This chocolate cake peanut butter cup cake is a deliciously decadent chocolate cake topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting and decorated with peanut butter cups for a delicious chocolate peanut butter dessert.
This chocolate peanut butter cup cake is a classic rich chocolate cake topped with peanut butter frosting. We love making this chocolate layer cake for birthdays and it is always a hit when it is decorated with peanut butter cups.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Decadent chocolate cake
- Perfect birthday cake recipe
- Layer cake or sheet cake
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Flour - We recommend using unbleached all-purpose flour for this recipe. Use a gluten-free 1:1 flour blend to make a gluten-free chocolate cake.
- Cocoa Powder - Cocoa powder is necessary to make a chocolate cake.
- Sugar - This recipe calls for cane sugar or white sugar.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Both help leaven the cake.
- Salt - Salt counteracts bitterness to enhance the flavor of the chocolate.
- Eggs - Eggs add structure to the cake batter and add moisture to the cake.
- Butter - This recipe uses melted butter to keep the cake soft and moist.
- Milk - Milk helps make the cake soft. We recommend using whole milk.
- Espresso - This recipe calls for espresso or strongly brewed black coffee to amplify the chocolate flavor.
- Vanilla Extract - Real vanilla extract enhances the flavors of the cake.
- Peanut Butter Frosting - We loving making a homemade peanut butter frosting to frost this cake with. Our peanut butter frosting is made with butter, peanut butter, milk and powdered sugar.
- Peanut Butter Cups - We love to decorate this cake with peanut butter cups. You can even put mini peanut butter cups between the cake layers!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Stand Mixer - A stand mixer helps to easily mix the cake batter together. We also use a stand mixer to make the frosting.
- Cake Pans - To make a 2-layer round cake, we recommend using two 8-inch round pans. You can also use a 9"x13" rectangle pan to make a sheet cake.
- Cake Frosting Kit - We love this cake frosting kit to easily frost a layer cake. It comes with a turntable, icing spatulas, and more tools to make a beautiful layer cake.
How to Make the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake
Step 1. Mix the cake batter together.
Step 2. Pour the batter into two round pans.
Step 3. Bake the cake layers in the oven.
Recipe Serving Suggestions
This chocolate cake recipe makes one 2-layer 8-inch round cake or one 9x13 sheet cake. We love frosting this cake with our homemade peanut butter frosting and decorating it with peanut butter cups.
If you like this recipe, you will love our classic dessert recipes.
- Hummingbird Cake with Buttercream Frosting
- The Best French Silk Chocolate Pie
- Classic Scotcharoos without Corn Syrup
- Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting Filling
- Classic No Bake Cookies
- The Best Key Lime Pie Bars
- Peanut Butter Cake with Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
Expert Tips & Variations
- Line your cake pans with parchment paper. Lining the cake pans with parchment paper makes it much easier to remove the cakes from the pans after baking.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before adding frosting. If you frost the cake when it is still warm, the frosting will melt. Allow the cakes to cool at room temperature or place in the freezer to speed up the cooling process.
- Freeze cake leftovers for later. If you happen to have leftovers, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil to then place in the freezer for later. I store all of my leftover cakes this way and they make for a delicious treat.
How to Store
- Countertop - store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
- Freezer - wrap the cake in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ
Can you make this recipe into a sheet cake?
You can make this recipe into a sheet cake by using a 9x13 baking pan to bake all of the cake batter in.
More Dessert Recipes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake
Yield:
1 cake
Prep Time:
30 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour
This chocolate cake peanut butter cup cake is a deliciously decadent chocolate cake topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting and decorated with peanut butter cups for a delicious chocolate peanut butter dessert.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1.5 cups cane sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 2 sticks butter, softened at room temperature
- 1.5 cups creamy peanut butter
- 7 Tablespoons milk
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and line the cake pans with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the melted butter and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix to combine.
- Pour the milk, espresso and vanilla extract into the bowl of the stand mixer and mix to combine.
- Pour the flour mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer and mix to make a smooth cake batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans.
- Place the cake pans in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of each cake.
- Remove the baked cake layers from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the cake from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- When the cake layers are completely cooled, make the frosting.
- Add the softened butter and peanut butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to cream together.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and the milk 1 Tablespoon at a time, mixing in-between, to form a smooth frosting.
- Frost the cake with the frosting then cut to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 827Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 110mgSodium: 676mgCarbohydrates: 107gFiber: 3gSugar: 83gProtein: 13g
