the first cake I’ve ever made, and it was fantastic! However, my peanut butter icing was a tad thin and more of a glaze consistency, as opposed to thick and fluffy. Perhaps I didn’t beat it long enough? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Please help! I planned on making this cake in stages for a friend’s birthday that’s four days away. I had baked the cake layers today, wrapped them up and stowed away in the freezer before I realized that I used baking powder instead of baking soda. My cakes did not rise as much as yours or other readers that have made it, obviously, but they looked and felt fine (soft and very slightly bouncy). I don’t know what they taste like, however. I’m only worried that the taste and texture have been compromised by the mistake, so if size is not an issue, do you think I could possibly use these cakes and move forward with the recipe or do you think I should just start over (which I will do if I must but I’d really rather not)? I need your help! Please let me know! Thank you.
Lucinda — It should affect size, not the flavor. I wouldn’t worry about the mistake.
Deb, thanks for responding so fast. Actually, my nerve got the better of me and so I went ahead and baked another cake. The first cake, when we cut into it, was very dense and soft, almost like a fluffy brownie and the flavor was good. While that’s not an entirely bad thing, I would feel much better to serve a properly made cake. Thanks again for your quick answer. I love your site and every recipe I’ve made from it has been a winner thus far.
I made this cake for my mother-in-law’s 75 birthday this weekend. It was AMAZING in spite of a few concerns during the making. The cake batter was very thin, but it turned out gloriously rich and moist. (i made it 2 days ahead and froze it as per your suggestion and i’m so glad i did) The chocolate glaze (prior to putting in the half and half) was very thick – like fudge – and i thought i’d done something wrong, but once i put the half and half in, it was perfect. One of the most impressive and EASIEST cakes I’ve ever made. Thanks, Deb!
My goodness. I just made it. The things I want to do to that cake, well, the church wouldn’t recognize (I mean marry it, silly!). So So So So good. So good.
This recipe is amazing, and the cake is SOOO decadent.
I just finished making it for my boyfriend’s birthday for the second time (he’s a peanut butter addict). And I think it’s going to come out even better than before!
Thanks for the recipe.
So my husband, much like Alex, luuuurves chocolate. Especially chocolate with peanut butter. I’ve been promising I’d make him this cake for his birthday since you posted it. Today is the third birthday of his to pass since posting.
I finally made the cake.
I owe him SUCH an apology for not making it before this. Oh my god, the cake is A-MAZING. I even like it, and I do NOT like chocolate cake generally.
Well, well, well………my sons birthday is tomorrow. So I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and surprise surprise he wants your chocolate peanut butter ganache cake. I am delighted that he wants me to make this cake for him AGAIN!!!!! It has become our family favorite. I first made it in December of 2008 for my two girls. They both have December birthdays and they requested this cake. It’s been a HUGE hit since then.
Today will be the fifth time that I’ll make this delicious cake. And I couldn’t be happier. Thank you for posting this yummy yummy recipe.
To the kitchen I go…………..
Thank you for this recipe. It is my mother’s favorite, since I made it a few years ago for her birthday. I’m off to the store for ingredients, so I can do it again for mother’s day dinner.
Simply said, thank you.
Friday, May 13th is my birthday and I am searching for the perfect chocolate peanut butter cake – I have found it and can’t wait for my kids to bake it!
This was magnificent. You are correct that the cake is very fragile and creates a lot of crumbs–I found the amount of frosting a little small to crumb-coat it adequately (it was a bit tricky to frost as it was so delicate), but it came out looking great.
This cake has lasted more than 3 days in the fridge and still tastes and looks beautiful. Half of the cake I froze (fully iced) on day 1 to bring into work, and it thawed out still looking and tasting like new. It’s a great keeper!
I made this cake for a graduation party. It is absolutely the best cake I have ever put in my mouth. No leftovers and very few crumbs left. Everyone wants the recipe! Wonderful!!!
Absolutely fabulous! The best cake I ever made and tasted. Everyone loved it!! Thanks for sharing.
This cake was Amazing I made this for my big family for dessert ! It was a big hit ..Do make sure you have a Big Glass of milk!! Thank You :)
My friend made this last night for her birthday, and it was just amazing. YUM. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe. My husbands birthday is this month and this will be the third year in a row that I have made him this cake. He looks forward to it and it has become his birthday tradition. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!
Hi There. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I’ve made this cake twice now, it tastes awesome and I’ve received rave reviews. I’ve also managed to get it looking very similar to yours but I keep having one problem with my cakes is that they turn out very dense like the consistency of a brownie instead of light and fluffy. Does anyone have any tips of what I might be doing wrong?
I am so trying this recipe! I am a peanut Butter freak!
If I want to make a 2-layered 9 inch cake instead of a 3 layer 8 inch cake, what adjustments do you recommend making?
I would just 2/3 the recipe. I used 9-inch cake pans, because that’s what I had. Your layers will look like mine.
I made this two years ago for my husbands birthday, and he requested it again…means a lot that he remembered! I remember how yummy and pretty it was…lets just hope i can recreate it again!
I did read above for comments relating, but i still feel unsure about the matter,
Like above, i am setting out to use this a wedding cake in July (factor in North Carolina heat)
I see you recommended NOT using this chocolate cake as the base.
Can you go into that a bit? Also, i am having a hard time finding the recipe you did recommend using in it’s place.
Though traditionally cake sits out at the reception, I and the wedding party are okay with it being refrigerated until that last hour. Hopefully the muted (you know- doors flinging open constantly) will be enough, so that the frosting won’t melt.
What do you think Deb?
I am kinda freaking out about settling on a recipe already to start planning/testing.
AND have to say, your posts are the ABSOLUTE HIGHLIGHT of my week, and i LOVE your sense of humor, much like mine-naturally.
Cake timer! Gotta go.
If you’ll only have it out for the last hour, I think it will be fine. Nothing spoils that fast. There’s nothing wrong with the layer cake recipe, I’ve just been a bit spoiled over the years finding two I like even more. For a soft, tender (and probably difficult to manage in a large size, so less ideal for a wedding) layer, use this chocolate cake recipe. But for a wedding, this chocolate butter cake (which I too used for a wedding) is fantastic. It’s crumb is closer to (but softer than) a buttery pound cake so it’s much easier to manage if scaled to feed a crowd.
Muted air conditioning, meant to say.
Also forgot to mention that it will be made into two half sheet pans. So i imagine it’s a tad less fussy and also i have been given a wide margin for misadventure between baking in my oven and the moment the cake lands on the table at the wedding.
I give you these addendum so you are able to judge my situation better, when using this “soft” cake for a wedding-highly nontraditional as you know.
I’ll shut up now and try to stop posting
Thank you for posting this…I made it tonight for my daughter’s birthday tomorrow. She asked for a chocolate-peanut butter cake. Her father used to ask for one every year. It was simple to follow and I am sure she will love it. Thank you!
Deb, I have been looking for the perfect cake to make my boyfriend for his 30th birthday. He is a huge fan of anything chocolate peanut butter, so I am thinking about making this cake tonight, but I only have one round cake pan. Do you think it would work as a bundt cake ? I don’t know if I will have the time to go out and get more round pans, but I guess I could scale the recipe back to 1/3rd and make a tiny version, LOL. I think I found a site for conversions and it said that one bundt pan would equal 2 8-inch round pans.
You can also bake the cake 1/3 at a time in the baking pan you have. I haven’t tried this in a bundt but it looks like commenters #300 and 635 did.
Thanks ! I tried to scroll through the comments to see if anyone had tried it, but there were just SO MANY LOL !!! LOVE your blog though, will be making plenty of these recipes !!! Can’t wait !
Thank you so much for this recipe, it has made me locally famous.
Wow. I made this as a Father’s Day present to a chocloate/peanut butter lover and it didn’t dissapoint. Really fun to make and came out great. Even those who didn’t love chocolate and peanut butter as much as dad were groaning at the table with satisfaction when they were eating. Thanks!
Thank you for the Surprise Me! button that brought me to this cake! I am being completely selfish & making it for Father’s Day even though I’m the peanut butter fiend. Pretty sure he’ll love it too.
I am so excited about this cake! It’s in the oven right now and I have a whole shelf of the fridge sectioned off for it! It looks soooo delicious!
Finished the cake! It looks just like your picture! I’m so excited to give it to the birthday girl tomorrow!!!! Thanks Deb!
When my sister said she wanted a chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake for her birthday I immediately thought of this cake, which I have made several times and had excellent results every time. This time I put in a layer of homemade chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups. Between the cake layers and ice cream I put some hot fudge and cookie crumbs. Otherwise everything was the same nthe results were excellent. I used Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cookbook for the ice cream and hot fudge recipes. Thanks for a great standby cake recipe that always looks and tastes amazing!
I made this amazing cake for Fathers Day and it turned out perfect. However, I did have trouble with the final chocolate glaze. I tried to use Nestle Semi-Sweet chips instead of baking chocolate and failed (twice) misserably. Thanks to a call to my mom and my third trip to the store I bought new chocolate and it worked like a charm. You might want to make a note in the ingrediant list (sorry if I missed it) to make sure to use semi-sweet baking chocolate for perfect glaze. Great recipe and I love your site!!
I am dying to make this for my husband’s bday this weekend. I was wondering if I can use cacao powder for the unsweetened cocoa powder and would I use the same amount?
This is the best cake I ever made! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe!
Hi,
Earlier in your post you said this may not be the best chocolate cake and you gave two other links, would you suggest using one of those with the peanut butter frosting and glaze? or would that be too much?
Thank YOu! Cant wait to try it!
Check comment #775 where I describe the two other cakes and what you might like them for.
I am in the UK so we dont have half and half….what can I use instead please?
Half and half is half milk, half cream.
I came here to write down ingredients on my list for my husband’s birthday coming up and I realized I didn’t chime in last year when I first made this. No shame in being comment #791, right?
I made this exactly as written. It was incredible. Just perfect for my husband. I wouldn’t change a thing. My mom came to visit shortly after my husband’s birthday and even just looking at the leftovers she said, “That is the most beautiful cake I’ve ever seen.”
It’s a GREAT cake for a special occasion!
My son’s girlfriend made this cake for his birthday and although we already liked her very much I think we love her now!!!
I’ve made this cake a bunch of times now. It is a HUGE hit. EVERYTIME. EVERYWHERE. I’ve had people pay me to make this cake for them. I actually break down the cake into steps. I make the cake, wrap it really well in plastic wrap and freeze them until I need to assemble it. (Usually at least a day, sometimes a week.) Follow Deb’s steps on chilling she is absolutely right!
Deb, great blog, on of the few I read. Thank you! for being here!
This cake looks awesome. Would it be okay if I made 3 9 inch rounds instead of 8 inch rounds?
Thanks!
This is Mary of the hot North Carolina wedding. Cake was absolutely perfect. I took it out an hour before as you suggested, and it lured everyone to the cake table, not just the kids. No melting of any sort. Your advice on freezing cake/chilling cake- all perfect and i love you.
I wanted to thank you for writing me back. It totally calmed my nerves about the cake (think i just needed to actually bake and stop thinking about it) and it’s so cool to know that you’re actually listening and YOU CARE!
The best part i discovered was that mixing the batter by hand made the cake twice as lofty, than when i used my Kitchen Aid. Go figure. But i love mixing by hand, makes me feel closer to the process.
And also, my cake was so soft when i was about to wrap it in plastic to freeze. I was concerned it would come apart when unwrapping and stick to the plastic, so i dusted the sheet cakes with instant espresso powder.
That was a clever and tasty addition that i might just keep.
Also used your “Best Yellow Cake” for wedding sheet cakes #2 and #3 for “Strawberry Shortcake” – also perfect.
That is now my go to yellow cake most definitely.
So, obviously, what I’m sayin here is YOU ROCK the cake world.
Sincerely,
Mary
Hooray! I am thrilled that the cake was a success.
Quick question… when I make a regular ganache, I have to let it sit for a few hours before it reaches that “still runny but not too runny as to run all over the cake but rather just make nice interesting drip patterns like yours” stage. Since this glaze says to use it while warm, how long did you let it sit before pouring it over the cake? I love that you can still see the peanut butter cream cheese beneath it! Thanks!
Charlotte — I mentioned this in a few earlier comments, but there are now 800 comments and I wouldn’t expect you to have read them all! I chilled the cake. A combination between a cooled down cake and cooling the ganache enough that it starts to thicken ever-so-much make the ganache run slowly. You can always test it with a small amount. Also, if it puddles on top of the cake and doesn’t want to run down, you can use a spatula to nudge it over the sides in specific spots.
comment #onebazillion:
i’ve made this cake several times, which means it’s freaking fantastic because i rarely repeat recipes. just a tip for anyone who hates getting peanut butter out of measuring cups as much as i do: i always line my measuring cup with a big piece of plastic wrap and measure the peanut butter directly onto the wrap. once you get it all packed in there, just pick up the plastic wrap and dump the pb straight into the bowl. it comes off the plastic with ease in one big clump, and you’re left with a clean measuring cup so you don’t have to spend forever scraping peanut butter out of every little nook and cranny. hope someone else finds this little tid bit as useful as i do! :)
I made it today, only 3 years after you posted, for my very own chocolate addict’s birthday. deb, you are a cake goddess! I read all the comments and your replies before i tried my hand at it, and it came together so easily with all this information! this was the fifth of your cake recipes I tried, and by now I just tell my man: “this is one of deb’s” and he goes “oooh, she who brought us brownie-mosaik-cheesecake? I like Deb.”
I made this for a coworkers birthday and it was FANTASTIC. Everyone raved and people who weren’t even at work heard about it and came in for some! I actually split the batter into 2 9-inch pans because that’s what I had and just did the 2 layers. I would’ve liked it more with the 3 I think! It was simply amazing and I can’t make it again!
Made this cake today and it was delicious. Just made the cake and frosting without the glaze, but we were still blown away! The delicate texture of the cake is only matched by its moist and delicious flavor. Freezing is a must for handling and frosting, but the extra time is well worth it. The cake alone is possibly the best I have ever tasted. Thanks again for another wonderful and practically infallible recipe :)
Wow! I made this cake with only one change and it was AMAZING! I only had 2 cake pans so I just made a double layer. It was rich so I think 2 layers was plenty. Very moist cake and what a wonderful peanut butter frosting! Everyone loved it! I will definately make this cake again!!!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe! And, thank you for the tip of putting the cakes in the freezer and then the fridge when frosting. It DID help tremendously!
This is absolutely the best cake I have ever made or tasted!! Thanks so much for the recipe. Not really a very difficult cake to make either. The tip about putting the cake in the freezer before icing made icing the cake so much easier!
Just made this and it was pretty good. I ordinarily absolutely detest desserts with peanut butter in them, but I made this for my roommate’s birthday and it was a huge hit. Nice and moist, good crumb, didn’t stick to the pans. I didn’t have sour cream or buttermilk so I dumped some apple cider vinegar in 3/4c of skim milk and then added about 1/4c of mayonnaise and that worked great, although I had to reduce the water in the cake by about 1/2c-5/8c. I also didn’t have parchment so I cut tinfoil rounds and that worked just fine. Oh, I also used 9inch rounds and two layers, and 14oz cream cheese and 3/4c peanut butter because I have a heavy hand with frosting, and also only a fork (no whisk or electric mixer) and a wooden spoon so I knew it wouldn’t gain any volume from beating air into it. So, just so you know, this cake works great in really ghetto situations. I decorated the top with plain cocoa powder since I didn’t have ingredients for ganache. When I started writing this, I was going to ask permission to post this recipe on my own cake blog, but I guess I made a different cake in the end. But still, may I post my adapted recipe? (I love your blog, btw. Also made the cocoa powder brownies and it is now my favorite brownie recipe ever.)
So I stumbled across your site last night and fell in love! I made this cake today and was planning on taking it into work tomorrow…unfortunately, I didn’t follow your cooling instructions exactly and the cake cracked….thenI decided to make it into trifle for work…but ate a little piece and decided it was too good to share with the co-workers!! :) can’t wait to try this again and look forward to trying many more of your recipes!!
I made this for my husband’s birthday last night and if he ever leaves me, I know where he’ll be headed! He forbade me from putting it away until midnight. “It’s still my birthday and I want to admire my cake.”
It also has many steps that lend themselves well to participation from a three year old-which was crucial as my daughter is a devoted kitchen helper.
I’ve enjoyed checking in with you for quite a while for tasty pastry recipes (your homemade oreos and scones-both dreamy cream and raspberry ricotta are household staples) and I’ve also recently discovered I equally love your savory recipes. The charred corn tacos were a hit and the spaghetti with Swiss chard and garlic chips helped us use some of the harvest from our garden in the tastiest way yet.
Thanks for doing what you do, and please keep it up!
I had such high hopes for this cake. After all the reviews were endless, but often hard to navigate through. We get it the cake looks good. Anyhow I made this cake and all I taste is the vegatable oil. I even used a mild flavored one but it is very overwhelming giving no other flavor to the cake. I’m hoping it gets better with age.
Thank you for posting this cake recipe. My husband loves chocolate and peanut butter, so I finally got around to making this and served it last night. We loved it! I made it exactly as is, except heated the ganache in the microwave (in two 30 second bursts before adding the half and half) and added a pinch of salt to it. I’m so impressed with everything you do. You are my inspiration to keep cooking and baking even with my 10-month old under foot! Which reminds me – my little one loves your spinach and sweet potato recipe.
Just made this cake for my husband’s birthday and we have not stopped uttering awe-stricken obscenities since we tasted it. Only hit one snag – when I added the half and half to the glaze, it turned into something that looked like mousse and I had to add more corn syrup to get it back to a pourable consistency. I gotta say the peanut butter cream cheese frosting really makes it though, it is frighteningly good.
Made this for a birthday party, and it was a-freaking-mazing. Super moist, rich, fabulous. Love this recipe! And so did the crowd. My only addition was cushed toffee bits sprinkled into the ganache. Yum! Thank you!
I cannot accurately describe the sound that my family made when I showed them this picture. But it sounded somewhat like a machine gun that shot vowels instead of bullets. Needless to say, we will be enjoying this as soon as possible.
OMG! I am so excited to bake this for a friend’s birthday this week!! However, I have just moved 5000 ft above sea level and am a little nervous about baking! Do you know if I need to make any high altitude adjustments??? Thanks for any advice?
When a friend asked me for a chocolate peanut butter cake for her birthday this weekend I NEVER thought I’d find something like THIS!!! This looks like PURE HEAVEN! Thanks for the recipe… I hope I can do it justice this weekend!
Big fan and follower, first comment. THIS is the MOST AMAZING cake I Have EVER TASTED!!!! I’m having this cake for every one of my birthdays for the rest of my life.
I read this recipe when it first was posted, and instantly added it to my bookmarks. Tried making the cake six months ago (what took me so long?), and suddenly I was famous for my baking skills!
Before making the cake, I read through all the comments. I added a little bit of strong coffee, and only made two layers, and the cake turned out perfect. I’ll be baking it again this weekend, and I’m already terrified of the effect the dangerous frosting will have on my waistline ;)
Thank you so much for this one, Deb!
Oh my I made this today for my husband’s birthday…TO DIE FOR!!!One of the easiest cakes I have ever made. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi I am wondering if the chocolate glaze could be used to dip the top of a cupcake in and then top with peanut butter frosting?
Words cannot describe how amazing this cake was to eat!! Thanks for sharing!!
hye, i’m from malaysia and i found your website from this Nicole aunt.
so i was wondering at Malaysia it’s hard to find this half and half . so what can i substitute them with?
Half and half is an equal mixture of milk and heavy cream.
made this as two 9 inch round layers. so good! the peanut butter cream cheese icing is ridonkulous. next time i think i’ll make cupcakes. mmm!
I am making this cake as we speak for my son’s 16th Birthday. I can’t wait to taste it but the batter made me nervous because of it’s runny consistency and the cakes are very thin. I was thinking of making another batch of cakes and making it a 6 layer cake..hehehe!!!!! Will write back after the party!! I know it will be a hit!!!
OK.. ok… Back to my comment above….
My first two layers were thin ( only 2 cake pans, so divided the batter the best I could) but the third had more batter and was a nice thick size. I put the smaller layers on bottom and on top wit the thicker piece in the middle. I followed the notes and used the freezer to freeze the cakes a couple of times before frosting and before the final layer of frosting and also after I did the drizzle.. Wow!!!!!!! Talk about Delicious and Beautiful!!!!!… I am soooo making this cake again soon!!!!!!
Thank You!
@Hilary (Aug. 7, 2011)- I had the same problem when I made the cake using Canola Oil. I have made it (two times!) before with Vegetable Oil and it tasted great.
I made this cake for a peanut butter lover’s housewarming, and his complaint was that it was “too chocolate-y.” Next time, I think I’ll forego the ganache. The combination of chocolate ganache and very rich chocolate cake was a bit of an overload. An Ohioan, I usually modify my buckeye candy filling and use that as peanut butter frosting, so trying this version (with cream cheese!) was very interesting. This peanut butter frosting held up well in transport (and during fridge time), but I think I prefer the taste of a butter-rich and cream cheese free version.
I just finished frosting it for my own 24th tomorrow :) I won’t ganache it till later. It was all I could do not to shovel that frosting into my mouth, but I’m a little nervous about the cake. The batter tasted wonderful, but after I baked it, the cakes smelled like strong-new-Rubbermaid-smell. They were new cake pans, but clearly I had washed them before I used them. Here’s hoping! But it will probably be ah-mazing. I will try to remember and report back.
I’ve made this cake multiple times. In cupcake form in 3 pans 2 pans. Every time it is amazing. YUM. and the peanut butter frosting is out of this world
I love to bake and have made this cake several times. It is by far the most delicious cake I have EVER tasted! Everyone who tries it loves it and even people who aren’t peanut butter fans fall in love. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
I just made this cake for my mother-in-law’s birthday celebration and got an AMAZING response! This was such an easy recipe to follow but looks so impressive. I’ve already been requested to make this for a few more occasions. Thanks so much for sharing such a great cake recipe:D
I don’t know if you ever read old comments, but I want you to know: I made this cake and brought it to a party once, two years ago, and people STILL ask about it. I’m now famous in certain parts of the world because of this cake. A woman found me on Facebook to ask for the recipe – literally years after she ate it. Showstopper.
Deb I finally made this cake for my husband after having only told him about it three years ago just when we started dating (I made it for a party the week before our first date and it just didn’t make it!). Of course he loved it, but the funny thing is about a week after I made it, I was talking about what I might make for dinner and he looks at me and says, “You know what you should make? That amazing cake of deliciousness!” (That’s more or less how we talk around here.)
On a different note, I tried a real crumb coat for the first time, and the cake was so soft around the edges (I don’t think I greased the sides of the pan very well) that frosting it quickly tore up the edges and I had so many crumbs in the coat that some made it into the outer layer. If you happen to have tips on crumb-coating, or perhaps getting the sides of my cake more firm (the layers had been in the freezer at least half an hour), I will take them. I really think it turned out well, in spite of a few crumbs, but I feel like I was unnecessarily frustrated by a crumb coat and I would almost rather have taken more time and just frosted the darn thing instead.
Hi Diane — Glad the cake lived up to expectations! The cake is crazy soft, as you noticed; I find that sticking the layers in the freezer to firm them up (you don’t need to freeze them fully, just enough that their edges feel firm) helps get the crumb coat on without messing up the sides. Hope that helps next time. There will be a next time, right?
What an amazing cake! I made it for my boyfriend’s birthday in July and he keeps asking me to re-make it :) It didn’t turn out as pretty as yours, but the taste was divine. I’ll have to make it again. I never used to be a peanut butter fan, but this actually inspired me to do a whole post on peanut butter in the US on my blog. Go figure! Thanks for the recipe!!
I just have to tell you that I found this recipe in 2009. I was looking for a cake to make for my boyfriend (now husband- probably because of this cake lol) for his birthday. He loves chocolate and peanut butter so I thought this sounded great. We loved it then- and still love it now. It has become a yearly tradition now to make this cake on his birthday- I asked him this year if he ever wanted another cake for his birthday and he said “ABSOLUTELY NOT”. Everyone loves it- and they talk about it all year long. They can’t ever wait for his birthday to come around- just to eat the cake. Thank you for posting it!
Loved it! It was a fairly easy bake with a delicious outcome! I shared this cake with over 10 people who all raved about it
deb, think this would work with hte instant fudge frosting? feeling lazy but am responsible for cake for a friend’s party this weekend. think i made this last year with the fudge frosting for my daughter’s 2nd birthday, but am really too sleep deprived to remember. thanks so much!
Sure, no reason it wouldn’t.
sory – meant to ask if you thought would be good combo? or better question yet, how does this cake complare to the chocolate butter cake and double chocolate layer cake? i know i made one of the 3 and it was out of this world, but am now doubtful that i made a cake with coffee in it for my 2 year old daughter. though you really never know. thanks – and sorry first question not the right question!
The chocolate butter cake is sturdier, closer to but really not a pound cake. It’s very moist and stacks well. The double chocolate layer cake is as soft as this one but I think it has better chocolate flavor.
thanks! you rock.
Wow – over 800 comments and counting. Is that a new record?? I just made this into cupcakes for my husband’s bday. I got 30 cupcakes and cooked them at 335 for 22 minutes. They came out nice and soft. Because he requested a cupcake that was both frosted and filled (and I love him dearly so I was happy to oblige!) I used the choco-pb ganache to fill them – by just piping it into the center. Since they are a fairly soft cake it was easy to pipe into the center. I used the pb frosting as is and since I had a little of the ganache left, I spooned a bit on top of the frosting. They were a huge hit with my husband! We are having a little party tomorrow, and I’m sure they will be a big hit. I haven’t eaten one yet and so I’m curious to see how they compare to your double chocolate layer cake, which I have also made into cupcakes twice.
Since I had some buttermilk in the fridge, I used a little to replace some of the water. Most of my favorite cake recipes include it, and it seems to have worked well. The batter was certainly delicious.
Wow, this looks like the recipe that will get you over the 1000 comment mark. It’s no wonder! It’s an amazing cake. I’ve brought in quite a few baked goods for my coworkers (at least a dozen cakes), and everyone agreed that this was there favorite.
I made this in the middle of the night before I started the graveyard shift. I find a complicated baking project keeps me up, no problem. This is the first time I successfully used the crumb coating technique. My coworkers said my cake looked just like the pictures when I showed them your website which I consider the biggest compliment of all.
Thanks for another amazing recipe.
Like Trina, I too found it easier to pat the delicious delicious frosting on by hand. It was kind of clumpy to spread, so I just started patting it on and it worked great! Applied it and smoothed with my fingers.
Hi there-
I didn’t see it asked about on a quick glance through all the comments…but why the parchment paper lining the pans? Can I do without that? Sorry if it’s been addressed already. This looks incredible and my son and I are going to make this today…can’t wait to taste it!
Rochelle — It’s a very soft cake and the parchment paper will guarantee that you get it out easily. You can butter and flour the pans well and you should probably be fine, but only parchment can guarantee easy release. Good luck!
I just made this and oh my god. I kept scraping at the bottom of the pan and was hoping that there would be enough cake left by the end of it.
I actually made it into a birthday cake and did a cream cheese chocolate icing on it, I think it’s one of the best chocolate birthday cakes I have made.
Anna
I actually used two round pans with the sliding handle and the cake came out perfect, I had previously greased the pan as well. The cake is very moist so I would be careful but it has quite some weight to it so it comes out fast. I definitely put some parchment paper at the bottom of it because it will stick to surfaces.
Made this cake yesterday and have left it overnight for today’s birthday party. I am quite sure that it will be heavenly good. I have not tried the cake yet, but I ate quite some of the filling which was amazing.
I actually made it into four layer square cake, since I only had one round pan and felt too lazy for baking three times. I used that deep standard pan that comes with the oven and have cut the cake into four parts afterwards.
For those that had problems spreading the frosting I would recommend omitting some confectioners sugar. I think I used only three cups of it and the frosting was maybe already too runny but I wanted it to be less sweet in any case.
thank you once again for this wonderful site and this amazing cake!
WOW! Delicious! Thank you for the recipe Deb! Such a fun cake to make too! Made it for my husband’s birthday this week. A new favorite! You are superb!
This is the first layer cake that I have made that actually looks as good as it taste, well as it will taste :) I made myself a mini cake so I could make sure it was up to par before the party tomorrow.
I thought chocolate and peanut butter really couldn’t get any better, I was so wrong, it will never taste the same again. This cake has ruined me.
Thank you
Is American baking soda english baking powder or bicarbonate of soda? cheers! :)
This cake is amazing! I just made it (again) but smaller and with the fudge icing from the monkey cake. If you half the recipe, it makes a perfect 3 layer 6 inch cake. :)
Fiona, the way I remember it is just look at the last word – so baking soda is bicarb soda.
(I’m making this cake again today… My partner was one of those who crashed the website originally when this cake was first released, and bugged me until I made it… and after that, bugged me to make it again!)
I know that almost 1000 people have commented on this page, and that the post is not new. I feel like adding my 2 cents now is a little silly; everyone has moved on. But I just finished ganaching (heh) this cake and it is absolutely gorgeous! I was leery of the ganache step. My last attempt to use it and make chocolatey drips along the sides of a cake did not go very well. The ganache was too cool and too thick and just sort of piled on top of the cake in very unappealing clumps. I ended up just icing the cake with it. As it was a bundt cake, it wasn’t very pretty. Tasty, but ugly.
This though! This! Your tips on cooling the frosted cake were dead-on and the ganache behaved exactly like it was supposed too. This is the prettiest cake I have ever made and I can’t wait to serve it tomorrow.
So, though it may be spitting in the ocean at this point (854!), Thank you! I don’t know how I cooked/baked anything before finding this site!
I’m glad you liked the cake. You should always leave a comment because I will always, always read it. :)
My first attempt at a cake for my husbands 30th birthday. And at 8,000 ft above sea level I was a little scared. But it turned out amazing! Thanks for the tips about freezing the layers, it made it so manageable. Super moist, delicious and rich. People thought I had bought it. Another smitten kitchen keeper.
I made this (for the 3rd or 4th time) for Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. I have to say, this one is always a show stopper. I got so many compliments on it, including at least 3 people who told me it was the best cake they have ever eaten!
We served 12 adults and 2 kids and had enough left over for 5 slices the next day. So wonderful!!
I must comment on this cake. I made this two years ago for my Dads birthday & everyone said it was the BEST cake they ever had! I am going to make it again for his 60th Birthday party this weekend, but I am going to try and make cupcakes with it! Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
I just made this cake to try something different, and I must say it was soooo good. Even my mom liked it, who doesn’t usually like chocolate cake. Will definitely make this again.
Just made this for a friend’s birthday and it was an OUTSTANDING hit! I do have a specific logistics question for your tiny kitchen and these 3 layer cakes. I have a 24 inch wide stove and can only fit 2 8 inch pans at a time. Do you have this issues? Has it ever been a problem?
I made this for a friend’s 40th birthday who is a chocolate peanut butter fanatic. She and everyone that had a piece absolutely loved it. It was very good, moist cake and so easy to make. I added chopped Reese’s pb cups and placed them around the side of the cake. It added a little bit more flare to the presentation. Thanks for this post.
I’m new the cake-baking world, and recently my cake efforts have turned out *ahem* less than satisfactory. But I was determined to try making this cake because it just looked SO good, and it turned out perfectly! This recipe really restored my faith in my ability to make a successful cake. Thank you so much for your clear instructions, handy tips and photos. I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
Quick question for you, Deb. You suggest a “crumb coat” of frosting….does that mean you use a thin layer of the peanut butter frosting, let it set in the fridge and then put another layer of the peanut butter frosting on top of that? 800+ comments. wow! Is that a record? Planning to make this cake for Thanksgiving…if I can wait until then. thank you for sharing!
Martha — Yup, that’s exactly what a crumb coat is. It keeps the crumbs from coming through to the outside; mostly, it pretties it up.
Pure Perfection. Easy to folloe recipe and directions. This cake somehow manages to taste even better than it looks. Thank-You for sharing your recipe!
I have made this cake several times! I am not a peanut butter eater but this cake OMG IS AWESOME! I have made it both as a two layer and as a three layer. It is one that is requested for me to bake the most…..Thanks for sharing this……
Hi
This cake looks amazing!!
I just wanted to check though, the peanut butter frosting, 5 cups of sugar? is that right? I’m working in ounces, and the most ounces of sugar i’ve ever used in anything is about ten. five cups is forty ounces, so i’m thinking this must be too much!!
Thanks
I love, love, love this cake. I’ve made it 4 times in the past month! Like others have mentioned, I’ve had people tell me, very sincerely, that this is the best cake they have EVER tasted. I’ve had another request from a friend to make this for their birthday, it’s the only thing they want! This is definitely my go-to cake for special occasions or when I want to impress!
I have started making this cake but the batter is very soupy and I measure everything. I am guessing that is not right but don’t know how to correct this.
Time consuming, but worth it. Best.cake.ever. So rich and delicious. Made it for my boyfriend who absolutely loved it. Don’t be in a hurry when you’re making it. Make sure to have enough time to freeze layers and refrigerate after frosting/ before ganache so it turns out as beautiful as Deb’s.
I made this cake for my husbands birthday a year ago. I made it a 3 layer 13″x9″ and it was unreal. It weighed a ton and was gorgeous. Everyone loved it. My granddaughter requested it for her graduation party. It will stay in my favorite list as long as I can cook. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. I use the cake with different frosting. Love the texture and recommend it to anyone that just likes good chocolate cake.
@Ellie- Confectioner’s sugar always shrinks down the moment it’s added to liquid, so it’s not as much as it seems. :)
I made this cake as a three tiered wedding cake 2 years ago for 100 people and it was delicious. I came back for the recipe for our anniversary today. Peanut butter and chocolate make a true marriage. Haha. But I used the ganache as a second coating rather than using a drizzle effect and topped it with fresh red roses. Highly recommended.
LOVVVVE THIS RECIPE! It is my boyfriend’s request for every occasion. Even without the ganache, it is still MAGNIFICENT! Thanx So MUCH FOR SHARING THIS!!
Thank you so much for this awesome recipe! I made it as a 9″ two layer cake for my son’s birthday last night and it was a HIT! My mother-in-law was speechless! :-) Thanks again!
PS- I served 5 adults and 6 children and still have half the cake left! Rich, rich, rich deliciousness!
I used the glaze on another cake and although I let my cake chill for 2 hours it still didn’t turn out the way the photo looked. I was disappointed. My frosting was also cheese cake based. I guess the lesson here is the glaze cannot be used with just any cake but this one?!
How did it look different? It should work on most cakes. The trick to getting the thick, dramatic drips is to have the topping cooled too the point where it’s just barely pourable, i.e. quite thick and to pour it over a cold, cold cake, so it drags a little running down the sides.
Just be careful to use real semi-sweet chocolate. First time I tried to use Nestle chocolate chips for the glaze and when combined with the corn syrup, it seized on me…
I’m glad I stumbled across this! My boyfriend requested pb cake for his bday on Friday. I will definitely be making this! I know you used 3 9″ pans for your cake, but I’m going to try 2 9″ pans. According to the cake pan conversion chart, the volume of 3 8″ pans should equal 2 9″? (not that I mind having shorter cakes, I’m just too lazy to make 3 :) Hopefully it will work out! Yum! Last year I baked him your red velvet cake, to die for.
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday yesterday. I used one 13X9 pan (this recipe makes a ton of cake). My ingredient modifications included: light sour cream in the cake, one less cup of powdered sugar in the frosting, and I also added sea salt to the peanut butter frosting. It was a HIT!!! The cake was good. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
made this last week for my husband who is a reeses fan, with no modifications. it was a very moist and dense (but not too dense) cake. the double frosting layers were perfect too. i have many chocolate cakes from scratch and this is now one of my 2 favorite recipes. it was an awesomely delicious cake.
“That was the best cake you ever made.” Thanks! :) I think this will be my go-to chocolate cake recipe. Mmm….
I declared this “The Best Cake I Have Ever Eaten.” Seriously. Amazing.
just made this cake for a work bake off. won first place! delicious.
Was googling chocolate peanut butter cakes for a colleague at work and came across this and gave it a whirl! It came out perfectly—-just like the picture. And tasted DIVINE. This is a keeper!
Back in the kitchen today making this cake for my daughter’s 18th birthday-her birthday request. This cake is my kids very very very favorite cake. I am now making it twice in December and once in May for the three of them. It never gets old-just more delicious!!!!!!!
Hi Deb, I adapted this to gluten-free. The recipe is on my website. It works really well with simply subbing gluten-free equivalents. No need to buy expensive thickeners etc. That’s just one of the reasons why I love moist, dense cakes – they’re easy to make gluten-free.
I served it to my extended family and friends on Christmas, then brought the leftovers to work and not one of them suspected that it was gluten-free.
Thanks for another winner!
What is your website Andee??
thank you so much for an amazing cake recipe, you have no idea. i stole the show at the christmas gathering. everyone devoured this cake, it was so good. instead of pb frosting, i used almond buttercream and toasted coconut, fabulous recipe!
THANKS!
I made this cake for my husband (who loves all things that combine peanut butter and chocolate) on his birthday a couple of years ago, and he LOVED it! It was very rich, so we cut it into very small slices, and it took us about a week to finish it! Since then, he started eating a vegan diet whenever possible, so for his birthday tomorrow, I am borrowing the peanut butter frosting recipe to use on some cupcakes for him. I will be using vegan cream cheese and margarine. Hope it turns out!
This has to be the best cake I have ever ever ever eaten…Even beyond all bakery cakes I’ve eaten. I made it about 8 months ago and it was the biggest hit ever….. and My hubby has now made a special request again today. :)
I made this cake for a New Year’s Eve party and it went over extremely well. The other guests LOVED it, but I would make a few suggestions. First, I have a better chocolate cake recipe. The cake was good, but there was that constant nagging thought that it could be better! The peanut butter frosting was down right fantastic. As for the chocolate peanut butter drizzle, I would add vanilla and perhaps a little bit more peanut butter. It was a little too bitter for my liking.
My roommate made this cake for my birthday and I must say – WOW WOW WOW – we just finished (2 months later) what was left of half that we froze and I’m sad to see it go. MAKE THIS CAKE, PEOPLE.
I’ve made this cake twice now. Once for my husband’s birthday, which deemed me “Lord of the Cake!” by the second person I made it for, which was my husband’s best friend. Both times the cake received rave reviews & a few “best cake ever” responses. The cake is SOOOO moist & rich, the icing is the perfect peanut buttery sweetness & the ganache just adds that final touch of decadent perfection. I would have to agree that this just might be the best cake ever.
I made this cake for a friends birthday once and have been asked to make it so many times now that I am starting to regret having ever made it at all. It is that good.
I can’t wait to make this cake for my friends birthday on Sunday. It looks AMAZING! Her favorite is chocolate – peanut butter requested by her husband. I’m thinking that this will be my birthday cake as well!!! Thank-you so much for the post, it looks unbelieveable!!!!
I made this cake today for a ladies party. Huge hit – I left off the ganache due to time and it was still wonderful just with the peanut butter frosting. The cake is so moist – the sour cream really makes this cake. Everyone loved it. I cut the butter in half for the frosting and added more peanut butter.
Hi Deb,
I love your blog – I really think it is one of the best on the web. I was looking for a chocolate peanut butter cake and I found this one. With 900 comments (as far as I can tell, all positive) I knew this was going to be the one. I made it yesterday to serve today for a surprise for my boss’ birthday and everyone went crazy for it. I have sent a number of people your URL.
Small changes I made were to add 2 Tbsp espresso to the cake batter, use only 4 cups of icing sugar in the frosting, and because I know my boss well, instead of the PB-chocolate ganache, I made a dark chocolate ganache.
Thanks for making me look so good!
Susan
fo8
You know this recipe is famous, right?
Best thing I have ever made. My friends 3 yr old ate 3 cupcakes in one sitting (and then proceeded to throw up but that’s besides the point). That’s how good it is.
I was very excited when I found your blog. This recipe sounds delish!!! I’ll be making it for my sons 5th birthday in 2 weeks. (Minus the glaze because I’ll be using marshmallow fondant to cover it) Thanks again!
Made this for a birthday last night and it turned out great. Easy recipe for such a nice presentation and fantastic flavor. I used natural peanut butter (right out of the fridge) and sprinkled a few chopped peanuts on the top center (rather than the peanut brittle). Thanks!
OMG! I made this cake for my husband’s 40th birthday. We had some after dinner with the kids then we took it to the bar so our friends could have some. Well the cake went over like gang busters!! I had 2 friends request this for their birthday cakes and 2 others want the recipes for themselves. I am addicted to you Blog! I look at it a few times a week and make dinners for my family!! Thank you for your wonderful recipes and great stories!!
This was the most amazing cake I have ever eaten. The cake was super moist and the frosting was so rich and delish. I don’t bake much, but this recipe sure made me seem like I was a pro!
My sister just made this cake for my birthday. It is literally the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten (she made no changes). My husband thinks the whoopie pie cake on this website is the best he’s ever eaten. They’re both fantastic. I’ve also made the monkey cake and the yellow birthday cake. I have yet to be disappointed by any of them.
I know this is an old post but I’m trying a comment/question anyway! I want to make this for my husband’s birthday. How far in advance can I make the cake layers? And if I do it in advance, should I put them in the freezer or fridge? I have a tiny, NYC size freezer so I am not sure I’ll have room for them, even if just for 30 minutes to do the firm-up. Can I firm them up in the fridge if I decide to do it all at once? Thanks!!! The cake looks amazing!
Also–how do you get the frosting so even? Do I need a squeezy thing? Haha Clearly, I am a cake novice. Thanks1
Hi KJ — I’ve got a ton of layer cake tips here that I hope will help. Briefly, I’ve got a small freezer and they did fit. I would freeze the layers or keep them at room temperature but not make them more than a day or two in advance. In both cases, wrap them well. I use an offset spatula to ice cakes. Getting the peanut butter frosting very cold, and the chocolate-peanut butter draping fairly thick will get you those nice thick drips you see in my photos. Good luck!
this cake has always caught my eye, i visit your blog ALL THE TIME and i always stare at these pictures like an absolute nutter.
was wondering if you’d let me write a review of it on my own blog?
Thanks, Deb! I think I’ll bake the cakes tonight and freeze them and then do the frosting tomorrow. How long will they take to defrost?
I just made my the cakes but the first layer split in half coming out of the pan. I didn’t follow your note of firming it up first. Is there anything I can do to save it? Help!!!! Thanks so much.
Just saw another comment on this. It did seem very soft–maybe it is undercooked? But it cooked 33 minutes and the toothpick was clean. Or could it just be it wasn’t cool enough? Any thoughts would be great. Thanks.
Everyone listen! My brother and I made this cake one day for fun, and served it to the family. My bro and I never bake, but THIS. CAKE. BLEW. MINDS. Of all the baking my family has ever done, this cake is everyone’s favorite, and they force us to make it regularly. It is not too expensive to make, and it is rich, moist, and wonderful. We use it for birthdays, parties, and I even made one for my boss’s Super Bowl get-together, and it was a hit! This is one of the greatest recipes to ever be available through a Google search. My brother and I are constantly editing the recipe in little ways, but it’s hard to perfect something that is practically perfect already! But I recommend trying coconut oil, and maybe some coconut shavings in the batter. Adds to the texture and taste! Make this cake!!!
Just wanted to check and let you know I made the cake and it was seriously amazing. So delicious–everyone loved it. The only thing is it was pretty ugly–my layers were uneven and the glaze was a little too thick so I didn’t get those pretty drips, just globs. Next time I’ll work on how it looks, but taste-wise, it was great. thanks!!
Made this for a birthday – it is RICH and SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS. Like, I’m not sure there could be a better PB & Chocolate iteration of cake in existence, this was that spot-on. That said, I used a Lot more peanut butter than called for in the recipe – I thought the taste was hardly there and moreso just sweet otherwise – but like a cream cheese frosting, you can do this ad hoc and keep adjusting to your taste as you mix. I forget, but I might’ve adjusted the glaze for thickness too – also somewhat easy to eyeball, and I don’t think you can go too wrong (that adjustment, if any, was minor). Enjoy. Completely worth it – don’t be offended if it’s not finished right away b/c it is Very Rich, but in a divine sort of way that just takes time to consume – the guest home finished all of it over time on their own :) Thanks SK this was a home run.
Oh, and the extra PB did make my frosting less even and probably far more difficult to spread, but looks-wise, you could hardly notice anything was off underneath the ganache, you can bring it to a home-made spatula-spreading look and cover the rest.
Ugh last post I promise – I’m nearly drooling just thinking about it again – but I wanted to add that the cake was perhaps the moistest thing I’ve had. I’ve been trying to bake often for the last year (thanks SK) and this has to be the best thing I’ve baked and you know when you make it that it will forever be an all-star. Ok, I’m done. But if there’s someone in the bakers’ world who still hasn’t made this, MAKE IT MAKE IT MAKE IT MAKE IT MAKE IT. You know that Aziz Ansari skit where he makes fun of the Coldstone Creamery sizes being for drug addicts — “Gotta have it!!” — it’s that kind of good.
Just made this for the fam! It was delicious as all recipes on this blog are.
I accidentally added an extra cup of sour cream and it was so moist! Almost fudgy. Didn’t taste like a mistake.
I also omitted the ganache because I was afraid of going into diabetic shock!
The frosting was verrrry sweet, almost too sweet. and I loooove sweets. I wonder if you could leave out a cup of sugar and the consistency would still be ok.
There was almost not enough frosting to coat all three layers.
Deb! Can you help?
I made this cake for my husband back when you first posted it and it was pretty much the best cake ever. Since then, I’ve gone on a pretty strict paleo diet (so no cakes!). I’m going to make this one again for his birthday this year, though! Because it’s the best cake ever.
Since I’m a crazy person, I’m having issues with the cup of vegetable oil. Is there another oil I can substitute that isn’t canola or soybean? I’m not so good with the baking. Would a more saturated fat like coconut oil mess it up?
Hi Shelly — In most cases, one oil can be substituted for another but I haven’t worked enough with coconut oil to be certain.
Hello:
Just checking… “1 cup of oil?”
Thanks,
DD
Yes!
Hello! Just wanted to let everyone know that I made this cake for my husbands birthday back in July, and it was pretty much the best cake in the entire world!
Hi Deb, I am making this cake for the first time for my father’s b’day. My parents are coming to stay this weekend and thought this would be a wonderful surprise, and beautiful center piece for my table! I am making the cake layers tonight and freezing them as you have suggested. I was wondering if I could do the same with the PB frosting? If not can you suggest a way to prepare the frosting ahead of time and how to keep?
P.S. Love, Love, Love this blog. Plan to make this a Julie & Julia experience. =)
Would you believe that I’ve never tried to freeze frosting before? Theoretically, it should work but I cannot give you my word. But it’s all butter and sugar… can’t imagine how it would flop.
Thanks Deb…I have frozen plain cream cheese frosting before (just butter, sugar, CC + vanilla). I let the frosting come to room temp before using and worked like a charm. Just didn’t know if the actual PB would make a difference or not. I am going to go for it and will let you know how it turns out after the weekend. Thanks for the quick response!
Can u make these into cupcakes because my best friend loves chocolate and peanut butter and I can’t Rlly bring a cake to school you know so I was wondering if I tried making it into cupcakes would it work cupcakes are just so much easier to transport to and thx
Hi Deb :)
I love this cake! I make it all the time with chocolate frosting (my husband is the peanut butter fanatic – not me, lol). It’s always a hit. However, as you mentioned, it is a bit soft and once or twice has broken in half from the weight when I have frosted it. However, my biggest problem is that I have tried to increase the recipe by 1/3 (it gets eaten up too fast by my enormous family) and when I do that, the cooking time is crazy long and it seems to fall in the oven even if I haven’t sneaked any peeks. Do you know what I could do to counteract the falling problem? More baking soda? Less?
Thanks!
P.S. Saw your recommendations for the wedding cake if you’re just making this with chocolate frosting. Will try that next time. :) Thanks for sharing your recipes!
I made this cake the other day for my best friends birthday! I did not sprinkle the top with peanut brittle but made a peanut butter meringue that I cracked and sprinkled on top and added to the filling. The frosting on this was amazing and lovely and yes I totally dipped sliced apples into the small bit I had leftover.
Hi Deb…just an update on freezing the frosting…it worked beautifully. It came out a little thicker than your normal cream cheese frosting but in working with a frozen cake it spread like butter. The cake was devoured in 3 days! (only 4 of us working on it thought it was pretty amazing) My dad loved it and I think my husband fell more in love with me for making it. =) Thanks again for an amazing recipe.
Successfully made this gluten and egg-free. Subbed a crazy blend of flours, and half Ener-G egg replacer and half flaxseed gel for the eggs. Great success!
Just made the cake and paired it with your instant fudge frosting. This cake is beautiful – fudgy, dark, and with a lush crumb. The frosting (with a pinch of salt) goes very well with it!
I just made this cake again (for my dad’s birthday this time.. with chocolate dream whip frosting) and have received SO many compliments! No less than 6 people said it was ‘the best cake’ they ever ate. Just spreading the cake love :)
A work of art, I’m dying to try it !
I made this last night (cheated with a Devil’s Food cake mix for the actual cake) for a co-worker’s birthday. It was so HEAVY!
In fact, the icing created a crevice/landslide of cake but after freezing to firm it up and the glaze, couldn’t see it! I wouldn’t recommend using a light cake like Devil’s Food with this because it seems to weigh it down too much. The final cake was probably the heaviest two layer cake I’ve ever held.
However, it tasted amazing and you weren’t kidding about needing milk!
Deb, or anybody who has made this cake from Deb’s recipe.. I want to make this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday this Friday. How many hours does it take from start to finish? I want to make it fresh on Friday and need to know how long it will take.
Please Help!
PS> we are both chocolate peanut butter junkies so can’t wait to see his face when he tries this! :)
wuaw really thanks so much!!! this cake and frosting completly change my life i will star making this cake for all the event i have !!!
xooxoxox
Re: Catrina Feb 27th
I’m making this cake at the moment for a friend’s birthday and it’s taken me just under an hour from start to finish to cook the sponges.
The frosting and the glaze will take another half an hour in total and with the cooling time for the sponges it’ll take about 2 hours from start to finish including icing time.
Hope this helps.
This is the cake that my mom and I made for my wedding….everyone RAVED about it and are begging us to make them cakes now.
We actually made it a week in advance of the wedding and the people that snuck several slices from the reception told us that it was still amazing a week after the wedding! It has an incredible life span and never got dry.
Its been in the freezer for several months now and I’m excited to see if it’s still good on our one year anniversary….I’m positive that it will still be just as good. (Yes, we saved the top layer of this cake instead of my cake because it was incredible!)
BEST cake ever ..
This is the first time I write comments on cakes as this was just the best cake ever. My husband loves peanut butte, I made this cake for his birthday last week. It was easy, and the directions were just right.
It was YUMMY and it looks amazing. The idea of baking 3 separate cakes made it looks very professional
He said it was the best cake I ever made, and I bake a lot.
I have 2 requests already to bake this cake for friends birthday.
NET NET … THE BEST Cake.
I am running to buy the book !
I have now made this twice. The first time i rushed it a little, and it was amazingly delicious but looked a mess. Today, an attorney I work for asked if I could bake a cake for his son’s birthday and mentioned peanut butter and chocolate…I was very nervous making this again for someone else, but I followed the instructions meticulously, and even chilled things LONGER than you recommended, and it is beautiful! It looks a lot like yours!! I did chop up some peanut butter cups as a garnish, as a few have suggested, and it looks so yummy. Now I am reluctant to take this to work tomorrow…Do you think my boss will notice if there is a slice cut out??! ;)
Thanks for such a great site and such a WONDERFUL recipe!
I made this cake today for my husband’s bday. It was absolutely delicious. I used 3-9″ inch cake pans and it worked fine. In lieu of the peanut brittle I used chopped up Reese’s peanut butter cups and sprinkled them over the top of the cake. My husband said it was a definite keeper cake and he wanted it for his bday next year and many years to come. YUM!
I’ve made this cake four times now. It’s always amazing (people actually think I’m a “legendary baker” because of this cake–which is an actual quote, but nothing close to the truth.) I wanted to share 2 tiny additions I made this last time that made it even more awesome. I added about a tsp of espresso powder and 2 TB of cake enhancer (basically an emulsifier), both items from King Arthur flour. Thanks for this recipe, Deb. I love, love, love your website!!!
I have made this cake numerous times (Birthday, Anniversary, Grooms Cake & even a Wedding Cake) and I have 2 friends that this cake is mandatory for their Birthday and Anniversary :)
If you haven’t tried it yet, you must!! <3
I made this today for my sister’s birthday. Everything you said is true – the icing is divine! The cake is really soft & hard to handle, so even when I tried masking the icing, bits of cake still clung to the outer icing layer, so it looked speckled. :(
I am new to this blog and look forward to making this cake for my daughter’s 30th b-day this weekend. She is a chocolate and PB fan and sent me the recipe to make for her party. I skimmed the comments (seriously, I read a lot of them!) but may have missed this question:
Is it okay to bake, ice, and glaze the cake the day before its being served? And I assume it would remain in the frig the entire time as well as any leftovers? I hope so. Thanks!
Susan — Absolutely. The cake should hold up well.
Made this cake tonight, turned out great but would add more peanut butter in the frosting and a bit more coco powder in the cake mix.
Pictures on my tumblr: http://heatherbreanne.tumblr.com/
I made this cake in stages. The cake layers on Wednesday & finished,and served it on Friday. I followed the recipe to a T, including the chilling between frostings.
This is an incredibly rich cake. A sliver is all you can eat. It is a show stopper.
My preference however is still a really good coffee cake.
I’ve wanted to make this cake ever since I saw it on your site over a year ago but it totally intimidated me! Today I finally bit the bullet. Had a little trouble with the cakes the first time–they just didn’t rise for some reason I couldn’t figure out. But tried again and perfection! In fact, the cake really is sky high–it didn’t fit in my cake holder it was so tall. The PB frosting is totally to die for – can’t wait to sample the whole cake tomorrow! Thank you for the great recipe and super clear instructions! There’s pictures and notes on my blog: http://taragel.livejournal.com/209924.html
Sooooo, I was supposed to report back in September.
It was so good, my best friend forgave me for baking my own birthday cake. So good I just looked this up again to make a cupcake version this weekend. So good I can picture sinking my teeth into it. So good I will probably spend the next 20 minutes reading and re-reading this page instead of studying for my doctoral comprehensive exam between meetings.
So good I MIGHT just forgive you for doing this to me.
My birthday is tomorrow! Oh how I wish this was on the menu! :)
I’ve been making this cake for special occasions since March 2011 and it’s a crowd pleaser every single time. Thank you for making me so popular! :)
I made this cake for my common-law husband’s birthday this week. Our friends went bananas and have decided that I should open a bake shop and sell nothing but this cake. I’ll admit, this cake is pretty much all that I can think of eating for breakfast today… and yesterday too. This is one professional quality dessert.
I made a few alterations – Omitted 1 cup of icing sugar in the peanut butter frosting and also used pure peanut butter. I added a tablespoon of corn starch to thicken things up and a teaspoon of salt. These changes reduced a bit of the sweetness which seemed to highlight the peanut butter flavor.
I followed the freezing and chilling recommendations, and it was a breeze to assemble, frost and ganache. The chocolate cake was so moist that it really needed to be frozen to work with.
2/2 recipes that I’ve used from your site have been hits with my foodie family and friends. Thanks so much.
FANTASTIC!My daughter and I made this cake for her husband’s b/day after searching his two favorite eats – peanut butter and chocolate. Huge hit. So huge in fact we shared it with the neighbors. Plenty to go around.
Used 6oz semisweet and 2oz unsweetened chocolate in glaze – less sweet.
Substituted Lyle’s Golden Syrup for yucky corn syrup.
We followed the freezing and chilling – no problem icing the cake.
Thanks. Love your site. Can’t go wrong w/ Smitten Kitchen.
This cake is a sneaky-ass bomb and we loved it. Made it for my co-workers for my birthday (a concept they did not understand, try as I might to explain that making my own cake is part of my gift to myself) and served it in small wedges. Everyone raved about it and I was very happy to pass along Smitten Kitchen as the source.
— Yogurt instead of sour cream in the cake worked perfectly. So did half AP flour, half white whole wheat.
— A single eight ounce package of cream cheese, plus a couple big spoonsful of plain yogurt, worked great in the peanut butter frosting. I added a few big pinches of salt to the frosting and the glaze, too, and I think up to a quarter teaspoon in each would be appropriate.
— The big change: since I foolishly gave away my small round pans, I baked most of the batter in a quarter sheet pan and the rest in a loaf pan. (No measuring needed for the conversion, just eyeballing.) I used a pot lid to score it, then cut out the two layers after I chilled it. A two-layer, seven-inch cake was plenty for seven adults. I cobbled the other big scraps together and frosted and glazed their tops for our own treat at home and gave the plain loaf to my co-worker as a thank-you.
Looks like you might get over 1,000 comments on this one by year’s end if the rising cost of peanut butter doesn’t get too prohibitive. :D
Delicious, Deb. Thanks again!
I had to force myself to actually assemble the cake because the peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter glaze were SO GOOD by themselves. I could seriously live in a bowl of both and be happy forever. i was a little hesitant to make this because it looked like a lot of steps, but it was not difficult at all. i made the cakes last night and froze them wrapped in wax paper and saran wrap, and then made the frostings today and assembled. icing it was simple – no issues with crumbs or anything! deb thanks for the recipe! i’ve made probably 25 things from your website and every single one has turned out absolutely perfectly.
I made this cake yesterday and you’re right…it is intense! It satisfied any chocolate peanut butter cravings I had.
I felt like I had to come back and follow up on my previous comment – the assembled cake was AMAZING!! It made enough that we used it for a birthday dinner on Saturday and Mother’s Day on Sunday and everybody agreed it was the best cake they ever had.
This cake was the BEST TASTING cake EVER! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!!!
Hi! I have baked this cake twice already and everybody wants more of it :) just wondering if this cake is suitable to put in the freezer for a couple of days?
Hi Deb-
QUICK question-
I am very excited to see all of these comments- and to try this cake out for myself (for quite an important dinner!).
I am a fan of a heavy wet cake- love the sour cream in chocolate cake too! I always add a package of instant jello chocolate pudding, and a container of sour cream, to my chocolate cakes, along with some chocolate chips (just to melt in there…).
Do you think I could add the chips and instant pudding to this cake? I’m so curious to try it!
Just want to add that I think you’re a genius. And your site is beautiful and the best on the web,
Cheers from Toronto,Canada,
Kate
I have had this cake bookmarked for 2 years and FINALLY made it. It is absolutely wonderful. I used Hershey “Special Dark” cocoa powder and the cake came out very dark, almost black in color. It is so moist and has a lovely crumb. I used the sour cream and made 3 layers. This is a tall cake! I froze the layers overnight for easier handling, and added a good glug of vanilla and generous sprinkle of salt to the frosting. I couldn’t imagine glazing it, on top of that rich and delicious frosting, so I just used a cake comb to make a pattern. It is really amazingly good. For Kate (comment above)- I really would not try to make this cake wetter. I also love really moist cakes, but this one is so moist already, as written, that it might be too mushy with pudding added to the cake. I think you will not be disappointed. This is what a box cake (which I like, in a perverse way) would be if it grew up, and was made from scratch. Same incredible moistness and very fine crumb. But much more chocolately and no off flavors at all. So, so good!
I can’t believe I haven’t commented on this cake …. it’s AMAZING, always a crowd pleaser, and you crave it when you just think about how good it was. It is VERY rich, but it makes it go that much further. it’s AMAZING.
Thanks for your site … love our stuff. SO EXCITED for your book!
I made this cake for my daughter’s first birthday almost.. Well the better part of two months ago and I totally forgot about commenting until my grandma requested it for my cousin’s birthday party this weekend and I thought I would say… I mean what is there left to say ?? My GRANDMA asked ME to make her grandson a birthday cake.. Don’t they have a magic recipe book somewhere for this kinda stuff ??? Well obviously it doesn’t have THIS cake in it ;). But in all honestly its amazing. It’s moist and SO chocolately and rich but not like a “I need a glass of milk with this” and gewwy and moist and DELICIOUS !!! Has anyone every watched the part of the Metilda movie where the principle makes the boy eat the cake and it somehow looks so scrumptious and sticky moist ?? THIS.IS.THAT.CAKE !!! I can’t say enough but Kate (from above) I would DEFINENTLY not add the pudding ! I myself absolutely LOVE partially melted chocolate chips is cupcakes, muffins and cakes and if your prefer that in yours too I would say DO IT.. They would be PERFECT in this cake.. Sorry for all the caps words but this cake makes you want to be over the top exlamitory-ish and I can’t say enough about this cake !
is the batter supposed to be so runny?
amrita — It’s a thin cake batter.
I made it exactly as written including all the recommended chilling and it turned out perfect. Usually on a recipe with so many steps and parts I’ll screw up somewhere but this turned out flawless and I had a piece right out of the fridge and one after letting it sit as recommended and it’s like night and day. Much better at room temperature, you get a lot more of the peanut butter flavor out of it. Chilled it’s fantastic too but the chocolate completely dominates.
I love this cake. Not because I’ve eaten it (because honestly I haven’t had a slice) but because everyone else loves it! I was looking for a little challenge back in May for a friends cake. He likes chocolate & peanut butter. This cake has such richness of both (& stellar pictures) so it was chosen! I’ve made for him twice now, once for his birthday & once at cost for his coworkers farewell party. They had a sample of it when he brought in the leftovers & went raving mad over it. I’ll be making it agin this morning! This cake has gotten everyone a little nutty (punny aren’t I?)! Thanks for posting such detailed steps!
I make this cake just about every chance I get. It is my go-to cake for all birthdays. It is the cake I dream of in the weeks before those birthdays. This is… THE BEST CAKE EVER.
My son and I made this last night and it was wonderful. I substituted half the oil for applesauce and half the chocolate for Dark Chocolate. I also chilled the frosting while the cake layers were in the freezer and thought I would do the crumb layer and chill again , but found it wasn’t neccessary – it frosted wih no crumb problems at all. It was perfectly moist and the icing was great – I usually scrape the icing off cakes, but I could eat extra of this icing since it didn’t taste so sweet.
I made this last year for my husband’s birthday. Yesterday I asked him what he wanted and he told me Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. I didn’t bookmark the recipe so I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find it again. Your was the first link that came up in my search and I KNEW it was right when I saw the picture. This time it is bookmarked and Pinned! This is fantastic, thank you. Smitten Kitchen to the rescue again :)
I made this last night for a friend’s birthday. It took me 4 1/2 hrs. to make, but was worth all the smiles and compliments :) VERY decadent and super moist!
Am looking at this cake at 12.40am when kids and husband are asleep and actually felt like traipsing down to the kitchen to make the cake!! But I’m afraid I might actually eat the whole cake by myself so I will wait till daylight. And then I’m afraid I still might eat the whole cake by myself so in an effort to save whatever is left of my girlish figure, I’m wondering if I should half the recipe and make it into a chocolate swiss roll with peanut butter cream cheese filling instead (since you said the cake was soft, I figured it will be easy to roll). Hmmm…
I made this cake last weekend for a friend’s birthday (he loves peanut butter) and it turned out AMAZING! thank you so much for the clear instructions on how to make this fabulous cake…. i’m new to baking cakes so was a bit worried, especially since i used cake pans with a removable bottom and lost half the batter! on the plus side i didn’t even need to level the cakes, i had 3 equal flat layers… love your site and have already tried several other recipes…
I have made this cake twice since January and it is truly sensational! The ganache can be used completely separately as a chocolate spread (like nutella but without hazelnuts) which is great since my daughter has a hazelnut allergy but loves peanut butter. I am planning to make it again tomorrow for my dad’s birthday. Fantastic!
Can i use butter in place of the oil?
Nikki — No reason why not.
Here in mumbai, I cut the recipe in half and made them as cupcakes successfully. The cake really is delicate and moist and lovely and the frosting is a beautiful surprising flavour. The tanginess works beautifully and it melts in your mouth.. rich and light at the same time. I did find the three put together a tad too rich and found that the chocolate glaze seized every time I added the corn syrup..not sure why. I used Karo…is there something I was doing wrong?
On the other hand, given that the cupcakes though delicious, bordered on a tad too rich, I think the glaze maybe an overkill on them. I did drizzle them with a bit of melted chocolate mixed with peanut butter though. Here is the post…
http://bombaychowparty.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/peanut-butter-and-chocolate-cupcakes-on-a-wet-wet-day/
My first time posting to tell you what a smitten Deb fan I am. I’m a fairly new
baker and wanted to make a birthday cake for a friend’s brunch. I asked her
what her favorite flavors were and she said chocolate and peanut butter.
Perfect! I wanted to make this cake. I took the cake to the brunch, where the
dozen women, who among them don’t consume more than 1000 calories a week
scarfed down this cake. There was a 6 month old baby there and the cake
got more’oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ than the baby! Fantastic cake. Thanks Deb!
Delightful looking cake and tastes even better than the pictures suggest. Absolutely scrumptious! Unfortunately you’ll have to steer clear if you have nut allergies.
AMAZING. This was the best cake ever! I made it for my husband’s 40th birthday and it was outstanding. He’s a chocolate & peanut butter connoisseur as well as a fantastic cook, so this was the perfect dessert. I especially appreciated the detailed instructions; I can hold my own with cooking, but baking has always eluded me. I had my reservations about making this cake since I’m a baking novice, but the worry was all for naught. The end result wasn’t quite as pretty as yours, but this was hands down one of the best birthday cakes we’ve ever had. Thanks SK for another fabulous recipe!
I just made this and EVERYONE was impressed with it. The peanut butter frosting is AMAZING and the chocolate cake couldn’t be more moist!!! My husband says it is the best thing I ever baked.
I’ll add to your comment galore :)
I just finished making this cake for a friend’s birthday this weekend and decided I should do a “test cake” before I made a “real” one for 32 people…
OH MY LANTA!
This knocked our socks off! Not even kidding! I’m not a huge peanut butter fan, but if it has chocolate I’m so game. I almost switched out this chocolate cake for my normal recipe I use…and I am so flippin glad I didn’t! This was ridiculously good! I’m a stickler about moist cakes and this is like a melt in your mouth goodness that blew me away.
The peanut butter frosting seriously tasted like whipped fudge. Holy crap. I normally make my frosting the night before so it has time to sit before I pipe it and spread but this wasn’t needed…in fact it kind of turned into fudge after sitting in the fridge overnight. I literally had to rewhip it on high with my kitchen aid for five minutes. But it still tastes amaaaaazing. And when it sets on the face it’s perfect. Not rock hard or too sloppy it falls off.
I had a terribly time icing the cakes though. I suck at spreading icing anyways so I anticipated this but the cake is so moist it was impossible for me since I can hardly do it with a dry cake let alone this moist wonderfulness.
My only complaint is the glaze. I used 8 oz of Nestle semisweet chips and melted everything in a wilton chocolate melting pot which was amazingly easier than a double boiler, but I had to add a little extra corn syrup and about 3 TBS of confectioners sugar to it. It still tasted great but on a piped cake the chocolate dripping just looks like a hot mess :( So we’re going to serve it on the side as an “option” (that of course everybody will more than likely devour by itself).
I want to say THANK YOU times a million. My best friend LOVES peanut butter and chocolate and originally found a wedding cake on pinterest with this style which is what lead me to this recipe…I will make this for any person breathing and I’m pretty sure it’ll be the best thing they’ve ever had.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I’ve been looking so hard to find a perfect recipe for her cake and I found it plus nine million other friends as well :)
I have to also add my comment too! I have made this a few times for birthdays (and more upcoming!) and word keeps getting around about this cake! People love it. It’s incredibly good!
Quick question about the layers – (choc/peanut butter cake) I see where you say you can freeze them 1/2 hr. before frosting, but I’m having a dinner party in a week and wanted to bake the layers maybe 3 days before and wrap/freeze? Can I do this or are the layers too soft and fragile? Thanks! (Too many comments to find an answer!)
Joni — You can totally freeze them as long as you need to as long as they are well wrapped. Getting them all or partially frozen makes them easier to handle when you want to fill and frost the cake.
Thanks Deb – that’s what I wanted to hear!
I bake birthday cakes/cupcakes all the time for my colleagues at work, and we always enjoy them together. I brought this cake in today for a birthday celebration, and people were RAVING about how great it is. It’s beautiful, easy to make, great instructions, and SUCH a crowd pleaser! I’ll definitely keep this in my recipe book to use again – thanks!!!!
Oh my dear god. This cake was life-changing. And by that I mean I think I may have slipped into a diabetic coma… BUT, it was SO worth it. Super moist, super tasty, and a crowd pleaser. I scored mega points for making this one. Thank you so much!
Made the cake for dinner party last nite – without a doubt, the best cake I ever made (or ate)! Everyone loved it. Reminds me of the cake I bought for my son’s grad party made by CIA-trained bakers at a local bakery – cost $200! This was equally as good! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I made this for my own birthday today. Best cake ever made! It’s so moist, it melts in your mouth. I wish I had helped the chocolate over the side a little more, but it still looks cool from certain angles.
Amazing! Had this bookmarked for ages and made it for work for tomorrow — whilst mine doesn’t look as spectacular as yours, it is DELICIOUS!!! It’s trickier than my usual cakes, it was so much fun to make (am somehow covered in peanut butter frosting! hmmm…)
I made this cake! It tasted just as amazing as it looked… my parent’s requested some to put in their freezer to eat later then ate it the next day! I wouldn’t change a single thing!
WoW! Not that enough has not already been said above but this cake is amazing. I stumbled on it with a Google search. I made this last night for a birthday celebration this morning. It was amazing! I put the layers in the freezer for several hours and had no trouble with frosting the frozen layes and I also shaved off a thin layer to make them even. I had too much chocolate and it covered so much of the sides I went ahead and covered the entire cake in the chocolate glaze. Did I say WOW! My new favorite cake.
My first from scratch cake. I had to make some substutions because I can’t eat dairy, but it didn’t matter. It looked and tasted perfect. Thank you!
A friend of mine and I made this about 2 years ago as cupcakes. Now that I have a fancy new KitchenAid stand mixer, I am going for another try at the cupcakes! They were the most wonderful things I have EVER tasted by the way. THANK YOU!
Omg this is seriously the BEST chocolate cake ever. I added about two tablespoons of espresso powder to the dry mixture and sprinkled bacon on top at the end!
My first attempt turned out pretty crumbly. (But still DELICIOUS!) I totally lost an entire layer because it fell apart. I’m sure this goes without saying for you avid bakers out there, but cut the rounded tops off each of the cakes before attempting to stack this! O_o I’m not much of a baker at all, so this didn’t even occur to me.
Thanks for posting! Even with my mishaps, it made for a fab cake for my boyfriend’s birthday!
I am only posting so this cake has OVER a thousand comments, not just a mere thousand. Also, it was a lovely cake and my boyfriend requested a different one this year and it upset me, so from now on he doesn’t get a vote on his own birthday cake anymore and all I’m ever making again is this.
Even though this post already has about a million comments, at least one of which is mine, I just thought you ought to know that I recently consented to make my husband this cake every birthday for the rest of his life (or, you know, we get really old and aren’t allowed or able to eat delicious, delicious cake). Thanks, I think.
I’m just making sure I’m not reading this wrong….is it really FIVE cups of confectioners sugar??
This reminds me a lot of the ice cream flavor peanut butter chocolate. Most people love peanut butter and chocolate. The combo together in a cake most be amazing.
Deb, I made this cake for the hubs’ birthday today and I have to say that is by far the most insanely amazing chocolate cake I’ve ever made. I used a different pb frosting recipe but after ogling over this cake since the day you posted it (I’m a loong time reader) I’m SO happy to have finally made it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us!
I made this cake this passed weekend for a family dinner. I knew as soon as I tried it that this was the dessert to make, because everyone on my husband’s side of the family LOVES the chocolate peanut butter combo (not that I don’t, but I’m just not as wild about it.) Anyway, it was a hit, as I knew it would be. The cake was lovely and moist, even after it had spent a day in the fridge (don’t worry- I frosted it first.) Everything turned out just as described, and I, as a novice cake baker, was thrilled. Freezing the cooled cake layers before frosting was super helpful. Also, cooling the chocolate peanut butter ganache (10-15 minutes) before pouring over the top of the cake helped. I got mini peanut butter cups and chopped them up and threw those on top of the cake for a finishing touch, as if we needed to get anymore outrageous. It added a very pleasing texture. Thanks a lot, Deb! I love your site, your recipes, and have way much fun reading them (and a lot of fun making this one.)
It would be super if it were possible to have two comment sections. One for those who have actually tried the recipe and another for everything else.
Love your site and recipes!! Thank you!
I have made this cake for my husband 3 times now, 2 birthdays and 1 graduation, with excellent results each time except for the 2 times I *did not* have parchment to line my pans. Yes, the parchment is a must since this cake is so delicate, but even if it it crumbles and falls apart, like mine did, and the littles munch away at all the pieces, like mine did, a little time in the freezer and lots of forgiving peanut butter frosting and ganache will repair the mess and leave a great presentation despite the broken innards. Chilling the cake again before serving will help hold it all together when slicing to serve. I think leaving a little PB frosting on the side for piping rosettes or whirls on top with a chocolate covered peanut planted in the center would be a nice finish too. Thanks for the* best* recipe ever!!!
I just made this cake and I can’t wait to dig in! The frosting is simply divine and so easy to make — I’m already thinking of other recipes to use it in. I have to admit that I usually don’t make oil-based cakes and was honestly concerned when I saw how runny the batter was. No worries though, the cake set perfectly when cooked, and came out quite delicate and soft. Freezing is a necessity and makes handling the cake and frosting possible. Thanks for posting a fantastic recipe, I can already tell that this is going to be a family staple and give German Chocolate a run for its money as family favorite.
I made this cake last year for my son’s birthday and it was probably the best cake I’ve ever had. His birthday is coming up this week and he requested it again (thank heavens!).
Thanks for this yummy goodness!
Hi Deb! I finally had the opportunity to make this cake over the weekend. It’s been in my recipe binder for years! I added two layers of banana cake which combined perfectly with the chocolate and peanut butter. It was a huge hit at my moms birthday party. Thanks so much for the wonderful blog. You’re recipes and writing continue to be my favorite.
Sarah :)
I made this cake today for my daughter’s 10th birthday celebration with family. I followed the recipe and tips exactly and the cake was beautiful and absolutely divine! I’m happy to have stumbled on this blog!
Wondering if these can be made as muffins instead – easier to share at work! Any ideas of baking times etc if they are muffins?
Oh My, My! Thank heavens my husband’s birthday is in two weeks. His all time favorite combo: Chocolate and Peanut Butter. Can’t wait to make this!
LOVE your blog and look forward to more tasty recipes.
Dear Deb, I feel like you should be as relieved and overjoyed as I am right now! I have been slaving away for weeks over here, planning and finally executing a surprise half-birthday party for my Husband. And i have read and re-read this recipe probably 276 times in the past month. I pretty much had the whole thing memorized by the time I made my cake. But, that was the point, wasn’t it? My busband’s birthday is a day before mine, and I’m kind of a brat about it. Especially this year, as it was what some might call a “land mark” birthday for me, I almost totally ignored his birthday. So, throwing a half-brirthday event seemed the least i could do. My husband would have married Peanutbutter-and-chocolate if it had ever decided to throw away its other nine million suitors and stay with him, but it just couldn’t, so he got me instead. And you and me and this cake, we win!! I bake a lot of things. Cakes are not on the list. Layer cakes are certainly not on the list. My sister had to explain to me what exactly butter cream was several months ago (she shuddered, as should you). But I DID IT! And so Thank You, thank you! (And maybe i’ll see you at the DC Book Event!) As for nerdy notes, I baked my cakes last week, wrapped and froze them; I halved the recipe and used 6 inch pans, we served 8 slices and have a quarter of the cake left! I pretty much did everything else by the book. You are a rock star.
This cake has been a favorite in our house for several years now including our daughters HS graduation party in 2010. She and her friend loved this cake so much they experimented with making it into filled & iced cupcakes and decorated with fondant flowers to coordinate with her party theme. YES, they were Amazing! Chocolate cake filled with delicious CCPB frosting, topped with CCPB and chocolate ganache. To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in March our girls threw a party for us and of course this cake was there. Always amazing. I am reminded today as a friend has recently graduated from nursing school and my daughter made her this cake to celebrate. She saved us a sliver. WOW! You rock!
Are there any euro subs for the ganache?
I have no idea where to get corn syrup…will it work without?
yochristi — You can also use honey or golden syrup.
I made this cake a few times and everytime it was a hit. The cake is sooo moist, I use the cake recipe for cupcakes and delicious. Makes too much so I have to 1/2 the recipe. I made the cake once for my mom but I diddn’t have round cake pans so i made it into huge sheet cake and just 1/4 it and stacked it. It was a huge cake but my mom ate the WHOLE cake within 24 hrs!!!
I made this cake for my friend’s birthday – it was a HUGE hit! I sprinkled a few mini reese cups on top for added excitement. It was requested for my Grandma’s birthday so I’m making it again! Perfect cake for any choc-peanut butter lover! And I’ve tried various choc cake recipes and this is one of the best. I will never use another recipe again!
Help! I made this cake, following the recipe exactly, baked in two 9″ pans. The center did some weird bubbling up thing, then burned by the time the rest of the cae was finished (at 33 min). I have no clue what happened.
That peanut butter cake looks amazing
Hi! This cake recipe has been my go to chocolate cake recipe ever since I found it. Unfortunately I have moved to the UK and am having a hard time finding plain distilled white vinegar. The closest I get is a distilled malt vinegar…and I strongly believe that it’s made the cake taste too sweet. Is there a substitute I can use for the vinegar? Possibly lemon juice??? Or will the cake be fine without the vinegar?
I made this cake last night for my roommates birthday. The only thing I changed was the filling of the cake. I felt the frosting was so sweet and peanut-buttery, it might over power the chocolatey taste of the cake. So instead of filling the layers with the frosting I made a plain chocolate ganache and sprinkled chopped mini peanut butter cups on top. It complemented the cake perfect and did not have an over whelming peanut butter taste. It had a great balance of peanut butter and chocolate flavor. It was a huge hit at the party! Will definitely be using this recipe again!
I baked this delicious cake for a guy at works birthday ~ WOW… it is so rich and delicious… and you – you must have a glass of milk or vanilla ice cream with it!!
Thanks for the recipe
With over 1,000 comments it’s got to be good, right? Oh yes, it was good! I’ve been cooking from the cookbook, but I’ve always wanted to make this cake and figured my birthday would be the perfect time to do it. I’m so glad I did! Phenomenal cake! I added a bit of salt to the peanut butter frosting to get it more like the filling of a peanut butter cup, so yummy! I could have eaten a bowl of it!
My boyfriend requested this cake for his birthday, so the pressure was on! Your tip to freeze the layers worked well. I ended up using an 8 inch square pan for my third layer and it worked out pretty well, although next time I’ll actually attempt to use one of the round pans as a cutting guide instead of eye-balling it. Frosting aided in hiding that little slip-up. Thanks for the great recipe and tips! It helped me get over my fear of layer cake creation. :)
I have made this cake and was told this has become “THE” party cake! (This means I have to make it for every party, holiday, etc.) Would you mind if I pinned the link to your website for this recipe it to my pinterest??
I have made this once before and it was AMAZING! I now have the task for baking for a baby shower at work. I’d like to make this, but we are expecting at least 40 people. I am thinking about making cupcakes in addition to the layer cake, as is. Do you have suggestions for making this as cupcakes (I’m wondering about the logistics for adding the glaze over the icing). Or do you have another suggestion of how to make enough of this for 40 people? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!!
Know what would be a good idea? Make the peanut butter cheesecake-y frosting a little firmer and dip lollipop/popsicle sticks in it. then dip in chocolate. found this idea on pinterest:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/10-elegant-appetizer-ideas/pictures/page-9.html
Please remove the directions that say you can use wax paper rather than parchment paper to line the cake pans. About 5 minutes after putting the cake pans in the oven our house filled with smoke. We had to take the cakes out and put them in new pans. Hopefully they turn out, but it would have saved a lot of trouble if we had used parchment paper, or just the cake pans.
Hi Haley — So the paper burned? I do usually prefer and recommend parchment, however, waxed paper covered with cake batter should not burn unless the cake itself does.
Yum! Omg this reminds me of a peanut butter mousse cake I make with an Oreo, pecan crust and a peanut butter mouse with cream cheese and chocolate ganache on top! Can Maine how delicious this would be!
delicious. i reduced the sugar to 1 and 3/4 cups and oil to 3/4 cups in the cake batter, and the confectioner’s sugar to 4 cups in the frosting. used sugar syrup instead of corn syrup for the glaze. 2 layers instead of 3. it was amazing…thanks for another great recipe.
This cake is AMAZING!! Made it for my first thanksgiving with my Boyfriend’s extended family, and def earned brownie points! Thanks Deb- you are the best!
can i use 2 9inch pans?
See earlier comments (49, 152, 85, 558) that talk about using 9-inch pans for more tips.
thanks, ‘ll let you know how it turned out!
I think you should seriously consider re-naming this the “Husband Birthday Cake”.
I just made this cake for the 4th time, and mmm it’s delicious already. I know this, because I made it in a (possibly poorly greased??) bundt cake pan and when I turned the cake out, it left it’s ‘shell’ behind in the pan for lucky me. The cake looks rather ugly, though, but the frosting will help it out. For those of you using bundt cake pans, don’t do what I did! As was mentioned many many times :) this cake is really REALLY soft! I do love it, even though I’ve had many cake-astrophes with it. Any tips how I can successfully bake this in a bundt pan? It baked for about 45 minutes and I cooled it for about 5-10 minutes.
I made this last night/today for a coworkers birthday. It was a HUGE hit. My first attempt at a 3 layer cake and I couldn’t have been more pleased. I was worried at first that my batter was too thin, however, the cakes came out perfect. One piece of advice for anyone reading this… small pieces. You start off thinking not rich and then half way through you are saying… oh my!!!! Also agreed about having a glass of cold milk handy. That would have set if off perfect. Thank you for sharing this most delish receipe. I will make this again and again and again!!
It didn’t even last an hour in the staff lounge! I did notice that a fresh pot of coffee was brewed….guess teachers like coffee with their cake!
I had to tell you this is the 3rd year in a row my husband has requested this for his birthday cake! It’s a real hit and comes out great in cupcakes too. Making it again on Saturday. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe that has now become a tradition! P.S. Loving the cookbook!
I was wondering why you have to bake in 3 separate cake pans….Is it because the cake is so moist? Can i just bake in a 8 inch pan and slice into 3 pieces?
Please respond soon as I will be making today. Thanks!!
It’s because it’s a big cake. It’s too much batter for two pans, unless yours are abnormally tall.
hi deb! making this cake for the first time and feeling shocked that i’ve never come across it before – we are BIG peanut butter chocolate people in our family.
the cakes are cooling now and i’m wondering this – did you freeze the layers before you turned them out of the pans? or after? i’m loving that suggestion – to freeze the layers before working with them – just wondering if i should do that even before i turn them out of the pans. any advice will be most welcome!
emily — After. If in the pan, it will not make it easier to handle them because they’re liable to get stuck in there.
ohmygoodness that cake was incredible! everybody devoured it, asked tons of questions about the making of it, and raved when it was gone. thank you, thank you!
Just wanted to add my two cents to say I made for my boyfriend’s birthday and everyone absolutely ADORED it. We had maybe 25-30 people over and the cake easily fed everyone with some leftover.
@Emily: I think that Deb’s instructions say to turn out the cakes before you freeze them… but I can’t fit a wire rack in my freezer so I put the cake pans straight in the freezer after they cooled to room temp and then inverted the cakes after freezing them for about 30 min. Worked perfectly and the parchment came right off.
can this be made gluten free?
I will be making this for the third time this week – it is a repeated request for birthdays. I top it off with mini recces peanut butter cups – just becuase – it’s amazing – serve in small slices- heaven!!
Debi — It looks like commenters #363, 646, 746, 890 and 933 all made it gluten-free and offer tips.
Just made this for my husband’s birthday – and I quote ‘this was exactly wanted I wanted’. I used caster sugar and cut it back to 500 grams. I also substituted 70% dark chocolate for the semi-sweet as I thought the darker chocolate would offset the amount of sugar in the cake and frosting. I also used fresh ground whole foods peanutbutter which worked perfectly. (The frosting was dangerously close to seizing but came out fine). I suspect this will be a repeat birthday cake. Thanks as always for your wonderful blog! If possible, I would be a huge fan of you adding weight of ingredients for your baking recipes (rather than cups),
2 things:
1. Made this for a family Christmas gathering and it was such a hit that, as were divying up leftovers, my stepmother took the remaining cake home with her and would not share it with anyone, even my Dad.
2. Made this again for my birthday, only used a white chocolate butter cream and left the peanut butter out of the ganache. Brought the leftover cake into work and a co-worker has asked me to recreate it for her husband’s birthday. I have never been asked to make a cake for anyone before in my life and I think she asked because that ganache topping is genius presentation. You cannot look at that and not think, “Yummy decadence”. It’s also genius for the baker as it hides any imperfections and is so stinking simple! I don’t know if you came up with that or Sky High but it is absolute genius and has made me the star of my office. Thank you for sharing this, as well as the chilling tips-I may never pipe a cake again!
I make my own peanut butter with a little bit of peanut oil, honey, and salt. do you think it would work in the frosting?
This cake is super delicious!!! Made this for my hubby for valentine’s day! I used a heart shaped pan, followed the recipe to the letter…(well,except for the pan….lol)and wow! Amazing!!!! Hubby and daughter just loved the cake to the max!!! Deb, you are the best!!!
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I just put the cakes into the freezer now, so I haven’t put it all together yet, but I tasted a piece of the cake and all I taste is the canola oil. I’m hoping the frostings will mask this when I put it all together, but so far…I would NOT use canola oil in this again. I really wish I had used some applesauce with a different type of oil. I will report back with the finished result.
I made this cake yesterday and WOW. Amazing! But I suppose 1059 comment might be a good clue that this recipe rocks. Thanks so much for sharing it.
To Laura #1059 – are you sure your canola oil wasn’t rancid? I used canola oil too and didn’t have any problems.
When your recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, what’s your brand of choice?
Ron — I don’t have a single one. I have few quibbles with the Trader Joe’s pound-plus bars if you’re looking to spend less. I’d say my go-to is most often Guittard brand. I can buy 1-pound boxes of their discs (which are like large, flat chocolate chips, can be used whole or chopped or melted, come in all percentages and white) for $8 to $9, which feels like a good price for great chocolate. I sometimes buy Scharffen-Berger and Valrhona, but less often.
I am making this for my friends birthday tomorrow and I wanted to make two tiers a 10″ and an 8″ to make it more special for him suggestions on how to do this? I also live in Colorado and was wondering if you had tips for high altitude with this recipe. Thank you
This is my new favorite cake and I didn’t think I liked peanut butter desserts! I dream about this cake now, LOL! I am planning to make it again this weekend for my Dad’s birthday but I am going to try a coconut almond version instead of the peanut butter (because my Mom isn’t a fan of peanut butter). If you’re debating whether to make this cake or not MAKE IT you won’t be sorry!!! I also plan to use the chocolate cake recipe for now on when making any kinda of chocolate cake, it was amazingly moist!
hey Deb!
Just curious: I haven’t made the cake yet – but my brain gets hung up on the oil & water… instinctively I want to add butter and whole milk! Is there a reason behind those ingredients? Do you find they produce a more moist cake? Just curious! Though it helps in calories, I don’t mind my cake to be an indulgence… ;) As well – what effect does the vinegar have in the baking? I haven’t seen that in a cake recipe before, and am also curious at the effect the ingredient has in the baking process! Thanks so much! I am always hunting for new recipes, and looking for ways to improve the recipes I have!
Cheers!
Made this cake. Wow.
Here’s what I posted on my FB page:
This cake is BY FAR the BEST cake I’ve EVER made.
Made it with my 4 year old daughter for DH’s birthday.
It is above and beyond. It is divine. It is moist. It is peanut-y. It is DELICIOUS.
It took me a long time (like, all day, not to mention prepping), especially with the kids helping, but was worth every moment of every stressful incident.
If you decide to make it, I commend you; but…
Buckle. Up.
And do NOT be on a diet if you make it.
By the way, THANKS!
I have baked this cake three times now. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for sharing the recipe! I have the book now and have made a couple other cakes from it, but this is my no brainer cake… as in its so good that when I have a choice between this cake and any other it’s a no brainer to pick this one ;)
Kailee, I’m in Denver and make no modifications to this cake. It turns out beautifully every time.
Deb, I will forever remember this cake as the one that broke your website when you posted the recipe and pictures. I just made it again, but with the chocolate butter cake you used for your wedding cake since I didn’t have all the ingredients for this chocolate cake. It was amazing, as always, and that peanut butter cream cheese frosting is still the best peanut butter frosting I have ever tasted; I have a tendency to just eat the leftover frosting out of the bowl with my finger.
I’m embarrassed to say that the first time I attempted this cake, very soon after your posted it, I actually forgot to add the sugar to the bowl! Somehow, no one tasted the batter before we put it in the oven, so everything was all fine and dandy until we cut into the frosted and decorated cake and everyone took their first bite. Whoops! We tried to salvage it by dumping powdered sugar on the top of the individual slices, but I think in the end we gave up on that and just picked off the frosting and ate that instead.
Have just read the more-than-a-thousand comments and feel like I’ve put on some pounds already. My questions: 1. Why smooth/creamy peanutbutter rather than chunky? (It is what we usually eat.) Wouldn’t it give the frosting a nice little crunch? 2. What is the AP in “AP flour”?
Jeanne — AP = all-purpose flour. If you’d like to use chunky peanut butter, give it a spin. The recipe’s creator and myself just preferred it smooth.
Golly, I just put on at least 5 pounds in the one slice I had. One word, amazing. As for the previous commentor, I would use creamy/smooth peanut butter because you wouldn’t want the glaze to be chunky, you want it to be glossy and smooth. AP refers to all purpose flour as opposed to cake or high gluten flour.
Geez, not sure I need to add another comment to the over 1000 , but I’ll leave my review since I always scroll to the bottom of comments to get real reviews of recipes. Made this yesterday in 2 round 9in pans. Followed most of the recipe except subbing greek yogurt for sour cream (it’s what I had available) and melted coconut oil for the veg oil since I don’t use those types of oils. Came out amazing! Thank for a recipe to celebrate my husbands birthday. Wish we could add photos to comments so you could see it.
Huge peanut butter and chocolate fan but this cake is way too rich. If i were to make it again i’d definitely skip the peanut butter frosting all over the outside of the cake and just coat it completely in the chocolate peanut butter glaze.
The chocolate cake itself is already most and rich, it doesn’t need all of the excess frosting. The peanut butter frosting in-between each layer is more than enough to get the taste of the peanut butter and really make the cake more edible.
SM isn’t kidding when she says you can eat only a small piece of this cake! it’s because of the huge amount of this peanut butter frosting which is all over the outside of the cake and completely un-necessary.
This cake is perfection! The chocolate cake itself soft, airy and moist! I’m planning to make a vanilla cake, and was wondering how this recipe would be converted to that?
Wow Deb. This cake is amazing. I made it yesterday for my friends birthday. I completely underestimated the size… And your comments on how many it feeds! We’ve taken 1/4 of the cake out, that’s 7 slices… And we all felt sick by the end of our slices!! Never have I not been able to go back for seconds.
Such an impressive, tasty cake though. I think this cake would do brilliantly for fundraising events/cake sales!!
Hi Deb- Could I make these and keep them in the freezer tonight and then defrost and ice them tomorrow for my hubby’s b-day?
Wow! I made this for my birthday yesterday (which to me is a very acceptable thing to do). I’m very picky about my cake; I don’t like most cakes. This one was texturally pleasing and very satisfying on the flavor front. One of my guests also doesn’t like chocolate cake and he said it was the first one he actually liked.
The only problem is that 12 of us ate half of it, and so now I have half an cake that (so far) is keeping very nicely. I think I’m going to eat nothing but cake for the next few days.
Whoah, yeah! I made a variation on this a couple of years ago, and up until this past week, that was talked about in hushed tones amongst those who were there to cram as much into their faces as they could. But you see, this past week, I made this version (albeit with twice as much PB), and it has surpassed that, legendary cake. I found that this made a lot of batter, too much for Three layers really, enough for a (skimpy) fourth layer in fact. And plenty of PB frosting to boot.
Oh, I too froze the cake layers overnight, wrapped in cling film, and panicked that they wouldn’t defrost in time for serving, but needn’t have worried; as rich as the cake is, the layers are that light and moist, that they pretty much defrosted as I assembled the cake. I can see why it is recommended to freeze them for easier decoration.
Today marks the second year in a row that I’ve made this cake for my spouse for his birthday, thanks to this post. It is a huge hit, and eagerly anticipated by our friends. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi deb! I was wondering if i can freeze the peanut butter frosting as i made too much and dont want it to go to waste? If so, how long can it keep and what would be the process of defrosting it?
Arshima — Yikes, I’ve never tried it. Hopefully someone else will pipe up if they have. If not, you could always make a mini-batch and see if it works.
Making this for the second time for my friend’s birthday tomorrow. I’m a PB & Choc-o-holic and this cake is AMAZING. My mouth is watering as I’m cooking, knowing I can’t slice it til tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for the recipe and the detailed, perfect directions!
Making this cake tomorrow for my birthday party on Saturday! So excited!
PS: Does anyone know how many calories 1 serving contains? :D
lizzie — I use this as a resource. You can copy and paste recipes in there. Although most people would say a 9-inch cake serves 8 or 12 people, I think you could even go up to 16 skinny slices on it because it’s crazy, crazy rich.
Would this work as a sheet cake? i want to make it for a going away dessert for work.
I haven’t tried it as a sheet cake, but it looks like comments #797, 958 and 1019 did as a whole or parts.
Made this yesterday. It was PHENOMENAL. I used 9in square cake pans (and because I can’t visually measure very well, one layer was especially healthy….) and it turned out about 6in tall. I also used half AP and half cake flour, cuz i was feeling experimental. Half the cake fed six very hearty eaters. I sent the other half home with a guest because I didn’t want to find out if it would serve one. :-) Yum.
I am now famous among my friends, family & co-workers for this cake! I trim the bottom with mini peanut butter cups cut in half, lining the edge, cut side in, top side down and for the coup de grace: sprinkle the top with multi-color peanutbutter M&M’s!
I made this cake today for my boyfriend’s birthday party tonight, and it is calling to me from the fridge. This is a beautiful cake and I was intimidated, but it is easy as pie! (Easier than pie crust, for sure!)
Hi deb! Im making this cake for the third time now and its so simple but so satisfying!! Guests really cant have enough of it! Btw, i did try freezing the frosting for up to 2 weeks and it worked beautifully! I brought it near room temperature in the microwave and whipped it until it was the right consistency. Thankyou for this gorgeous cake!
I’ve been avoiding making chocolate cake for years! When you said to use dutch process coca, I did a bit of research and finally realized that the natural cocoa was my problem! Great cake recipe.
I also cut the recipe in half and made cupcakes. They took about 16 minutes to bake up.
Thank you so much for all the helpful hints in making this: freezing layers, crumb coat… I made this for our Mother’s Day celebration for 18 folks and it disappeared even though there were 4 different cakes for dessert!! It was fabulous and even though I was a bit worried about the final outcome, I just followed each step and it came out great! It looked amazing and tasted absolutely delicious!
BTW: I totally love your website and it is always my first stop when looking for a recipe.
No matter if some one searches for his necessary thing,
so he/she wants to be available that in detail, therefore that thing is maintained over here.
Hi there, this cake was fantastic for my best friends birthday on the weekend! thank you! however i had one problem – the ganache did not like me at all! i tried to do it 3 times and when i added all the ingredients first and then went to melt it it went terribly dry, then i tried melting the chocolate and added everything else and it didnt work again! then i just melted the chocolate and went to add the cream and it went haywire again! i cannot master ganache. please help!
Hi Lucy — Can you tell me more about what you mean by the chocolate going dry? If chocolate is overcooked (it burns easily), it will seem gritty and maybe greasy and there’s little that can be done to fix it.
Hi there – I made this cake for a party on the weekend and it was just A.MAZ.ING. I cannot thank you enough for writing amazing recipes and for having such a comprehensive blog! I always turn to you for special recipes for special occasions!
Thank you so much! x
Hi Deb! I made this cake exactly a year ago for a friend’s birthday, and it was such a huge hit that we didn’t have any cake left over at the end of the party! I’m planning to make it again this weekend for another friend’s birthday, and have been searching for corn syrup in all of the supermarkets and the like (I’m now living in Chile). I finally decided to search your comments and the internet to see if anyone has suggestions or alternatives and am happy to see that you recommend using honey or golden syrup. Thanks so much for the comment. I hope it’s just as much of a success tomorrow night as it was last year! Thanks so much!
Deb, Just made this as cupcakes (split and filled with PB frosting) and am so pleased with the results!
My tweaks: in place of the PB frosting, I beat peanut butter into my left-over cream cheese frosting from your carrot cake recipe (which I also made, and which also turned out great. Only comment is that the frosting recipe was about double what I needed….which I obviously put to good use.)
In place of the chocolate frosting, I made the ganache recipe from here (I wanted to avoid having to buy corn syrup): http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/04/peanut-butter-chocolate-mousse-layer-cake-recipe.html (chocolate, heavy cream, PB). It was runny but fantastic.
The cakes were delicious. They did sink quite a bit, but that was covered by frosting.
Hi Deb, I finally made this cake for a family party. My MIL, who is hyper-critical of everything, told me it was the best thing she had ever eaten. THANK YOU!! I have now ordered the book :)
I didn’t read the comments section, and I only have 3 9″ cake pans. I multiplied the recipe by 1 1/2. It fit in the pans perfectly and was ridiculously high. That being said, this was a party with about 30 people, most of whom brought a bakery coffee cake of some sort with them, as well as one huge, fancy, expensive bakery cake for a 50th anniversary. Only 1/4 of this cake remained at the end, and everything else was barely touched (really, there were abotu 20 desserts out!) I was a little sad – I had hoped to share tons of leftovers with my coworkers.
I loved how the chocolate cake wasn’t too chocolatey. It was absolutely perfect with the rich icing and the ganache.
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We made this for Daddy’s birthday and it was awesome. I didnt have corn syrup, so I made a quick syrup with sugar and water. The consistency was fine… really awesome, rich, and fun… easy too! Thanks!
Hi! I made this cake for a friend’s birthday and it turned out excellent. It was quite scrumptious, but we did have a glaze/ganache fail. Sadly, the chocolate/peanut butter/corn syrup mixture completely seized and there was no hope of recovery. What we ended up doing was Alton Browns easy chocolate ganache and to be truthful, I think the extra peanut butter in the glaze would have really put the cake over the top. Thanks for the recipe, the birthday girl was very happy.
I just made this cake….ummmm yumm! A new fave..maybe next to chocolate pudding ;)Thank you for sharing….I love this site!
Question!! This is, and forever will be, my go to chocolate cake. I’ve used it many times with all different fillings and frosting a, it is fabulous! My question is, would this cake work as a bundt cake?
Hi Kim — I have not made this as a bundt but Commenters #300, 635, 857 and 1040 did and offer bits of advice. Happy baking!
Thank you much for posting this recipe! Made my girlfriend’s request for chocolate peanut butter cake super easy! I wish I could post a picture of the cake!
Made this cake for my niece’s 18th birthday and it was a big hit. We cut it into 16 slices, which seemed like the perfect size. I was worried that the cake wouldn’t be chocolate-y enough, but I actually thought it was delicious, and a perfect complement to the frosting and glaze. The best compliment I got (among many!) was when my step-son (a teenager of few words, and even fewer complimentary words) took a hesitant bite and said, oh, this is good, and then took another bite and said “this is really good!”. Thanks for the recipe Deb!
Hi Deb.
I would like to make this cake in advance for a party. How long do you think it will hold when completed?
I think it will keep just fine in the fridge for a couple days, frosted (to keep the moisture in).
I tried baking this last nite, I dun have 8″ or 9″ pan with me, only 7″ pan. So the batter are separated out to 3 7″ pan. The first cake didn’t came out well using about 160 degrees celcius and 45 minutes. It was bubbling up and the cake is all still runny in the middle. So, my second cake I put it about 155 degrees for about 45 minutes then turn to about 160 degrees celcius for another 15 minutes. It takes one whole hour to bake a layer. That means I have to bake 3 layers for whole 3 layers? That seems too long for me. Any advise on this?
Hi, just wondering if you put all 3 pans in the oven at the same time, or 2 first, then the other 1 later or one pan at a time in the oven? (I’m planning to get 8 or 9 inch pan). Just last one question, is this a normal pan or a springform pan you are using?
You can put all three in at the same time if they fit; you just want to rotate the pans around, top to bottom and back to front, to make sure they bake evenly.
Hi! I’m going to make this cake for my boyfriend and his housemates in a few weeks and I really, really do not want to screw it up. That being said, where do I find dutch process cocoa powder? And if I can’t find it, will the regular old Hershey’s suffice?
This cake got me a husband!!
I made this cake for my Alex’s birthday and you are totally right it is INTENSE – small pieces with lots of milk. I had a hard time with them sticking to the pan, but was able to salvage it. I have two matching pans, and an odd pan that was a little bit bigger, so it was really funny trying to figure out how to stack the layers so it looked right. Cake was a big hit, thanks for the recipe!
Deb – I have this cake cooling now and I will ice it tomorrow for my husband’s birthday…a fellow chocoholic with your own husband, so I am working my way through your chocolate celebration cake recipes. I made the brownie mosaic cheesecake for Father’s Day in June and was told it was the best cheesecake he’d ever had and the best dessert I’d ever made, so kudos to you!
Anyway, back to the cake at hand. Do you have an approximate amount of frosting you used between each layer? I find that I am always stingy with the frosting at the beginning and then have gobs left in the end, but I’m always so afraid of running out that there is never enough between the layers.
Thanks so much!
PS I scrolled through all 1,000+ comments and didn’t see you address this issue. I can’t be your only reader concerned with frosting distribution, can I??
You get a gold star for going through all of those comments! I wish everyone would, but hardly find it realistic on posts like this. I never jotted down the amount, but I think 1/2 to 3/4 cup is frequent estimate.
I became a fan of yours when you posted this recipe, and after all these years I finally decided to make this cake. Oh My Goodness. It’s just so good. My husband who talks incessantly was rendered speechless after his first bite. Really. He could not speak, he just ate and sighed. This is one amazing cake!
Deb – Thanks so much for your quick and useful response! It turns out I did not even need to worry about not having enough icing. I inadvertently made too much by grabbing my 1/2-cup (instead of 1/3-cup) measuring cup when it came time to measure out the peanut butter. Thankfully an extra 1/3 cup of peanut never hurt anyone, although it turned my light and fluffy icing into something that resembled fondant Play Do. I somehow managed to spread the glob between each layer and then literally used my hands to plaster it against the sides and top. Thankfully the chocolate ganache covered my handprints beautifully and my husband was never the wiser!
I’m not typically such a spazz in the kitchen, and, while I’m tempted to blame my 3.5-year-old “helper”, it wasn’t *totally* her fault, although I do think the mental strain of coming up with not-boring jobs for the preschool set can force an error from even the most seasoned chef!
But again, my husband never suspected there was a mistake and everyone commented on the peanut butter-y-ness of the icing. Win-win! Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
Hi Deb,
Do you think this recipe would work for cupcakes?
I haven’t made it as cupcakes, but it definitely works. See comments 230, 233, 343, 430… and many more if you do a quick word-search for “cupcakes.” Many give yields and cooking times. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this recipe – hands-down, it’s now my favorite cake! If you like chocolate and peanut butter this one’s heaven! Found I had enough ganache to cover the entire cake, so I might reduce the amount next time. Or maybe not – it’s so sinfully good! :) I followed the recipe exactly.
If anybody is trying this for the first time, do it justice – bring it to room temperature before serving.
Hello,
Is this recipe on the list to be converted to metric weights? You’ve converted me to measuring by weight instead of by volume when baking!
Also, I’m in the UK and am not sure if I can find corn syrup. Would you recommend swapping it for golden syrup or leaving it out of the ganache entirely?
Thanks so much!
Fran — Golden syrup, absolutely. It’s so much better, just not as readily available here.
Finally made this for the man on this birthday but used a regular ganache since he’s not a major PB fan. The cake was a hit for all peanut butter lovers.
Will cut the sugar and add some coffee into the cake next time. Also, reading about the comments on adding a bit of salt to the frosting is interesting. I hope you will continue to make big celebration cakes and share them with us!
I made this for my boyfriend’s birthday, and he told me that he loved me for the first time. This is a powerful cake!
I have made this cake about 10 times and it is my go to cake. I use nutela instead of peanut butter. Making again today for my daughters birthday, Thanks deb
Gina Day
Love. Love. Love. I have made this cake about a dozen times. Its always a hit. You’re my go to website for cooking and baking inspiration! Can’t wait to order your book!
It sounds like several people have also successfully made this gluten-free, but thought I’d chime in as well. I used a 1:1 substitution with King Arthur AP Gluten-Free Flour (the same mix is found at Trader Joe’s under their brand and WAY cheaper). I’ve also made the cake with regular flour and literally could not tell the difference. It still had a light crumb and tasted amazing and the table was silent through all of dessert. I’ve done this with several of your cake recipes for my celiac family and they’ve all turned out amazing!
This is hands down the best cake I have ever baked! The frosting combination is a dream and the cake itself is moist and delicious. I wound up adding more peanut butter to the cream cheese frosting to give it a stronger flavor but that’s my preference. Excellent cake, thanks Deb!
Thanks, Deb! This cake and icing completely change my life I will be able to star creating this cake for the entire event I have!!!
Oh my goodness! This is the best cake I’ve ever eaten. I made this for my husband when we were first dating, and I’m pretty sure this is what won him over;) He still raves about it even to this day.
This looks so yummy! Has anyone tried it with peanut oil? I think I will try that, since soybean and canola oil are both genetically modified (and quite unhealthy besides). I can’t wait to bake this up,thanks!!
cake was very nice if but i think it was too rich next time i don’t think i will put the icing on top or make it into fairy cakes
I made this cake for my son’s birthday on the weekend. When he was a wee lad, I made for his 6th birthday a peanut butter chocolate train cake that was featured in a late 80s issue of Gourmet. I reviewed a number of versions of chocolate peanut butter layer cakes on food blogs and settled on yours as the one that would be a suitable adult version of the childhood memory. It turned out very well and I wanted to let you know. I have to say I was amazed at the number of positive comments this recipe has garnered over the years! Is this your recipe with the most comments, ever!?
I particularly loved the cake recipe. While I am a huge fan of frosting, ganache, butter cream, etc., I was so impressed with the lightness, texture and taste of the cake.
I don’t often make substitutions when making a recipe the first time (seems somehow unfair to the creator). I did this time, however. I used organic 100% peanut butter (no sugar added) and had no trouble with oil separation. As well, I added one extra egg to the cake recipe. I noted your observation about the fragile nature of the cake layers and I thought the extra egg might make them a little more sturdy. They were easy to work with. No freezing required.
Everyone loved the finished result. Thank you. I hope to find an occasion to make the chocolate /peanut butter cheese cake extravaganza sometime soon.
This was the very first recipe I made from your site- it was 2009 and I wanted to impress my new boyfriend for his birthday. Today I’m making him this same birthday cake for the 6th year in a row. We’ve moved cities (making the layers in batches in our tiny east village oven!) and changed jobs but this cake has stuck with us.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday this past Sunday and it was a HUGE, HUGE hit with all of our guests. I will make it for him every year – as he is a peanut butter fiend! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I made this as cupcakes, and they were absolutely amazing. 18 minutes to bake, and I cored them so the ganache was inside and the peanut butter frosting was on top. Yielded 32 cupcakes. Although the coring/ganache took a little time (and would be a totally fine step to omit, although it did add a crazy delicious oomph) the recipe was quite easy overall. Perfect showstopper dessert for someone like me who is great at baking but terrible at decorating!
For anyone deciding between this recipe and the peanut butter brownie recipe, I think this recipe edges out the brownies. I ended up making both in the span of a month, and I didn’t think anything could top the brownies in the chocolate/pb realm — until I tasted the cupcake. Both recipes are insanely good, but this recipe is just unearthly.
Big, BIG hit at work today. Two of my dearest friends are celebrating birthdays this week. One told me this cake could end wars….it’s that good
made this tonight for a chocolate-and-peanut-butter-crazed friend’s birthday. it was AMAZINGLY decadent! i made a half recipe and got one 9 in round and 6 cupcakes.
i do have to say, a couple things that i didn’t expect freaked me out while baking:
– the batter is REALLY thin. thinner than pancake batter. but it blossomed into a light, fluffy cake, so it worked out wonderfully!
– the cake itself is not very chocolatey. it’s not very strong in flavor at all. buuuut once you add the frosting and glaze, you NEED that less chocolatey cake, or you would die. it’s already so rich.
– when i was making the glaze, before adding the half and half, i had a thick, unspreadable paste. minor panic. but then the half and half made it go perfectly smooth and drizzly and all was well.
lesson learned: never doubt the marvelous deb. she has yet to steer me wrong. =)
Deb, I feel like a horrible person even asking this, but do you think I could make the ganache with fat free half and half? I have a tomato soup recipe I use half and half for, and the one time I actually get the fat free like the recipe suggests… sigh. My hubby decided this cake was what he wanted for father’s day.
Diane — I am not sure because I don’t know how smoothly it will stir into chocolate, without having tried it in ganache. Maybe try just a fraction of the recipe first, so if it’s not good, you don’t ruin too much of the chocolate.
Hi Deb, just thought I’d chime because I made it as sheet cake, contrary your advice. I doubled the recipe and made two 11×15 layers (for ~40 people). Freezing the layers was a great tip and helped a lot. I doubled the frosting, was just barely enough (but halved the sugar in it) and tripled the glaze, it was just perfect. Thanks for the great recipes on here!
I realize I am 6 years late to the party, but this cake was amazing. The finished cake was one of the best looking (and best tasting) cakes I have made. I’m tempted to put that ganache on everything. I used regular old Hershey’s cocoa powder and it worked fine. Also, the cake layers were indeed extremely soft and I think would have been impossible to work with without the freezing step (I had to freeze mine for more like 45 minutes). Thanks for the great recipe!
I am making a practice wedding cake with this recipe. My cakes collapsed! The 8in versions dropped about half an inch, while the 6in layer dropped a full inch in the middle. Could I have over beaten it? Or was my baking odds old? Any advice in what to tweak next time?
Drea — You didn’t use flour that already had leavener in it, did you? Usually sinking is from too much or too little baking soda/baking powder.
Hi Deb,
Would it be possible to use melted butter or coconut oil instead of canola or vegetable oil? I don’t keep the latter in my pantry for various reasons.
Thanks for the beautiful cake recipe!
Yes, it should work just fine.
Made 2/3 of the recipe for a two-layer 8 inch cake. Best cake ever. Cake was soft, fluffy and rich. The savouy PB frosting (reduced sugar) balances the richness of the cake and makes one want to have another slice. Thanks for sharing!
This made STELLAR cupcakes, fyi. My coworkers inhaled them. Thanks!
Thoughts on whether I could travel 5 hours by car with this cake? I could keep it refrigerated up until I leave and put ice packs up against the box (I have a plastic cake carrier so could wrap a few ice packs around the outside). I could then refrigerate it as soon as I get to my destination for a bit before letting it come to room temp again a few hours later to eat? Is that overly optimistic with the cream cheese?
wendy — In a climate-controlled car if it was chilled when it got in, not a problem. No cream cheese is going to go bad that quickly, especially with so much sugar in it.
Made this with Nutella subbed for PB for a party. Got rave reviews. Extremely rich, stretched over a large party with leftovers for a week!
Hahahahahahaha, this politics related YouTube video is actually so comic, I liked it. Thanks in support of sharing this. daakedcekeabkfck
My daughter made this for her Daddy’s birthday last night. It was perfect and beautiful. No one could hardly speak for all the deliciousness. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Hi, can anyone tell me how much 1cup in grams? I’m not familiar with the cup measurement things.. Last night I tried to google it and get different answer, so I’m confused now.. Thank you
I added weights for all of the ingredients. Enjoy!
Hi! Just wanted to mention that this has been my daughter’s birthday cake of choice since I first made it in Oct, 2008. I’m making it for her tomorrow for the 7th birthday in a row, she’s now 17. Thanks for sharing such an amazing recipe. Everyone that has tried it is in love! (well, except my dad and he doesn’t like chocolate so I can’t trust his opinion- lol).
Hi Deb!! I can’t wait to try this one but I know I’ll LOVE it!!! I’ve loved every single recipe I’ve tried. I have a technical question. After I try a recipe, I love going back to website/blog to copy and paste it into Word so I can save it to my computer. Yours is the only site that pastes into Word in a weird format. I can only print directly from you but not save. Is there a secret to saving recipes? Often people ask for the recipe and I can print it out (with any of my creative changes), and give it to them!!!
Fredda — You might try highlighting the recipe in full, and then selecting Clear All Formatting (in the last version of Word on my computer, they’ve confusingly moved this to under the Edit tab > Clear > Clear Formatting) to remove any messes. That said, we are in the midst of a redesign (and also, recoding every recipe on this site) and when it’s done, all of these process should be much easier. One more option would be to go to the Print template for each recipe, which is pared down in formatting, and copying and pasting from there. Hope that helps.
I made this in 2 9″ pans, it turned out just fine. I used Hershey’s Special Dark, which yielded a dark, intense but not overly sweet cake and brewed strong coffee instead of straight water. Reduced the sugar in the frosting (to about 2.5/3 cups) and really liked the flavor, taste as you go, end on what tastes “!”. Only alterations. I used Giherdelli semi sweet for the ganache, won’t do that again. To me the chips have an alcohol smell to them while in the bag. In other items (chocolate chip cookies) I can’t report a smell.
One layer (halved and stacked) went to a dinner party, results were mixed (too rich – incredible – clean plate, no comment), took the other to a party and got great reviews. People just sat and took slivers every so often, very flattering.
Really good cake, flavorful not overly sweet and great frosting. Ganache is good, use chocolate you like! (duh!)
This is the best and most impressive cake I have ever made. I served it Christmas Day for my daughter’s 26th birthday brunch. I was surprised how thin the cake batter was. The cake was incredibly moist. I agree, the cake serves many more than 12-16 since it is so rich and delicious. Ther frosting is incredible and such a great color contrast to the dark cake. Who can resist the chocolate ganache. No decisions needed for her 27th birthday cake, it will be this cake again!
I’ve made this twice in the last week. First as a cake, reducing frosting sugar to 3.75 cups. Then again as cupcakes with same sugar reduction in frosting. Both keep very well. I got 36 cupcakes with a ton of frosting each and extra ganache (no complaints here). Cupcakes took 20 min to bake. Highly recommended!
I made a version of this cake for my engagement party and it was divine. I made 1 1/2 times the recipe of Cooks’ Illustrated chocolate layer cake, Martha Stewart’s caramel with my own additions of lemon juice and vanilla, and this peanut butter icing mixed with a double of Cooks’ Illustrated’s peanut butter icing that was a simple peanut butter buttercream without cream cheese. I divided it into 2 10-inch pans to make 4 layers, and the cake fed 50 people. I’m still getting compliments, and my dad wouldn’t even let me take home the last piece of cake because he wanted it for breakfast. If you’re torting the layers, a frozen cake is your best friend. It split easily, and the caramel set up very quickly so I didn’t have to worry about a mess. It also crumb coated beautifully.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made this cake for my nephew’s 24th birthday and it came out perfectly. Structurally sound and delicious! (I always struggle with the 3 layer cake…but not this time.) My advice: Do Not skip the freezer/refrigerator directions! It made frosting a breeze!
The chocolate cake is so moist and just the perfect amount of chocolate, the peanut butter frosting will have you sneaking spoonfuls from the mixing bowl and the glaze is playfully sophisticated: serve this at a tea or a children’s party . I wish I could share a photo – teacher it looks just like yours! :)
this cake is a PERFECT make-ahead cake! i made the cake layers on a sunday and froze them, then the frosting and ganache on a wednesday night and frosted. we didn’t serve the cake until friday night and it was divine. it still is, one week later. it keeps so well in the fridge. i like it softened, after about 30 min or so. the boyfriend, whose birthday cake it is, likes it both right out of the fridge and softened.
the cake itself is so chewy and moist — not at all dry or crumbly.
the ganache did not work well for me, it melted weird and didn’t drizzle, but i just spread it on and it’s lovely and delicious. i would totally make this cake again.
Well, I finally slayed the beast. Made the cakes in two layers, froze them overnight and also made and chilled the frosting overnight too. Thawed cakes next morning, slathered in frosting (no crumb coat, so it as a bit messy) and then made ganache. Tasted as good as I had always hoped it would. So thrilled I finally did it! This was my first SK cook!
I made this cake for my brother’s birthday, and the entire family loved it. The cake itself was super moist–so good! I added a bit more peanut butter to the frosting (I love the stuff), but I had to forget about the ganache. As much as I’m sure it’s even better with that extra chocolate, this cake is definitely still great without.
Also, I have some family members who don’t like peanut butter, and they still had seconds of this cake. I think that if you like peanut butter, you can taste it, but it’s subtle enough that most people will enjoy it.
A real winner!
I made this cake, i had a real ‘bee in my bonnet’ about it, and my family said oh just make it already. So I did. We ate it in two sittings, it was as good as it looked. My neighbor has a son who is allergic to peanuts, so she never has peanut butter in the house. I had her over, gave her a big old piece and she loved it! We all agreed we won’t do this again too soon, but oh my, it was good. I did the freeze thing, actually all I had to do was stick them outside because its so darn cold here upstate, and it worked perfectly. Looked just like the pics. It was a little challenging to slice, but we ate all of it!
Reporting back that I made this recipe to the letter, but multiplied everything by 1.5 (cake, frosting, glaze), baked in 4 – 9″ pans and it worked beautifully. Awesomely tall cake, plenty of frosting (crumb coating for the win), and easy to put together.
Forgot to put in the eggs!! Argh! But Apart from that it looks good! Will this ruin the cake??
This looks absolutely divine, and I am on one heck of a chocolate and peanut butter kick. I’m hesitant to make this only because of the size-I don’t want to have an entire cake to myself! Deb or anyone else-suggestions how to scale this down? I was thinking to loaf pan size and then cut in half to form two layers, but am unsure of ingredient proportions.
Commenters #514 and #958 mention using loaf pans. I think you could also halve it in an 8×8 or 9×9 single layer, and then use a portion of the frosting to top it accordingly.
Wow! This cake was perfect. Very rich, you can only eat a tiny slice. I followed the recipe exactly but subbed Greek yogurt for the sour cream. The cake was marvelous! Didn’t sink in the oven and held up beautifully during assembly,frosting and cutting! Thank you so much. This was my first visit to your site and won’t be my last…
LOVE LOVE LOVE…Easy directions, AMAZING cake – huge hit! This is a “go to” in the brain file anytime I need to bring a sweet somewhere…DELICIOUS!
Made this for my mothers 53rd birthday last night. I don’t bake much so I was thankful the recipe was easy to follow. Turned out exactly like the picture. My mom loved it! She had a picture of it on her social media before I could set the cake down. It was so delicious! My mom and everyone loved it. Thanks for a great recipe. Will make again.
This is a truly fantastic cake. I’ve made it twice, once with the normal recipe as written, and the second in a gluten-free version. Both were fantastic. For the GF adaptation, sub the flour with 280 grams sorghum blend (35% sorghum, 35% potato starch, 30% tapioca starch). Use non-Dutch process cocoa, as this works better in GF recipes (I used just regular Frye’s). When you add the water, start with just a cup and see if you need any more, because the first time I did it, the whole amount made the batter way too thin. I ended up using about 1 cup, 1 Tbsp the second time around. I also baked it in two 9-inch round pans, which baked for about 30 min each, and still produced a nice, high cake.
Vanessa. Followed your GF substitutions and oh my sweet Mary, the chocolate cake turned out incredible. I make this cake each year for my father in law and I was legitimately concerned if I didn’t make it this year (I’m Celiac as of 3 months ago) I’d be orphaned ;) I told them it was gluten free, but if I hadn’t they would never have known. Thank you for this, you are a queen.
I made it this week — amazing, and so much easier than it looks!! I served mine with a homemade raspberry sauce to drizzle over the slices and called it “peanut butter and jelly cake.” Quite a hit.
So my husband is also a HUGE chocolate P.B. freak, but really what sane person isn’t. I want to make him this cake for his birthday and both of us really prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate, would it be ok to switch the milk for dark in the ganache? I was afraid it might make it too rich since you said it was already a pretty heavy cake.
I made this yesterday for my husband’s birthday, and it was a hit! It was by far the best cake I have ever baked. The chocolate cake base will now be my go-to recipe. The frosting and ganache were also easy and delicious. I only needed to serve 4 adults and 1 toddler, so I cut the recipe in half and baked three 6-inch layers at 325 for about 27 minutes. We still have half the cake left, so I’m off to have a piece for breakfast. :D
I have made this cake and variations several times, and it is always delicious: thank you! Last week I messed up the ingredients for the crust of a pretzel strawberry jelly (in the British sense of the word) dish and ended up doubling the crust, and put the extra in a springform for later use. I just filled it with a no-bake cheesecake meets this peanut butter frosting (1/2 c pow sugar instead of 5 and 1 cup of whipped heavy cream along w the p.b. & crime cheese) filling and topped it with this ganache and topped with salted peanuts. We are calling it peanut butter-chocolate pretzel pie, and I have zero hesitation recommending it.
I am sharing my misadventure so others may learn from my mistake. I wanted to make a half recipe, but I wanted it nice and tall, so I thought I could bake a half recipe of the batter in a 9×13 pan, cut the sheet into quarters and stack them. If it had been brownie layers it might have worked. But with this super soft cake, and the hot night making the frosting greasy… LOL, it was NOT happening. I got them stacked, I’d got them more or less frosted (the frosting is very delicious btw), I’d glopped the glaze on top… and it was leaning tower of Pisa time. My husband ran in to brace the toppling cake while I quickly lined a 9inch square pan with parchment; we tumbled the pieces into the pan, and I have squished them down into it and have stuck it all in the freezer. My fond hope is that it will emerge as a sort of frozen peanut butter chocolate trifle and that I will be able to serve thin marbled slices. I’ll let you know.
Ok, not that anyone was necessarily waiting with bated breath, but: this cake is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC broken up, squished tightly into a pan, frozen and unmolded as a sort of, like, cake terrine. It formed gorgeous striations of cake and filling and fudge, and the cold enhanced the textures of all of them. My kid has asked for this version as her birthday cake this year.
Hi!! I’ve made this cake twice. The first time (I am a novice baker) was a fail because I tried to rush and cut corners. The second time I did it the right way and it turned out beautifully!! I received so many compliments on it that the chocolate cake recipe has become my go-to chocolate cake recipe with variations of frostings. I LOVE IT!!
My question is, Deb, is it possible to adjust the recipe for cupcakes (still novice and learning)? I have a party of around 25-30 people I need to accommodate and I was thinking cupcakes might serve them better. Any thoughts?
Jocelyn — Yes to cupcakes. Dozens of commenters mention having done so with success, see comments #230, 233, 343, 430, 1139, 1151, 1164 and more.
Just wanted to let you know this cake is living on. I made it for the fourth or fifth time last night and it was delicious as always. Thank you!
I just wanted to let you know that my husband made this for me for a surprise this week. He found it, researched it, and spent 3+ hours in the kitchen making it to perfection! It is AMAZING. Thank you!
For the glaze, would using heavy cream work just as well as half and half? Just a random thought, i’m sure it’s fine but i’m not sure if the heavy cream would just make it too thick to get a good drip effect and I should just stick with half and half instead.
Deb,
Made this cake for my niece’s baby shower on Saturday. It was a family shower, not just girls, and she said anything chocolate for dessert. What a hit, it looked like they had licked the cake plate. It was so gorgeous and delicious, yet so easy to make. I made and froze the cakes the day before Thanksgiving left for two days and came home and finished it. I think it would make wonderful cupcakes. We decided you could call it a Buckeye Cake, since it is chocolate and peanut butter and we are from Ohio! Thank you.
This is my most requested cake. Always a hit! I follow the directions and her tips to a T and haven’t had any problems. I’ve received three marriage proposals from guys that have eaten my cakes. Thank you for the great tips. I now put all my cakes in the fridge or freezer between steps.
Thank you,
Vel
Made this for my husband’s best friend’s 50th birthday. He requested a Peanut-butter Chocolate Cake. Three folks told me it was the best cake they had ever had. The consistency of every component was perfect and put together played off each other beautifully! Will be making this again! I made one batch as a cake and one batch as cupcakes. The cupcakes were great as well but the overall consensus was that it was better as cake with more even distribution of flavors. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made it several times now, and it has become my go-to for birthdays (or any other celebration requiring chocolate!). It always turns out amazing.
I made this for my daughter’s 8th birthday. I did not have 3 round cake pans so I used one large baking pan and cut into 3 pieces and stacked to make a bar cake. No one knew and it was perfect.
I’ve made this cake so many times, I can’t even count. I use coffee instead of water, it deepens the choc. flavor.
Hi there! Question – I want to make this as a birthday cake but without the chocolate glaze. Could I cover the outside with a chocolate buttercream instead?
This has become my go-to chocolate cake recipe-I just love it! It’s so, so, so moist! This weekend I’m making a tiny little gourmet-size 6″ layer cake for a friend’s 50th birthday celebration and using the whole recipe-I’m so excited!
I have made this cake several times over the years and could swear the glaze was once called ganache. I thought maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me but after scrolling through the comments, I see you refered to it as a ganache. Aha! So my eyes didn’t deceive me. Why the change after all these years?
I made the cake yesterday and brought it to work everybody loved it.
(i did use yoghurt instead of sour cream) And it was super easy to do!
Thanks a lot!!!
Made it but partially!
Was planning to make it for a long time, and one Sunday had craving for this so much that I disturbed my neighbors late night for vanilla essence and chocolate as I had ran out of it. Then i used another similar chocolate cake recipe without eggs. made your recipe for the frosting. Due to lack of chocolate, no scope for ganache, but laid extra peanut frosting. IT WAS SO YUMMMMMY! Everyone at home, after having thin slices like you suggested, took a second help of big slices.
Me and hubby took it to office, and everyone was like ‘when are you making it the 2nd time’.
Thank you so much Deb.
Just had to tell you that this is the MOST requested cake that I make (and I make a lot of cakes – 3 last week alone…) – so much so that I finally bought the book Sky High, used as it’s out of print. THANK YOU!
I brought this to work today for a coworker’s birthday. Usually, birthday cake lasts for a couple hours in the afternoon with people stopping by every little while for a slice. Nope, not today. I sent out an email with the words “chocolate and peanut butter” and the cake was gone in 20 minutes to rave reviews.
I LOVE the frosting. I used 8 oz of cream cheese because I didn’t want to buy a second box and only use 2 oz. It worked just fine with 8 oz. Great PB flavor.
Yup…really late on this one! But I *finally* made this after years of coveting it! I made it for a casual dinner party so I just used the whole batter amount to make one (fairly tall) 9×13 sheet cake, which took just under 45 min to bake, then halved the icing and ganache to cover just the top. I have to admit the party is tonight so I haven’t tried the whole shebang yet. But I can confirm the cake batter, icing, and ganache were so delicious it was everything I could do not to lick up every last bit in the bowls!! The pb and cream cheese combo really is delicious. The only problem I had was the ganache…mine was smooth but not pourable/drippy like in your photos, rather it had a more spreadable fudgy texture. I did use milk instead of half and half and estimated the amount of chocolate from two 3-ounce chunks, so there may just have been the chocolate amount that was off. Anyway, cannot WAIT to eat it tonight (and someday make it as a proper sky high celebration cake)!!
I have made this cake about 4 times, and it is amazing!! One time I did pretty much this recipe, but modified it for cupcakes.
Do you think this cake would work if I used it to make a 2 or 3 tier grooms cake? I am thinking about doing a different icing, since the groom isn’t all that much in to peanut butter!
Deb can you make this in a 9″ springform pan? I don’t have anything else?
Susanna — You can. If you’re at all nervous about leaking, you can wrap the outside rim in tight foil, but they otherwise work the same.
Thanks for the fast response! Also would you bake it in there 3x or all at once and then cut?
Hi Deb, I LOVE this cake (so much so that it has become a staple for birthdays in my family)! Do you think I could halve the recipe and make it in 6″ pans? I can’t decide whether to make this cake or your almond raspberry layer cake for my mom’s upcoming birthday so I think the best option is to make a mini version of each because the more cake the merrier! Thanks!
Okay I love you, this cake is in the fridge, and all of my bowl licking has convinced me it will be delicious. But saying something is one-bowl when there’s a frosting AND a glaze is a bit misleading, no?
That said: I only had crunchy peanut butter, and did not have 5 cups of confectioners sugar (jokes on me for assuming my pantry was more robust than reality), but by erring on the side of 35 minutes of baking time I didn’t have any trouble at all frosting without crumbling, even without freezing. I did refrigerate before adding the glaze (and now, after). So maybe if it’s to crumbly to work with, cook it another couple of minutes?
Vicki — I meant the cake layers, and many of the cake layer recipes in the book. Of course cake could = whole cake including frosting too, so I can see how it’s misleading. I’m not sure how cooking extra minutes can improve a crumbly glaze? I might be misunderstanding (haven’t had coffee yet)…
Gah, *too crumbly, not to!
I love this cake. I’ve made it a handful of times as written ever since originally posted and another dozen with other variations. Always a huge hit!
It may not be the most richly chocolate of cakes but it is always light, fluffy and moist and you can’t beat not needing a mixer and using just one bowl.
It’s great for moist fluffy cupcakes. I made it last night with dark Gamache between the layers, raspberry buttercream and topped with a load of fresh berries and more ganache… wonderful.
Hello, this cake looks divine! I want to make it ASAP : )
I have a couple of questions…
1) What temperature should the 1/2 cups water be? Boiling, Warm, or Cold?
2) Is it necessary to use the parchment paper on the bottom of the cake pans? Can I just use Nonstick spray?
3) I don’t have enough space in my freezer to keep the cakes cool. Can I place them in my fridge instead? If so, for how long? If I let them cool at room temperature for one hour on the cooling rack will that be OK too?
4) Should this cake be kept in the fridge overnight or at room temperature?
5) Whenever I bake cakes in round pans, when I take them out of the oven I keep them in the cake pan on the cooling rack on the counter for one hour before taking them out of the pan and inverting them onto a cooling rack? Is this overkill? I’m always so afraid of the cake sticking to the pan so I let it sit in the pan for a little longer. I hate working with parchment paper : (
I’ve made this cake several times, though most often I make it as cupcakes honestly, which works awesomely. I usually use cold water, not like refrigerated or anything just tap cold water. I also don’t refrigerate either the cake or cupcakes overnight and it’s never been a problem for me.
I found this recipe on your site years ago now and it has become my go to chocolate cake recipe, and don’t even get me started on the frosting. It is my favorite peanut butter frosting and if I wasn’t diabetic I would eat it by the spoonful. I usually make it as cupcakes instead of a layer cake and get 2-3 dozen from a recipe. I like the cake so much because most chocolate cake is kind of dense and heavy and this one is definitely not.
How long do you bake the cupcakes?
When I used an electric oven it was about 20 minutes maybe a little less…now that I’m using a gas oven it seems to take a little longer. I’d say about 17-25 minutes altogether.
I am making this Sunday for my fiance’s birthday. Can this cake be made a day or two in advance and frosted/assembled just before serving without the cake drying out? Is there anything special I should do to make it work?
This is my go-to chocolate cake (I usually make as cupcakes!) and it is good a day or even two days in advance. Stays super moist and delicious. Enjoy!
Can you freeze the fully-assembled cake? Frosting, ganache, and all?
I am making this for my grandfather’s 95th birthday (which he shares with his great granddaughter’s 1st), but it has to travel and time is not on my side. Wondering if I can assemble the whole thing, freeze for 3 days, then defrost and serve?
Should keep just fine in the fridge, fully assembled.
I make and freeze all the time. Just assemble day of or day before.
Like a beautiful Reece’s cup. I smoothed the chocolate ganache because I couldn’t make the drips look pretty but it was beautiful and rich! I Followed the suggestion to freeze the layers and that made it easy to handle
Cake was moist and delicious, frosting to die for. The problem was stopping eating it. The fact that it’s one bowl is a real bonus. Great recipe.
I made this incredible cake for MY birthday!
I loved the reactions from my guests at the party I threw for myself! The cake screams “Enjoy, you beautiful person! You are loved!”
Happy birthday to your hubby!
wow. I need a party to make this for. because yes! chocolate, peanut butter, YES!!!
I wasn’t able to find distilled vinegar at my grocery store. Can the regular stuff be used, or can I substitute lemon juice?
I ended up using lemon juice and then realized distilled vinegar is just the regular stuff (oops). It turned out great. I used half a cup less water and it was still nice and fluffy. I used crunchy peanut butter and I really love the added bite. This cake is monstruously rich and quite sweet (I also cut back on the powdered sugar by almost 2 cups). Worth making for a good size group.
Hello! I am a big fan or your recipes! I’d like to share a challenge I’m experiencing with this recipe-not sure if it’s a result of the recipe itself or an error in my method. I have just baked the cakes and found them to be so fragile and floppy that they’re nearly impossible to move from pan to cooling rack to fridge. One of the three broke when I tried to remove it from the springform, the other two are on the cooling rack but I have no idea how I’ll get them off of there without them breaking. I fear that if I’m able to still make a cake it will be severely frankensteined together:( Has anyone else run into this? I’m sure it will taste delicious but I’m no enjoying working with the cakes thus far. Posting mainly so others can take this into consideration when they’re deciding to make- perhaps others have hacks for transferring the cakes! Thank you though for all your wonderful recipes and articles, I enjoy reading and making them!
OK, OK, so I took shortcuts and ad-libbed. I was home tending to a feverish 10 month old yesterday, and wanted this cake! But, with a 10 month old there is no time to make a cake like this…. so…. using what I had on hand…. Ghirardelli’s chocolate cake mix for a one-layer cake, peanut butter frosting similar to the recipe above but using superfine sugar in lieu of powdered sugar (what happened to the bag of powdered sugar that I thought we had??) and grated a Ghirardelli 70% dark chocolate bar in lieu of the glaze (bleh, no heavy cream on hand). This. Cake. Is. Great. I cannot wait to make it according to the recipe next time. But I have to believe that what I made was pretty darn similar. Although I did not follow the recipe; thank you, thank you for the inspiration!! PS Deb, your cookbook is the best. Multiple family favorites have come out of that gem.
I feel so stupid bc I have successfully made this before. Tonight I guess I over mixed the cream cheese PB icing. I didn’t even know that was possible! Baking science is eluding me. Is there any way to fix this curdled mess?? Help! So sad
I didn’t know it was possible either! Can you spread it smoothly, at least? If so, I don’t think anyone will be the wiser it’s more thick than usual.
I’ve made this cake so many times! Thank you for the recipe, it’s everyone’s favourite. I also seemed to have over whipped. The texture and taste is fine, but spreading was quite difficult as it just clumped together. It also does not look very nice, it looks grainy and not at all smooth like the photo. Everything was room temperature. Has this ever happened to you since this comment?
Was the butter and cream cheese room temp? I can’t understand how it could curdle. Sorry that happened.
Amazing! This cake is decadent and the perfect marriage of chocolate and peanut butter. If you follow the directions, it’s super easy to make and assemble. My whole family loved it! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
This cake is awesomesauce! Huge hit at my office party with the only complaints being the workouts that would have to take place the next day to burn it off. When baking I tried to be fancy and line the sides of the cake pans with parchment paper strips (in addition to bottom circle) but shouldn’t have bothered – the batter oozed under, turning the strips into wobbly fences that left canyons when pulled out. Most could be ignored once the cake layers were flipped flat side up, but one or two chunks fell off. Though that did ensure I had to trim back the sides of the cake to make it even after stacking the layers, leaving me to dispose of the scraps in my stomach. Oh darn. Definitely freeze the layers before frosting – I ended up letting them sit there for a few hours. I found the peanut butter frosting chilled well in a bowl in the fridge with plastic wrap directly pressed against it to prevent crusting, then let it come up toward room temp for easier spreading, especially for the crumb layer, which really made a difference in the final appearance. Freeze the rough-frosted cake again 10-15 min before putting clean layer of frosting on. The chocolate ganache refrigerated fine as well in a covered bowl, and after warming in the microwave in a few 30-second bursts, with stirring in between, melted nicely to a glossy finish. Froze the frosted cake another 15-20 min before drizzling the ganache with a spoon, which gave a measure of control over the artistry of the drips down the side. Love this recipe!!
Oh my goodness. That is awesome!
I made this last night to celebrate watching the first episode of the Great British Bake Off series 7 (my friends and I watch together whilst eating baked goods, which is the best idea we’ve ever had – ever). It’s very rich, with such a nice fluffy chocolatey cake and the frosting is ridiculous. My boyfriend can’t eat peanuts, so – SO SAD – I can’t share the leftovers with him. =)
I’ll be using this chocolate cake recipe for everything moving forward.
Hi there! Do you have any suggestions or tips about making this ahead of time? I am making this for my son’s bday party tomorrow and wanted to get started on this deliciousness a little early. Thanks!
I make cake layers even weeks in advance, just cool them, freeze them unwrapped and once frozen enough to lift, wrap them well in plastic. I trim and frost while the layers are still frozen; they’re usually defrosted by the time I’m done, if they’re not, half a day in a fridge will take care of it usually. Or you can fully make the cake a day or so in advance, frosting and all. Keep it in the fridge.
Thank you soo much!
Hi- have you ever made this with your double chocolate layer cake ? I love that cake!
You can absolutely use that cake instead here, although I think it makes a little more cake than this.
Wow! I made this for my (picky) nephew’s 10th birthday last week, and it was a hit with the whole family.
My one comment, to help someone (i.e., don’t be like me!). Deb mentions this in the comments, but I didn’t see it in time. Yes, you need to freeze the layers, but DON’T just stick them in the freezer with foil in between the layers. Only a crazy person would do that (ahem). Deb suggests letting each layer freeze individually then wrapping in plastic. That’s definitely what I will do next time. On the bright side, chunks of cake can very easily be added back to the cake and frosted right in. The things a novice baker learns.
I used 9″ pans and it was fine. Super rich, as promised, and we got 16 slices out of one cake could have gotten more – and I’m a sugar addict. I WILL make this again – for all the directions, it’s not hard at all and is so impressive for the final product. Make this cake and make people in your life happy! Thanks, Deb!
I have made this cake at least once a year for the past several years and it never fails. Everyone always raves, the flavor is superb. I make mine exactly as she does, maybe the cooking times adjust a little for my oven. I always use as much organic non-gmo ingredients as I can when I make this. I think that always helps with the flavor and also buy the quality brands, it makes a big difference.
this cake is amazing! it has become the “official birthday cake” in our family. luckily, we have birthdays scattered throughout the year so we do not ahve to wait long to have it again.
I live in Sydney Australia and wanted a cake for a dinner party and belated birthday celebration for my 14 year old daughter. Who is extremely fond of peanut butter and dense fudgy chocolate cakes…but before last weekend not necessarily together. Well that has all changed. That peanut butter frosting is just SO so good!!! We have been eating chilled slices each night ever since and honestly every time I cannot believe how good it is. BTW freezing the cakes for an hour before frosting is an excellent idea
Hi Deb, I have made this cake before – the best cake EVER! I would love to make it for a large party/group of people. Curious, have you ever modified the recipe for a sheet cake? Half to full sheet is what I have in mind. I am a little worried about doubling or tripling the recipe (cause doesn’t that change the chemistry?) for each sheet pan. Any advice would be appreciated!!
Thanks!
I haven’t but these three people mention doing so with success. I wouldn’t expect it to be a problem.
Thanks Deb…but nothing happens when I click on what looks like three separate links “these three have” :( Can you try again? pretty please.
figured it out and found two of the comments…I think I might just try a big sheet cake!
Has anyone had success making this with plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream? Maybe plain Greek yogurt with some lemon juice? I don’t feel like making another trip to the store :(
Hi There,
I made this cake with plain non-fat greek yogurt and a dash of lemon juice, because that’s all I had, and it turned out absolutely perfect. I also put it in one 9×13 rather than rounds, and halved the frosting recipe, and it was the spot-on right amount of frosting!
Could you please tell me what half-and-half is? is that cream? It’s an ingredient in the glaze portion of the peanut butter cake recipe. thanks for your help. I really want to make this cake!
It’s essentially half milk and half cream — the balance is much more towards milk, but for baking purposes, an even split is fine.
I made this cake last year for my boyfriend’s birthday, and it was the biggest hit. People still compliment me on it a year later.
This year, he’s requested something with chocolate and mint. Do you think this base would work well with a mint buttercream, or should I use your double chocolate layer cake base? I’m planning on topping the cake with ganache (sans peanut butter) much like this one.
I’ve used this chocolate cake recipe with a bunch of different kinds of frosting and it’s always amazing. Honestly its the only chocolate cake I actually like. I actually made Mint Chocolate cupcakes for my brothers wedding last year using this recipe and they were awesome.
Have you ever made it in a tube pan?
No I haven’t. I’ve only done regular cake pans and cupcakes.
I wanted to tell you that this cake has had a starring role at our family celebrations for 8 years now. Tomorrow, I’ll serve it at my father’s 75th birthday.
That means YOU’VE held a starring role at our celebrations. :) I always think fondly of you when I whip up this icing, eat this icing by the spoonful & make oreos with this icing.
Loved the cake. My chocolate sauce was not as think as what it looks like on the photo above and as a consequence flowed down onto the plate. What do I need to do?
I would love to make this for my son’s birthday, reward all of the parents for making it through a child’s 3rd birthday party. Do you think I could make it a day ahead of time? Does anyone have suggestions on how to pull that off?
Hey there! Do you have a way to slightly alter the frosting to omit or cut down on the cream cheese (for a picky eater)?
Hi!
I didn’t have any cream cheese in the house, and so substituted all the cream cheese for nonfat plain Greek yogurt. The frosting turned out delicious, though it was of course a bit thinner than it would have been with cream cheese. I hope your family likes it!
It looks delicious…… Wonderful decoration and i am sure everyone will like this cake.
Holy! This is one very tasty but rich cake. Made it on the weekend for the April birthdays. Liked by most and feeds many. I added some strawberry jam between they layers on top of the PB icing.
So I’m making this today for my son’s bday.
I think the icing needs a little milk or something so it will spread. I added a little milk.
We’ll see how it goes
Yes! I also had to add some half and half as mine turned out a little thick – just added 1tsp at a time until the frosting consistency was more to my preference – seems to have worked like a charm
Hi, I am sorry if this was already answered somewhere in the comments.. there are just so many of them! When you say commercial brand peanut butter, I get that what you’re going for is something that doesn’t separate… but by “commercial brand” do you also mean you recommend one of the brands that adds sugar? Or in other words, did you decide on the sugar amounts in the frosting and ganache based on peanut butter that had sugar in it already, or did you use an unsweetened but still hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated peanut butter?
I use Skippy for this and basically everything, so yes, added sugar.
Two questions:
1) If I made this as 2 9″ layers, how would you adjust the cooking time?
2) Is there any reason you would recommend against leaving out the chocolate peanut butter ganache? I mean, I know the ganache would add an extra layer of awesomeness, but if I need to save time, the cake would still taste good without it, right?
1. I can’t say for sure without trying it. In general, not as much extra time as you’d imagine so can’t hurt to start looking 5 minutes after the baking time estimate above (presuming you’re going to put the 3 layers of batter in 2 cake pans, and not reduce the cake by 1/3 just to make it as two layers). 2. Personally, I wouldn’t skip the ganache; it pulls the whole thing together in looks and taste. I think the fudgy chocolate hit is important because the chocolate flavor in cake is more subtle.
Great recipe, made cupcakes out of this recipe, people love it!
Made this tonight and a matching little smash cake for son’s first birthday tomorrrow! Thank you Deb!!! One of my favorite cakes to make!!
Whitney
I am making this cake again for my husband’s birthday on Friday. It will be the 8th year of making it! I’ve had other requests for it over the years – it really is a once-a-year treat, and THE BEST! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
If I wanted to make this into cupcakes instead of a triple layer cake (easier to share!), what would be the bake time adjustment? Thank you, love your recipes, cookbook and blog!!
Oops somehow I missed the 100 other comments with this same question! Thanks anyway :D
I made this cake a few years ago and to this day I crave it. Your directions guided me to success, as always–thank you! BUT it’s so much cake, even for a birthday. Any tips on cutting the recipe down? I’m not very savvy with dividing cake recipes, my gut says it can’t be as easy as 1/2 all ingredients. Many thanks in advance!!
Just freeze the leftovers! Cake freezes so well if wrapped properly. Slice it, wrap the slices in plastic, and wrap those in foil. Future you will thank you!
I’ve been making this cake for years now. My Husband Loves it… but I converted this recipe to make cupcakes and it is always a big hit….
Hi, I love this cake and have made it for several friends birthday’s and it has become a favorite. I am wondering if there is a way to make this recipe for two people? I know you made the monkey baby cake (which was the cutest) and I am wondering if you have ever tried with this one? It makes such a large cake and I would love to be able to make it maybe 6 inch and two layers or something smaller even. Thank you so much for your time! Love your blog. Best, Olivia
You can make a half-recipe in 3 6-inch layers (1 6-inch layer holds almost exactly half of what a 9-inch does). Or, you could halve it and then 2/3 that and make only two layers. But I think small, tall cakes are lovely.
Fabulous! Made this for a friends birthday and it was a big hit. Gourmet quality and well work the effort. I added crushed peanuts as a topper. What a beautiful, yummy cake.
Hi! Just a quick question – my family we are not big on sugar, do you think it would be possible to cut the amount of sugar used in the recipe in half without affecting the structure of the cake? I am planning to make the cake for my son’s birthdays :) Thank you so much for the awesome recipes!
I was absolutely shocked by the sugar called for here, my teeth hurt just reading it but at the same time, I can’t say no to peanut butter. Did you end up reducing the sugar? How was it?
Hi, Deb–I’d like to make this for my daughter who has a peanut allergy. Do you think almond butter would work OK? I know, I could just go with another non-PB recipe which I usually do, but she commented recently that she’s never had the childhood joy of a simple PB&J sandwich so I thought I’d try this one bc why not go big? Thanks!
I absolutely do. Have you tinkered at all with sunflower seed butter? I like almond butter but as a peanut butter junkie, I find sunflower a tiny bit closer to the flavor I miss. Both will work though, no worries.
Can’t wait to try this! Question: in regard to the water, should it be cold, hot boiling or ? Thanks for your help. Also, what do you think of subbing coffee for water – yay or nay? Thank you!
I just use tap water, no need for it to be hot. I think coffee would be great here instead.
Has anyone used natural peanut butter? What was the result?
I have and it is fine. Used my home made peanut butter. Maybe just a little grainy in the ganache but no one complained.
Hi Deb! I have a strange question about how to assemble and save this cake… I am 38 weeks pregnant and have been baking up a storm for the last two weeks. A friend recommended that when I my labor starts (like the very early stages), that I make a cake as a way to distract myself and pass the time. I want to make this cake as my husband LOVES peanut butter AND chocolate! But I am worried that I won’t get to the step with the glaze or that the cake won’t keep well while I am in the hospital. Any advice on how to store the cake fully assembled for a few days? Or should I give up this dream and make a different cake that will keep better?
Never give up on the chocolate peanut-butter cake dream! (But promise you’ll be totally okay forgetting we ever had this discussion if the first contraction has you not feeling like baking.) The cake layers can be frozen for weeks even, unfilled. The cake keeps great fully assembled in the fridge, easily 4 days but theoretically longer, not that one has ever lasted that long. Good luck — with everything!
I would love to substitute butter for oil here, just a preference. Any thoughts?
The most amazing cake ever! My family, extended family and all friends die for this cake!
I made this for a peanut butter/chocolate loving friend and it was a huge hit! I also used your layer cake tips and it all worked out perfectly! It was my very first “celebration” cake and I was thrilled with the results. Thank you as always for your expert guidance.
i only have 9″ baking pans… the layers look pretty thin as is baked in 8″ pans — would three 9″ pans be pushing it? i suppose i could do two 9″ layers as i saw mentioned already but 3 layers looks so good! what do you recommend?
I was just going to ask the same question. I am baking this for a friend’s wedding celebration (they’re asking a few friends to make a selection of cakes), and I only have 9″ pans.
Oh that sounds lovely!! In the end I went with two 9″ cake pans and it worked just fine. Splitting the batter into 3 pans would have made insanely thin layers that i’m sure would have fallen apart. I made less icing (scaled it down to an 8 oz pkg of cream cheese) and I didn’t use all the ganache. Deb’s right; it’s ridiculously rich — 16 servings at least. We defs needed vanilla ice cream to go with. Oh, and I made a small batch of peanut brittle for the top — adds a nice amount of crunch and looks bomb! I reckon your cake will be the hit at the dessert table :)
I made a half recipe of everything in order to make this for a smaller group. I baked the cake in an 11×7 pan, and then cut it into thirds to make a tall rectangular layer cake. It worked out perfectly. #noregrets
This cake is phenomenal! The cake is so moist and it all works together perfectly.
I froze the cake layers overnight before frosting. I had no issues with the cake layers fragility. The added bonus was the frozen cake set up the glaze nicely as well.
Forgot to mention – I made 1.5X the cake recipe and baked the batter in three 9″ pans. The cake was satisfyingly tall and the cake to frosting (1X the recipe) ratio was perfect.
I have made this cake twice, once as written and today, I made it half size to celebrate my Anna’s birthday because with only 3 of us in our family, that’s a heck of a lot of cake.
I baked the cake in 2 6” layers, would probably be better as 3, as my 2 layers sunk in the middle during baking. I split each layer in 2. I ended up making a full batch of peanut butter frosting but used about 3/4 of it and I added some raspberry jam on top of the frosting between the 4 layers. I made the chocolate ganache with 6 oz chocolate, so about 3/4, but I expect once could get by with 1/2.
It’s a very rich cake. My 6” version has about 12 servings.
Just made half the recipe into 12 cupcakes and it is fantastic. Really dug the texture on the cake, nice and soft.
I didn’t have white vinegar so just subbed with apple cider vinegar. Will definitely make again, thanks Deb :)
Made this for a birthday cake just this weekend and it was a hit!
Hi Deb! I love love love this peanut butter cream cheese frosting – but need to adapt for someone who has nut allergies. Do you think just upping the vanilla and omitting the pb would work? or maybe Kahlua? Thanks!
Ps – love the 2nd cookbook too!
I made this today for my son’s 12bd — he and my DH both love peanut butter, esp., so I thought this would be good to make. Deb is right–this cake is INTENSE! We don’t have lots of sweets, and for us, this cake was a little too rich and intense. That being said, we all LOVED the chocolate cake part– delicious, nice and moist. The peanut butter icing is great! If I ever made this again (which b/c the cake is so good, I might), what I would do is make the pb icing but NOT put the chocolate ganache on it– that is for us what put this over the top. Or I might try it with a less sweet white type icing. Either way, the cake itself is definitely a keeper!
My husband is also a fanatic when it comes to chocolate and peanut butter. I threw a party for his 50th birthday this weekend and decided to try this cake. Holy moly, it was incredible! First of all, it is a beautiful cake, a show stopper. And it was absolutely delicious….EVERYONE went crazy over it.
Because we were serving 40 people, I doubled the recipe and made it into 3 ten inch pans. It was massive. I also substituted brewed coffee (leftover from the morning) in place of water. As Ina would say, ‘It just makes the chocolate chocalatier.”
For a homemade cake, it wasn’t too difficult to make. Make sure you follow all the tips of freezing your cake layers before frosting, making a crumb coat of frosting and refrigerating the entire cake before pouring on the glaze.
The Hubby may not have been thrilled at turning 50 but he sure did enjoy the birthday cake :)
This cake is the bomb. My most requested birthday cake for family and friends. Do it. And make it the full three layers. I do find that you can halve the glaze recipe, though.
Hi , this cake looks incredible.
Can I use all butter or margarine instead of cream cheese in the frosting?
I prefer them to cream cheese’s flavor.
Thanks so much for all of your great recipes!
Hi Deb! This is my go-to cake, and family’s favorite, and consistently when I make it for company it’s proclaimed “The best cake I’ve ever tasted!”, so thank you for sharing this recipe! :)
I usually make it in the very nice, heavy, 9″ cake pans I was given as a wedding gift 14 years ago, but I just noticed today (making it for my eldest daughter’s birthday), that your instructions call for 8″ pans! Eureka! No wonder I almost always clip the ganache with my cake dome placing it on the pedestal!
So I set out to search for some good quality, 8″, round cake pans, but lo…everything seems to be either 9″ or lightweight aluminum. Do you have a recommended place to shop online for these? Or a direct link to some you like that you wouldn’t mind sharing?
I buy all my pans at King Arthur Flour. Great pans, and great employee-owned company that stands behind its products.
I made this as cupcakes for a birthday party. It made 30 and 1 each was plentiful. I baked them for 20 minutes. The one thing that I would caution about is that I made the chocolate glaze a bit thick so that it wouldn’t drip down and adhere to the cupcake papers, but a result of this was that the rounded glaze on top of the pale tan frosting looked like, well, boobs. I tried to spread it out a bit and got……other bodily functions. Luckily my friends have a good sense of humor and the taste was so good that nobody minded. (Actually, I can see these as being fantastic for a mastectomy or breast cancer survivor when topped with a simple chocolate chip.)
This is the definition of decadent! I only have two cake pans, so reduced the ingredients for the batter by one-third and made a two-layer version. I also halved the frosting, which still covered both layers generously. Made the glaze as written, and the finished cake was gorgeous. Aside from the caloric danger, my only advice is to try to avoid serving this outdoors in 90° weather—the melty, heat-softened layers will not slice prettily, but every messy forkful will still satisfy…
Made this for my BIL’s birthday. It’s gorgeous but THE CRUMBS! Lawd, the crumbs! I did a crumb coat but those suckers are many and they mean business. Nothing some extra glaze can’t xover though.
Deb! I want to use the frosting for another cake that has no peanut butter in it. Can i replace the peanut butter with the same amount of “dulce de leche”? What do you think? Thanks!!
I’m not sure it will work the same — peanut butter tends to make things thicker, caramels, thinner. But you can mix everything but the peanut butter and maybe add dulce de leche 1 tablespoon at a time to make sure it’s not too much.
I made this yesterday for my sons birthday today. I topped it with chopped Reeses PB cups. It was so good. The cake is nice and moist. I think this will be my go to chocolate cake from now on.
I have had my eye on this cake for 10 years, but not being a huge chocolate & peanut butter fan, I’ve never felt compelled to bake it . . . until last week when my son requested a chocolate peanut butter cake for his 9th birthday. I baked it in two 9×13″ layers (baked each layer about 22 min. at 350*), flash-froze both once cool, then wrapped well in plastic wrap and kept in the freezer overnight. Multiplied the frosting by 1.5 (had a small amount leftover) and used the regular amount of glaze. Topped with Reese’s pieces and mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, because: 9 year old. This cake is everything all those comments say it is, and freezing the layers really did make it entirely workable – was able to handle the layers, do a crumb coat, and frost with no issues. I refrigerated the cake, fully assembled, overnight, then it sat out in 80ish degree heat for about 2 hours before we dove in (and was still cool inside). Held up great. Definite keeper.
I’m late to the party, but I just made this and the cake is OHHHHH soooooo incredibly moist and rich and chocolatey!!! The peanut butter frosting is quite light and whipped with the cream cheese giving it a slightly tangy touch so that the peanut butter ganache has a different and more decadent melt in your mouth texture!!! Your hint about freezing the cake was great because it was a bit crumby, but I didn’t worry too much about the crumbs being in the frosting since it was getting covered by the ganache!!! I will definitely make it again even though I’m lactose intolerant!!
Funny,When I looked at replies two minutes ago, the last replies were years ago! Glad to see everyone is still on it! FYI- I made 3 9″ layers, the frosting covered my whole cake as did the ganache- and I let it since I wasn’t careful about the crumbs in the frosting :) Half the cake served 12!
I made this cake about a year ago and have been dreaming about making it again ever since. So when we made dinner plans with friends a couple weeks ago I knew it was time to whip it up again, and it did not disappoint! Only problem? We’ve got three quarters of the cake left, and I made the mistake of committing to a month of “clean eating” with friends. Do you think I can freeze the rest?
I read several commenters who said they were going to freeze leftovers of the cake, but I didn’t see any who followed up to say how it was. Have you frozen this cake (or others) before, Deb? Do you think it will be good in thirty days? How would you recommend wrapping it?
Also, can I just say (after skimming the thousands of comments) how impressed I am that you read each one and follow up, even years after posting a recipe. You’re amazing.
I drove this cake successfully! I made it as a “labor cake” when I was expecting my son a year ago. I finished making it while I was literally writhing with contractions, stuck it once the fridge, went to the hospital to give birth, and enjoyed a huge slice upon returning next from the hospital. Then, I put wax paper or parchment paper on the open slices, wrapped the whole thing in plastic wrap a few times and stuck it in a freezer bag. We took it out again a few weeks later when my parents and in laws came to meet the baby. It was just as good then! I think I moved it to the fridge the day before they arrived. Hope that helps!
Thank you, Katie! That’s super helpful.
I (also) won’t be very helpful because I haven’t frozen it but I’d still say go for it. Maybe the frosting won’t be perfectly fluffy but it’s still going to taste amazing. And thank you. I’m a little behind this month. :)
I’ve been making this cake for years now. My Husband Loves it… but I converted this recipe to make cupcakes and it is always a big hit….
One of the most requested cake or cupcakes ever..
Since I’ve moved to 7000 feet altitude I’ve pretty much given up baking. I REALLY want to make this. You’ve already mentioned how tender this cake is. Do you have any high altitude changes that might help?
I haven’t made this (or anything) at high-altitude but I understand King Arthur to have great tips to get you started.
I have loved this cake since the first time I made it 8 years ago. BUT I always have to transport it 100 miles. In summer heat. Not pretty. Hence, CUPCAKES! The recipe as is makes 3 dozen. I core them and fill with the ganache and top with the frosting and a mini Reese’s peanut butter cup. Everyone LOVES them!
Hi Deb, Question: when you say commercial peanut butter, do you mean one of the ones that has sugar like the one that rhymes with Hippie? Please advise, I’d like to make it tomorrow!
Love your work!
cheers,
Lisa Remeny
Yes, that’s what I use.
Just made this for my MIL’s birthday. The frosting & glaze are delicious! I had a little extra, my husband made graham cracker sandwiches with the PB frosting, and I swiped a little chocolate glaze on each one. Can’t wait to have the cake tomorrow!
Made this for boyfriends birthday. It kind of looked complicated, but it definitely was not. Silly me put it on a cake board with a paper ‘doily’ type thing. The soft cake stuck to it. Plus, the waxed paper I used for frosting stuck because I did not remove it prior to the final glaze. Did I feel stupid! So, I just picked up the whole cake and holding it in one hand I removed all the paper products. 🙂. Because I had frozen the cake a couple of hours this was possible. Don’t skip this step! I was going to skip the glaze, but read your remarks. So glad I didn’t skip the glaze! It was incredible. I would make this cake again…with no fear. Thanks for such a delicious cake. The peanut butter frosting is amazing and the cake itself so very tender.
I made this cake as cupcakes and they were absolutely mindblowing and got me raving reviews at a baking competition. I made the full cake recipe which gave me 24 cupcakes (filled them 4/5th way to the top) and baked them for about 24 minutes until a skewer came out clean. I originally thought I had underbaked them as they felt very soft, especially on the bottom, but they set up nicely in the fridge overnight.
I made a full portion of the frosting which was only slightly too much, and I found the frosting very pipeable (especially after letting it sit in the fridge for a bit). Piped the cupcakes, refrigerated them, and made half a portion of the chocolate glaze to drizzle on top. I added some more golden syrup to the glaze and added less PB to make it pour more smoothly and let it cool for a bit in a squeeze bottle. Poured over the chocolate and decorated with Reese’s Snack Mix. They were insane and I’ll 100% make them again when I want to blow people’s minds!
https://i.imgur.com/x6HTjE0.jpg
May I just say that your version is beautiful!!
Admittedly I used a different cake recipe (one from Simply Recipes, it’s my standby–also a one bowl and I always have everything in my pantry). But I did use this technique and followed the recipe for the frosting and glaze. At first I was worried there wouldn’t be enough frosting, but it worked out fine. For the glaze, I was lazy and melted everything in the microwave (mine has a “melt chocolate” setting). I was actually worried it wouldn’t work, because it looked a little grainy at first, but once I poured in the half-and-half and started whisking, it came together beautifully. I brought this in to work for a birthday celebration and people were amazed.
I love the idea of cupcakes for next time!
I love this recipe! I have made it so many times! I use it for cupcakes and then make it with a raspberry frosting, and it is so good.
Delicious and lovely. Thanks!
Is the chocolate cake dense?
This is more of an old-fashioned, devil’s food cake-style cake, so no. It’s pretty soft and fluffy.
I made this cake way back in 2011 for my husbands 40th bday. It was a HUGE success. So delicious and so many compliments. It’s very rich and decadent. The cake part is moist and fluffy and not at all dense. And the frosting and glaze, out of this world. Well fast forward to now (2019) and my twin boys 4th bday is coming up in February. I decided to do a dinosaur theme (their choice) and wanted a chocolate cake to decorate with dinosaurs, etc. I remembered this cake and knew instantly my boys would love it! But when it came time to searching for my recipe, it was nowhere to be found. I searched the internet high and low and finally found it again!! Thank heavens! If you are at all hesitant about making this cake, don’t be! It’s DELICIOUS! and a real crowd pleaser. Makes a great bday cake!
I have made this twice now for birthdays. It is sooo delicious and rich! Such a treat. I don’t have cake pans right now so I made them into cupcakes – it made about 30 cupcakes (filling the tins about 3/4 full). I baked it at 350 for about 20 mins. I frosted the cupcakes with the peanut butter frosting and drizzled with the chocolate glaze. Next time I’ll make half the frosting and maybe even less than half of the chocolate glaze.
This is, BY FAR, the absolute best cake recipe I have ever found. Every single person that has ever had a taste of this LOVES it!
I figured out that for a vanilla cake (in place of chocolate), just substitute the 3/4 cup of cocoa power with 3/4 cup of extra flour. It’s still absolutely amazing and keeps the rich taste.
Thank you so much for posting this!
I substituted Cup4Cup gluten-free flour. The batter was kind of weird and spongy and I was worried, but it baked up really nicely (3 8-inch cakes for 32 minutes). Did not grease the pans, just lined base with parchment. No issues with sticking, and the cakes baked up nice and flat! I had to cool the cakes a bit longer in the pans (~30 mins) and I had to be very careful with them as they were quite delicate. Definitely recommend freezing before decorating. Crumb coat definitely important. My glaze took a lot more cream to come to a runnier consistency (maybe 3/4c) and it still did not dribble appealingly down the sides. I only stopped adding cream because I ran out! Anyway, my cake looks like its wearing a weird chocolate hat, but I don’t really mind. It tastes awesome!
Thank you so much for this recipe! We used it for our wedding groom’s cake ten years ago, and have continued to make this recipe every year since for my husband’s birthday! Next week, I’m going to turn it into cupcakes for my son’s second birthday. We love to crumble bits of peanut butter cups on top. Thank you! It’s sooooo good!
I am looking for a chocolate peanut butter cake for my husband’s birthday and this sounds perfect however he is usually very against cream cheese frosting (character flaw). Does this read as CREAM CHEESE FROSTING, would you say? or Is the cream cheese more of a vessel to deliver peanut butter goodness?
Not at all. It adds a perfect complement to peanut butter, wakes it up.
This cake is unreal. I’ve made it multiple times. It takes a long time and it’s my special once a year cake I make. It’s SO rich and dense and you absolutely need milk. It’s the best cake ever.
Instead of three cake pans can this recipe be divided between two 8×3 pans? I’m guessing it will just need to bake for longer but will the taller cake pan affect the cake itself at all?
I haven’t tried it so I cannot say for sure. It might work?
Can I leave the corn syrup out of the ganache? Is it just to make it shiny?
It’s for shine. You can skip.
I make this cake on average every 1.5 years. It’s so rich and delicious as well as well-balanced. If you’re a fan of chocolate and peanut butter, this is the cake for you! I will say, while it’s super rich it is actually not overly sweet. Personally, I find this to be even better. It’s a softer cake and would recommend cooling it in a freezer so that the thicker frosting doesn’t tear too much at the crumbs.
I tried making this cake in the UK today and given its relative humidity I tried reducing liquid (on my second and third attempt) by 25% as my first attempt in which I used all the wet ingredients poured like gravy. Cake two sank (with less liquid) over baked and sank and cake 3 just sank. I did the baking soda by weight.
Also I made it using only 2 cake tins as I don’t have 3. Was 12g wrong as everyone seems to be doing brilliantly with this cake I am loathed to give up. But it’s frustrating having 3 cakes go wrong. Also I avoided opening the overnight door early or over beating. I am still at a loss. Does it really need all that liquid in such humidity?
Getting ready to make this cake for my birthday. My elevation is 6700. Any suggested modifications?
Dear Deb,
Today my reticent husband told me my cake (this cake) was better than the expensive cake from the fancy bakery he had at a work celebration. Historically, I am a cake failure. You taught me to make a celebration cake that outshines and overpowers a top Seattle bakery. This is your triumph as much as mine. There’s a reason you’re a household name over here. You’re the bee’s knees.
Love and Thanks,
Katie
I have made this cake several times and it is really sinful. I made it for my husbands 75th birthday only I made it in 13 x 9 pans 3 layers high, and when I got it all put together I could hardly lift it. I tripled the recipe for his cake. There wasn’t very much left to take home. I have also used just the cake with German chocolate frosting.
Give this a try you will not be sorry.
This cake is so insanely rich! It made 4 layers plus 6 jumbo cupcakes, but I cant explain why. I used whey for the liquid and the cake was incredibly tender, almost too tender to frost so I used the freezer technique a lot. And now the cake is back in the freezer as we just ate a 1/4 of it, so I froze slices for later. I cant wait!
OK, I don’t make layer cakes, I just don’t. And having said that, would this work in a bundt pan? That’s my go-to fancy pants cake, and with the cream cheese frosting AND the ganache = heavenly! What do you think?? I’m praying you say go for it…
I haven’t made it in a bundt but here are a few comments from people who have:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-636668
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-637004
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-637226
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-637412
Can I sub plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream? Sour cream is a no-go even in baked goods for my husband who would go crazy for this cake!
I make this almost every year. I would label it as rich and not overly sweet. I would highly recommend freezing or completely cooling the cake because that butter cream cheese peanut butter goodness of a frosting is incredible to pipe but will drag a nice airy cake with it. I made this GF with an all purpose substitute this year for my family and friends who cannot digest gluten. I will say that the cake still held up and the flavors weren’t compromised what-so-ever. It does, however, make the cake even softer and a little more sticky. The cupcakes did crumble a bit. But, they were far from dry! 11/10 will always recommend.
Made this for kiddo’s 3rd birthday. Grown adults were snatching slices from little children’s hands. “Oh, all done sweetie? Here, lemme help you with that!”
Repeating for his fourteenth birthday this weekend. Grown ups don’t stand a chance.
Thank you Deb!!!
This cake is a show stopper..and it’s delicious to boot…If you love peanut butter and chocolate, this will not disappoint..the ahhhs you will hear…I have people asking me to make this again and again. A fun one to make!
Can’t wait to make this !! You have the best recipes ever !
I made for my partner’s birthday last evening. I had one 9-in cake pan and a manual whisk in my kitchen. Despite the lack of implements, the recipe was easy to follow (especially appreciated Deb’s notes). It turned out moist and so very yum! I can see why people have been raving about the peanut butter frosting :O
This cake is so amazing we made several of them for our wedding! The chocolate ganache is too much. We preferred it without.
Is it possible to make these in 9inch round pans instead of 8 inch. Did anyone try this and if so, what adjustments for baking time (and icing quantities) were made?
This is fine in 9-inch pans and, in fact, what I usually use. No adjustments needed.
Hi Deb! I made this cake for my girlfriend’s birthday… I’m not much of a baker usually but it turned out AMAZING! Thank you… Now I have a question. I have all these cake ingredients and want to make a second one, but different. I was thinking of making the cake rounds from here and doing a cream cheese buttercream, but instead just do chocolate. I found the raspberry filling from your old double chocolate layer cake too that I want to put in between layers. Question: How do I make the same butter cream from this recipe but have it be chocolate instead of peanut butter? Everything the same but use some melted chocolate, or is there more to it?! Hopefully you see this… thanks for the help!
If I just want to do the cake with the Pb frosting can I do it in a tub pan? Anything I should know?
A few people have made this in a bundt or tube, but I have not. I worry that it will be too soft and sticky to come out cleanly.
Can someone tell me how in the world one should cut this cake? I made it for my fiancee and it’s fabulous-tasting, but I couldn’t slice it without smashing it (because it’s so soft!).
Because of the nature of this cake, I kept the cake I made chilled in the refrigerator. This seemed to help. Enjoy! It is a marvelous cake.
Insanely good! After drooling over this recipe for years, I finally made it yesterday. The cake is nice and moist and definitely versatile for other future cake adventures. If I make it again, I’ll cut back on the sugar in the peanut butter frosting. It was delicious but a little too sweet, which of course did not stop me from licking the bowl and every utensil!
Hello, Deb,
Firstly, I love your blog! Second, I have a question about your recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. The ingredients list states “preferably Dutch process” cocoa powder. However, it also calls for baking soda not baking powder. Typically, black or dutch processed cocoa is paired with baking powder, which I’m sure you know. I’m guessing you have a reason for calling for soda but I want to make this cake next weekend and I’m nervous about using soda instead of powder.
Thanks,
Tara
I have a question about powder versus soda in the recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. The ingredients list states “preferably Dutch process” cocoa powder. However, it also calls for baking soda not baking powder. Typically, black or dutch processed cocoa is paired with baking powder, I’m nervous about using soda instead of powder. Is this a typo?
It’s often paired with baking powder in the absence of other acidic ingredients that could activate baking soda. Here, there is sour cream, vinegar, etc. It’s not an issue. I promise, the cake works perfectly. :)
Ah! That makes sense – thank you so much for replying. I made the cake yesterday and it was superb. Really. Everyone loved it.
You mentioned thinking this would feed way more than 12-16. How about 21, as a dessert after a Restaurant dinner?
It can be done. You might try to slice it wedding cake-style? Basically, creating a ring allows you to get more slices from a cake.
I loved everything about this recipe except that I found the icing too buttery. Next time I would cut it in half..
Coming back to say I made this again – this time as a layer cake! And it was still as amazing. I used three 6 inch pans instead, which meant the layers were thicker and baking time was longer, but it did work out. YUM!
https://i.imgur.com/QNHEiT5l.jpg
I made this into a 2-layer cake with 9″ cake pans, no other modifications. It took a bit longer to bake, but it turned out GREAT. I am not really a chocolate cake person and I ate the whole piece embarrassingly quickly. The cream cheese/pb icing was delicious.
Truly decadent! Made it for my dad’s birthday yesterday. I wouldn’t change a thing. Have so much extra frosting that I now need to bake something else for it!
I absolutely loved this recipe! I baked the cakes on two sheet trays (for the same amount of time) and they came out nicely moist and beautiful! The buttercream was heavenly- fluffy, good consistency, DELICIOUS! I highly recommend this recipe!
Do you think I could substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream? I’m not sure I can justify leaving the house for sour cream now, but it’s my birthday tomorrow and I want to make this cake (end rant)!
You absolutely can use Greek yogurt! I have made this cake twice and only ever used Greek yogurt. It is the best cake I have ever eaten!
Holy moly! Make this!! I made a half recipe of this fabulous cake for my birthday today. I used Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream (what I had) with no problem. I changed up the finishes just a smidge, by coating the cake in a straight chocolate ganache and frosting over top the ganache with peanut butter cream cheese whipped cream. It is soooooo delicious. Not too sweet, decadent and yet somehow light. Happy birthday to me!
Help! I am making this today and just realized that I only have two nine-inch pans…and it’s not like I can run to the store during these strange shelter-in-place times. Any advice on baking time using just the two larger pans? Thank you!
I see now that others have tried this with success :)
You can hold back 1/3 of the batter and bake it when you’re done with the first two. I actually have never owned three matching cake pans and always make it that way.
Can I make this as a bundt cake? Don’t own three cake pans!
I haven’t made it in a bundt but here are a few comments from people who have:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-636668
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-637004
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-637226
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/#comment-637412
I have made this several times as cupcakes and it is always so, so delicious and decadent. I half the peanut butter frosting and still have some leftover, and also skip the chocolate ganache most of the time. I bake the cupcakes for about 25 minutes.
I will be making this cake this weekend for my kiddo’s 2nd birthday! I plan on making it in a 13×9, but wanted to see if I could get confirmation on if just making 1x the recipe fills a 13×9. I have made it in the past, but in round cake pans. I know it’s a soft cake and I’m clutzy so will leave it in the pan and frost it :) Probably just buttercream frosting (or would cream cheese frosting be good? hmm)? This cake is the best!!!
Also, I was laughing recently thinking about the funfetti cake (I made it last year for his 1st birthday)… but I remembered you made it for your kiddo’s 2nd birthday and that the Elmo love just appeared one day. I can now attest to this! It seemed like one day he just started talking about Elmo. I was going to attempt an Elmo on this cake, but alas, firetrucks have won out haha.
Made this today for my husband’s birthday, and it was heavenly! I followed the recipe exactly, and am so glad I did. Rich, chocolately, and so so good.
Does the cake need to be kept in the fridge due to the dairy in the frosting? Or is it safe to keep on the counter?
My niece made me something out of your cookbook years ago, I don’t remember what. I do remember that it was outstanding and I asked where she got the recipe. It was from your cookbook. I cook professionally, and filed the name away. My sister was a superb cook and taught her daughter well, that got it cred. Shortly thereafter, I was looking for a birthday cake for my daughter, probably in kindergarten around then. I came across this recipe. It was a hit. Since then, I have made it for both of my daughters every year for their birthday. No substitutions, no variations. Just this is the birthday cake I want for my birthday. My daughter graduated from high school this week. Her birthday is tomorrow. Guess what I’m doing tonight? yup, making this cake for my formerly little girl who is now getting ready to fly the coop. I’m not sure when she might be able to head off to the school she is so excited to attend, but I fervently hope it will be sooner rather than later. Not that I want her to go, of course. Just that I want her to live her dreams. I find myself wanting you to know that your recipe is a part of our history. Thank you.
(I’m not crying, you’re crying…)
I have made this cake for my husband’s birthday every year since 2009! It was one of our wedding cakes and a frequent request from friends. I only have a few mods. This cake is just the best!!!
what are some of the mods you made? i think this recipe calls for way, way too much sugar. I’m also not sure how I feel about the amount of butter called for in the icing.
Hi,
Just had a question regarding the chocolate-peanut butter glaze. Not sure that half-and-half exist in australia. Is it possible to substitute with full cream milk or will be too runny? Or perhaps light thickened cream which is about 18% milk fat? Or a mixture of both? Trying to work out what’s the best to get the same effect as the glaze in your photo, which looks amazing! Thanks!
Yes, a mixture of both or just cream should work fine.
I made this for me and my husband yesterday. In order to make it a 6 inch two layer cake I cut the batter by 1/3 and then I cut the icing in half and the chocolate covering by a third and the quantities worked out well. Delicious cake! Very rich as promised.
Could you substitute almond flour for the white flour and almond butter for the peanut butter to put another twist on it? My husband has a gluten allergy. Thank you!
Butter, yes. Flour, no, it won’t work the same as all-purpose at all in this recipe.
I made this cake yesterday for the first time. Where has this cake been all my life – that peanut butter frosting!!
With the 3 layers I made a 2 layer cake and a 1 layer cake. The 1 layer cake stayed home while the 2 layer cake came to work with me today. I debated whether to make the ganache. After trying the home cake without the ganache I decided the cake needed the ganache to cut the sweetness of the frosting. The ganache takes the cake to another level.
Thank you so much!
I must be the only one who found the frosting way too sweet. I ended up using 16 ounces of cream cheese and half the powdered sugar. It tasted great with these adjustments.
This. cake. is. amazing. The only change I made was adding one cup less sugar in the PB frosting, as I felt at four cups it was already sweet enough and had the right consistency. Thanks for making a new favorite recipe for our household!
This recipe was perfect as written. The only complaint I received when I served it for my son’s 10th birthday was that everyone wished I had cut bigger pieces! I made the cake with 9-inch pans, and that size was fine. As a personal preference, next time I will put a full cup of frosting between each cake layer rather than having such a thick frosting on the outside of the cake (but that’s just my personal preference). The peanut butter frosting combined with the peanut butter chocolate ganache was so decadent and delicious!
This recipe is easily in my top 2 cakes, the other being Epicurious/Gourmet’s inside out german chocolate. My husband belongs to the ‘its not dessert unless its chocolate’ club and I make this for his birthday. I always use Droste dutch process cocoa from World Market. It make the chocolate flavor so intense. The sour cream adds great moisture (kind of like buttermilk I guess). This comes out perfect as written every time. Another fantastic recipe from smitten kitchen.
I have made this cake for the past 10 years. It is unbelievable how delicious it is. I tripled this recipe and made 3 13” x 9” cakes stacked them, frosted them and topped it off with the ganache. It was so heavy I couldn’t hardly pick it up. It fed between 60 and 75 people. Was a great hit. It is now my daughters chocolate cake.
Would this be enough batter for a 10in round and a 6 in round? I know nothing of scaling cake recipes. Thanks for the help!
It will probably be too much because here it is 3 8- or 9-inch layers.
Would this frosting and glaze be good with a yellow cake?
Sure!
Deb – I’m making this cake again today Since September 2008 when you posted and I made it the first time, I can’t even count how many times I’ve made it. IT’s requested by all my friends!!! I’ve made it gluten free and normal and it’s alway delicious! New guest this evening and can’t wait to see their reaction!! Thank you again!!
Hi Deb! This looks amazing. I am making it for Christmas Eve, and I’m wondering about freezing the layers for longer than 30 minutes. What if I freeze them overnight so as to have it out of the way ahead of time? Will the cake suffer from being completely frozen and thawed? Thank you!
It’s not issue to freeze them longer. What you’ll likely find is that it doesn’t get totally solid regardless of how long you freeze it, so defrosting time is not a big concern.
People!! If you haven’t made this cake, you should! It is a bit of work, but it is OH MY GOSH worth it! My daughter brought this one year for Thanksgiving and it was hands down the best thing on the table that day! She made one and took it to work and started getting special requests! When you make it, take your time, follow the directions explicitly. Your family & guests will talk about this cake for months! We both keep an eye on Deb’s blog and have her cookbooks. We are certainly Smitten with her Kitchen!
Hi Deb!
This cake was recommended to me as the best chocolate cake to make. I was hoping to make a single layer (but thicker) cake with frosting in my 9″ springform. Can I cut this recipe to accommodate that?
Thank you so much
Yes. I would halve the cake. You’ll only need half the peanut butter frosting but the full amount of the ganache on top, since it will be covering the same surface area.
Thank you for all the amazing recipes! I am away from my kitchen and only have 1 springform pan to work with. Would the batter survive the wait while each layer bakes? and should I keep the batter in the fridge in between layers? Thank you!
This is SUCH A GOOD CAKE! I’ve made it twice already, once for my birthday and then my boyfriend requested it for his. He’s celiac so both times I made it with Doves Farm gf bread flour & added extra xanthum gum. It came out perfectly. I literally dream about this cake. Also freezes well – his birthday is 23rd Dec so after all having a slice I cut the rest into thirds, wrapped in cling film & foil and popped in the freezer. As it’s such a moist, rich cake it is SO GOOD cold from the freezer once it’s thawed enough to slice. THANK you Deb.
I made this awesome cake for my husband’s birthday and it was a hit. We couldn’t gather the family because of Covid-19, so we had to eat half of the cake by ourselves. We are not regular cake-eaters, but we ate HALF the cake in an afternoon and it’s a big cake. It’s that good. I tweaked a few things: A. used coffee instead of water to add depth to the chocolate flavor and dissolved cocoa in it before mixing it all together; B. added vanilla to everything and also a pinch of salt; C. used yogurt instead of sour cream because that’s the closest thing I had at hand. Delicious! I’ll be making it again once we’re allowed to gather at parties and share this deliciousness.
This is a reeeeeallllly delicious cake. It’s dangerous to have around if you’re watching your calories.
Since we were a small group of celebrants during these pandemic times, I halved the recipe, which fit perfectly into two 6-inch diameter cake pans. Even halved, there was plenty of peanut butter frosting and chocolate peanut butter ganache for the cake.
My cake layers did sink a bit in the middle, but perhaps they could have spent a few more minutes in the oven.
Spectacular and very rich. I couldn’t hold a whole piece. Freezing the cakes really helped with the frosting and decorating.
I made the peanut butter frosting, but not for this cake. It made the perfect amount for a double layer (chocolate) birthday cake – meaning that it was enough for the cake with a decent amount leftover for me to spread on graham crackers once the cake was gone.!
I’ve just ended up down a rabbit hole of recipe archives and what a gem to find! This looks wonderfully decadent, can’t wait to try it for the next special occasion.
Love to make this cake for hubbie’s upcoming birthday…. Questions are:
1. Can you make the unadorned chocolate cakes one day earlier?
2. Frosting same day always?
3. Can I make ganache a day earlier ?
4. Can it sit in refrigerator for 5-6 hours before serving?
Thank you! It looks awesome!!
This was perfect! So many compliments. I’d say it serves 20. Can’t wait to make it again!
Sooooooo good! I made the cake layers the day before serving. I only have two 8” pans so baked two layers, let them cool, and then baked the third. Froze the cake layers overnight and then made the peanut butter icing and chocolate ganache the day of. I made a few minor modifications to the recipe: I forgot to add the vinegar to the cake (luckily it still rose!), only had 3 c of powdered sugar for the peanut butter icing (plenty sweet enough and texture still great), and chose to omit the peanut butter from the ganache to have more of a contrast between the chocolate and peanut butter icings. We were only able to eat about 1/6 tonight so freezing the rest to eat in small pieces the rest of the week. Will make again and again!
Do you think I can replace a bit of the half/half of the glaze with some booze? I’m thinking Screwball (a peanut butter flavored whiskey, which is incredible, BTW, if you haven’t had the pleasure of trying it). I’m just afraid adding that to the glaze might wreck the consistency of it.
I could just do a face plant into this cake it’s that good! My husband loves pb & chocolate, so I made this for his birthday. I love to bake, but I’m not a cake decorating person – my cakes always look “homemade” (aka lopsided/messy). So, I baked & froze the cakes (beware: they are fragile when taking them out of the pans) and bribed my 14yr. old niece to do the rest. She’s interested in becoming a baker, so she was happy to make the frosting & glaze. She did an amazing job with the decorating. My hubby was blown away. He declared it to be a restaurant worthy cake. It is definitely decadent…great special occasion cake. Thanks for making me look good :)
For our little family, I halved the recipe and baked it as one 9″ layer. It baked up beautifully tall at 35-40 min. (I took it out at 37 minutes but it probably could have gone a few more). We’re definitely making this again!
I have zero freezer space… What would happen if I didn’t do the freezing the cake step you recommend before taking them out of the pan?
Can I use cream cheese spread in the frosting or does it have to be frozen n the brick form?
Made this cake for my son’s 3rd bday (in the shape of a ‘3’). I loved it, he loved it, we all loved it! So decadent and delicious. The peanut butter frosting is to die for and I will definitely be making it to smother on and elevate all sorts of other treats. Thank-you!
I make this cake frequently and it our family favorite. However I always seem to struggle with the peanut butter frosting. This frosting repels against the cake and it’s like it refuses to adhere to the cake at all. I usually add more peanut butter since we prefer a heavier taste. Could that be the reason? Is it the cream cheese? I’ve tried piping. I can’t seem to get it to stay on. It’s practically to the point of a greasier and softer version of fondant that I’m better off laying strategically on the cake. Help!
I’ve only made this once before and just by showing pictures of it to my friends they demanded I make another one for a birthday party this weekend.
This recipe is incredible and it produced the best cake I’ve ever baked. Only additions I would suggest adding are 1) sprinkling each layer of peanut butter frosting between each cake with chocolate chips to add texture and flavor and 2) placing mini Reeces Cups on top of the ganache as soon as it’s poured for presentation.
10/10 would recommend this cake to anyone who loves chocolate and peanut butter.
It looks amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
This is an amazing cake, loved by my family. I have made it exactly as written several times to rave reviews. This year however, I am dairy free due to lactose intolerance and attempted the recipe with vegan dairy sources. It worked amazingly well! My family said they could not taste the difference. And I can eat it without a stomachache!
I would like to make this dairy free also. Can you tell me what you used for sour cream, eggs, cream cheese, butter & half & half? Thank you very much.
I use dairy free yogurt in place of sour cream, Coconut creamer in place of the half and half, vegan butter, and vegan cream cheese. YMMV whether you can find these at your local grocery store. I am not vegan, so I do use eggs.
Thank you so very much!
Looks soooo good! I have to make it asap. Could you pls explain to me, what’s „half half“? Will need an European Substitute…thanks a lot! Many greetings from Vienna!
It’s considered “light cream” here or approximately 1/3 heavy cream and 2/3 milk. It’s usually used for coffee but you can use whatever you have for cream.
Thank you for the comments about putting layers in fridge and freezer! This cake is so soft, and I needed those extra steps.
Just made it for myself cuz my birthday is tomorrow. Can’t wait to dig in with my family.
Hi Deb,
I’d love to make this for a friend’s birthday. She bakes everyone’s everything, and when I asked who makes her cake, gasp- a supermarket!
Anyhow, how would I scale this down to two 8” round pans?
Thank you!!
I LOVE this cake. I made it with the pb frosting and glaze once or twice, but I’ve made it and used other frostings about a dozen times. It’s always a winner! (paired with almond flavored whipped cream cheese frosting, to die for) And I consider it foolproof. I have a question.. I’ve tried making various other cakes and they always come out too dense. I’d love to have a ‘foolproof’ white or yellow cake, but so far I’ve failed. I’ve make your confetti cake multiple times, and it just doesn’t work for me. Can you or anyone else reading this recommend a no-fail white or yellow cake?? Or tell me why my cakes are always dense messes haha. Halp
Also, I only have 9″ pans, and have made it in both 3 9″ and 2 9″ without adjusting the recipe. 3 obviously yields thinner cakes, but 2 work just fine and bake up beautifully! I think I have also made 2 9″ and some cupcakes, but it does all fit in the pans.
Making this cake is a true test of my patience and amateur baking skills. I say 3 hours later. It looks epic, though.
Looks scrumptious! Why does this chocolate cake look so dark since you don’t mention dark chips or, other dark choc.?
Is it possible to bake it in a smaller portion in my micro-oven for 1 person?
Thanks for your time!
Merry Xmas & Joyous New Year 2023.
Zita
This chocolate PB cake looks awesome & simple to make.
Is it possible to use Greek Yogurt by adding vinegar to make it sour instead of sour cream?
I have made this cake multiple times now and it’s my go-to cake! When i don’t want the peanut butter frosting (which is only a few times), this is my go- to chocolate cake! My husband is making it for my birthday as we speak but we don’t have half ‘n half…. it’s there anything that will work in place of it? I’m out of whipping cream also. We may just have to do it without the ganache but thought I’d ask.
Made this for my birthday (following the rule of “If you want good cake for your birthday, make it yourself”) and it turned out very nicely.
I did 3 9″ layers, and ended up cooking for 20 minutes (the one on the upper rack) and 27 minutes (the ones on the lower rack) and the toothpick came out clean, but the cake was so gooey in texture I think it could have gone a bit longer for better mouth feel. The cake was very soft but not unmanagably so (chilling it in the freezer as recommended). I didn’t bother buttering the parchment paper, it was fine without.
I make 1.5x the frosting, which turned out to be exactly the right amount, though possibly I could have whipped it more. The frosting could use a little more sugar, to my taste, but was still excellent. I did a crumb coat by mixing with a little hot water, and the rest went on easily.
I heated the half and half, peanut butter, and Karo in a saucepan until just simmering and then dumped it on top of the chocolate chips (Guittard 46%) and then whisked it smooth. I used it within a few minutes, onto a cake that had sat in the fridge overnight. The chocolate needed to be scooped towards the edges a little, but dripped beautifully. I only wish I’d been a little bolder and more decisive, so the drips would show as a single layer. But it was still lovely.
Thanks, Deb, for a great recipe!
Hi Deb, I’ve made this amazing recipe three times (and I’ve read almost all the comments), and it always comes out delicious. However, my PB chocolate glaze always dries matte. I have used golden syrup and followed the instructions. Any idea what I’m doing wrong? Thank you!
I LOVE this cake! Can this be adapted for cupcakes?
Yes! I’ve done it many times. Recipe makes 36 cupcakes; bake 19 – 20 minutes. I use a basic buttercream frosting, not the peanut butter, so can’t speak to that.
The chocolate cake was beyond a shadow of a doubt THE best chocolate cake recipe I have ever come across. It was the most moist and powerfully chocolate tasting cake to ever come out of my kitchen. I thought the peanut butter frosting was delicious, but impossible to create a crumb coat on the cake. It was so thick that it wouldn’t glide across the cake when frosting it. Even while scraping it from the bowl, it rolled over itself. So that’s an issue I need to resolve if I am going to make this exact cake again. For the glaze, I used a different recipe I had used before that had a hit of expresso in the chocolate, rather than more peanut butter. The chocolate cake recipe is going to be my “go to” from now on.
This cake is, as the reviews have said, wonderful. It is a perfect birthday celebration cake. I reduced the sugar in the cake by 1/4 cup (50g). I also used coffee, not water, to boost the chocolate flavour. For the peanut butter frosting, I reduced the sugar to 3 cups (340g), and it was still plenty sweet; I think more than that would have been too sweet. The chocolate peanut butter glaze is thick, even with more liquid added, but it still works and feels a bit like a peanut butter cup does, so I wouldn’t change it (though it doesn’t quite drizzle down, you have to sort of coax it down with a spatula). I did use heavy cream in place of the half and half, and added a tad more. This cake also works well as two 8 inch layers, by making 2/3 of the recipe, but I kept 2 eggs in the smaller recipe. This cake is a real winner.
You reminded me how much I love my Sky High recipes! I haven’t cooked from it in years! I followed the recipe exactly and as usual it came out beautifully! Thank you for the notes of refrigeration, it really helped!
A perfectly special cake for my fiancés birthday!!
It’s difficult to divide batter between three pans equally. Might help to have the approximate weight of each portion. I’ll try to get that when I make this later this week. It looks amazing!
This was so delicious – a perfect combination of the cake, frosting, and glaze. It was my first opportunity to bake a birthday cake for my new son-in-law and it was appropriately special.
THIS WAS SO GOOD! I made this for my son’s birthday. Our entire family said it was a make again recipe. I’m excited to be able to have another (small) piece this evening. We did note that the pieces should be small, and ours were, and they were still very rich. Would recommend!
This cake was delightful! I ended up using the King Arthur Chocolate Cake recipe (no sour cream on hand!) but followed the recipe for the frosting and glaze. The frosting was definitely a bit soft and was SO much easier to spread after the crumb coat set in the fridge. The glaze was delicious but a bit thick. To create more elegant dripping, I would recommend a bit more half and half.
Has anyone here every tried to make this into a Yule Log? Any adjustments needed to be made?
I made this for my boyfriend’s birthday over a decade ago and it’s still by far the best cake I ever made him. It came out perfectly! This year I’m trying to make it as cupcakes, do you think that will work if I skip the glaze?
Really tasty cake, very rich. The cake itself is super moist and delicious. The cake is very soft and has a tendency to stick to the pan (even with the parchment paper) so just be gentle with it. Pretty easy to make. Loved it! I think this will become my new chocolate cake base recipe.
I made this, and followed the instructions down to the letter. Everything was going great, until I transferred my second layer over from the pan. It fell apart. It split in half down the middle. I decided to proceed anyway because I thought I could “keep it glued” with the frosting, but then when I put the top layer over it, I had a very uneven cake as the middle layer continued to break. Then the top layer started to break too. The whole thing was just a disaster. The taste is amazing though. But next time, if I ever do try this again, I’ll let the cake cool a lot longer in the freezer. Or just let cool for several hours. And I would scale it back to 2 layers. I do not think 30 minutes of cool down time is enough for this cake.