Peanut Butter Cake

Meet the ultimate Peanut Butter Cake. A Milk Bar-inspired cake with three layers of peanut butter cake, peanut butter cream cheese frosting and homemade chocolate cookie crumbs. 

Say hello to my seriously good Peanut Butter Cake ❤️

A three layer pb cake filled with melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese frosting and plenty of cocoa-laden chocolate cookie crumbs. This Milk Bar-inspired Peanut Butter Cake is as delicious as it is p-r-e-t-t-y.

If you can eat peanut butter with a spoon and adore all things cake AND cookie, this is the perfect dessert for you.

Last month, my husband and I went on holiday to Los Angeles and New York. And one of the BEST things we did on the trip was a cooking class at Milk Bar in Los Angeles.

We had so much fun making one of their classic birthday cakes and their birthday cake truffles. I got to wear a pink headband, play with frosting and sprinkles, and eat cake for days. It was the BEST.

I was so inspired after learning how they make their famous naked cakes, and I knew the minute I got home I wanted to create my own version. And here she is 👇🏻

My perfect Peanut Butter Cake. The cake itself has a boatload of peanut butter baked right into the batter, so it’s moist, soft and sweet (but not too sweet). But let’s be real – the star of the show is that peanut butter cream cheese frosting.

You’ll want to face plant into the bowl of frosting alone. The cream cheese makes it extra luscious and there’s a heap of peanut butter in the frosting as well. Ya know, because this is a serious Peanut Butter Cake.

One thing that Milk Bar does so well, is adding texture to their cakes. So instead of your cake being soft with soft frosting, they add a crunchy element by making their own cookie crumbs. I’ve used cookie crumbs in many of my cakes before, including my Hummingbird Cake and my Death By Chocolate Cake.

They’re the best. I can (and do) eat them by the handful.

So this is how it goes – peanut butter cake, a little peanut butter frosting, a handful of chocolate cookie crumbs, more peanut butter frosting. Repeat.

HOW TO MAKE A THREE LAYER PEANUT BUTTER CAKE

Milk Bar bake their cakes in a quarter sheet pan and then cut out the three layers. This means your cake bakes very evenly and quickly. You also don’t have to clean three baking pans – win win.

You will need:

• One quarter sheet pan (9 by 13 inch)
• 6-inch cake ring
• A sheet of acetate (at least 6 inches high)

What size is a quarter sheet pan?

9 inch by 13 inch.

So how do you get three layers out of one quarter sheet cake?

You cut out two perfect 6 inch cake layers. You can use a 6 inch cake cutter or do it by hand. For the final layer, you can cut two semi-circles out with the leftover cake and then join them together when you assemble the cake. Let me show you >

What if I don’t have a quarter sheet pan?

If you don’t have a quarter sheet pan and you don’t want to buy one, you can make this cake as a regular three layer 6 inch cake or a two layer 8 inch cake.

How do I assemble the cake?

You will need a cake board, a 6 inch cake ring and a sheet of acetate. You need to place the acetate inside the cake ring and then build the layers. Once the cake is set and stable, you can remove the cake ring and the acetate sheet.

What order are the layers?

1. Peanut butter cake (the two halves)
2. Cream cheese frosting
3. Chocolate cookie crumbs
4. Cream cheese frosting
5. Peanut butter cake
6. Cream cheese frosting
7. Chocolate cookie crumbs
8. Cream cheese frosting
9. Peanut butter cake
10. Cream cheese frosting
11. Chocolate cookie crumbs

MORE LAYER CAKE RECIPES TO TRY:

• Chocolate Fudge Cake
• Neapolitan Cake
• Carrot Cake
• Chocolate Chip Cake
• Black Forest Cake

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.

Let’s Bake

Peanut Butter Cake

Yield Serves 12–14 1x

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 17 reviews

Prep: 120 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 2 hours 30 minutes

A tall three layer 6-inch Peanut Butter Cake with cream cheese frosting.

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Ingredients

Peanut butter cake

• 230 grams (1 cup / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 180 grams (1 cup) brown sugar
• 100 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar  or granulated sugar
• 250 grams (1 cup) smooth peanut butter*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 280 grams (2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 180 ml (3/4 cup) full fat or whole milk

Peanut butter cream cheese frosting

• 250 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) full fat block cream cheese, room temperature
• 115 grams (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 125 grams (1/2 cup) smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 435 grams (3 and 1/2 cups) icing sugar or powdered sugar
• 2–3 tablespoons full fat or whole milk

Chocolate cookie crumbs

• 105 grams (3/4 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornflour or corn starch
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

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Instructions

1. Peanut butter cake
   Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a quarter sheet pan with baking or parchment paper.
2. Place butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy. Add peanut butter and vanilla and mix together until smooth and combined.
3. Next, add eggs, one at a time. Beat on a low speed to combine. Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled – this is normal.
4. Add baking powder, salt and half of the flour, followed by all of the milk. Beat on a low speed to combine, then add remaining flour. The cake batter should be thick and smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave in pan to cool completely.
6. Chocolate crumbs
   Next, make your chocolate crumbs. In a large mixing bowl, add plain flour, sugar, cornflour and cocoa powder. Whisk together. Melt your butter and add it to the mixture, stirring until it forms wet crumbs.
7. Pour this mixture out onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and spread out into one layer. Bake for 10 minutes, then leave to cool completely.
8. Peanut butter cream cheese frosting
   To make the cream cheese frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat briefly.
9.  Then, add sugar, 1 cup at a time, along with 2 tablespoons of milk, and continue to beat until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk.
10. Assemble the cake
    Gently remove cooled cake from pan and remove baking paper. Cut out three 6-inch layers using a 6-inch cake ring. Note the diagram above – you’ll get two whole layers and then two halves.
11. Place a 6-inch cake ring on a cake board or plate. Line the inside of the cake ring with a sheet of acetate. Place two half pieces of cake at the bottom. Press down the cake firmly. If there are any gaps, use extra cake scraps to fill in the holes and press down very firmly to make one even layer.
12. Next, add a thin layer of cream cheese frosting. Scatter over 1/3 of the cookie crumbs. Add more cream cheese frosting on top.
13. Add another layer of peanut butter cake on top and press down firmly. Add more cream cheese frosting. Add another 1/3 of cookie crumbs. Add more creamy cheese frosting on top.
14. Add final layer of peanut butter cake on top and press down firmly. Add the remaining cream cheese frosting and scatter over the final chocolate cookie crumbs.
15. Place cake in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set. Cut and serve.

Notes

*Peanut butter: I recommend using a processed full fat peanut butter like Bega, Jif or Skippy.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 slice Calories: 769 Sugar: 58.1 g Sodium: 242.8 mg Fat: 44.8 g Carbohydrates: 84.9 g Protein: 12.2 g Cholesterol: 120.4 mg

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: DessertCuisine: American

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Jessica Holmes

Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.