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Are you looking for a chocolate peanut butter cake that everyone will love? Learn how to make a rich and decadent chocolate peanut buttercream cake that any beginner baker can seriously make.

Chocolate and peanut butter are such a classic combination that you can’t go wrong with this cake.

This chocolate peanut butter cake is made with fluffy chocolate cake layers filled with creamy peanut butter buttercream, chocolate ganache, and peanut butter cups.

You’ll find this chocolate cake recipe that’s insanely delicious. Its base is a devil’s food cake that has brewed coffee in it to enhance the chocolate flavor.

I’ll show you how to make peanut butter buttercream from scratch that’s super easy to make. It’s made with butter, creamy peanut butter, salt, vanilla, powdered sugar, and heavy cream.

The cake is then completed with a drizzle of chocolate ganache and topped with buttercream swirls and peanut butter cups!

Tips for Success:

Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.
In this cake recipe, you need 1 cup buttermilk; if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can easily use 1 cup whole milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to make your own.
To make cake flour at home, mix 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch. Sift or whisk together to get rid of any lumps.
If you need a quick substitute for brewed coffee, use 1 Tablespoon of espresso powder for ⅓ cup of hot water. Mix, and you have instant brewed coffee.
You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month.
You can make the chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate them overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping, and you may need to add more heavy cream to prevent the frosting from being dry.
Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake:

5-quart, Stand Mixer with mixing bowl & paddle attachment
3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-inch cake pans
Offset spatula
8-inch or 10-inch white cake board
Serrated knife or cake leveler
Turntable
Cake scraper or bench scraper
Whisk or flour sifter
Rubber Spatula
Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
Piping Bags (I use reusable silicone bags)
Ateco #806 Round Tip
Squeeze bottle
Cake Stand, optional

Here’s how to make this chocolate peanut butter cake that’s freaking delicious!

Let’s Make Some Cake!

Rich & Decadent Dark Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, stir together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Add the eggs and the vegetable oil on low until well incorporated.
Pour in the buttermilk and add brewed coffee. Mix on medium for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely — wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Silky Smooth Chocolate Ganache

Add semi-sweet chocolate chips to a small microwavable bowl. In another small microwavable bowl, heat the heavy cream to a light simmer for about 1 minute.
Pour hot, heavy cream over chocolate chips. Allow chocolate to melt for 1 minute. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix the chocolate and cream. Mix until its velvety smooth. If chocolate is still not melted, heat in the microwave in 15-second increments.

How to Make Creamy Peanut Butter Buttercream

In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Turn the mixer to low and add the salt and vanilla.
Next, gradually add powdered sugar, followed by the cream. Mix on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add more heavy cream if the buttercream looks dry.
Before using, turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles or use a rubber spatula to push out the air bubbles. (You will need to repeat this step when frosting the outside of the cake and add more heavy cream if buttercream looks dry).

Putting It All Together

Remove the chocolate cake layers from the freezer and unwrap the cake layers. Next, use a serrated knife to cut off the dome of the cakes to make the layers flat and even.
Add a small amount of buttercream onto the center of the cake board.
Layer a chilled chocolate cake, cut side up onto the cake board. Pipe ⅔ cup of buttercream on top of the cake and use an offset spatula to smooth it.
Drizzle chocolate ganache over the top.
Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat the process for another layer—Crumb coat and freeze for 30 minutes. (Check buttercream consistency and re-whip as needed).
On the chilled cake, add a thicker layer of buttercream all around the cake. Then use the offset spatula and cake scraper to smooth the sides.
Starting from the bottom of the cake, hold the offset spatula perpendicular to the board and slowly move the spatula up the sides of the cake as you are spinning the turntable. Continue to make rustic texture lines up the sides of the cake and smooth the top of the cake.
Drizzle chocolate ganache on top of the cake in a grid-like pattern.
Pipe a round swirl, then place a peanut butter cup next to it and pipe another round swirl, continue this pattern around the cake.
Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Happy Decorating!

Watch The How-to Video Below:

Print Recipe

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Rich chocolate cake layers with creamy peanut butter buttercream, chocolate ganache, and peanut butter cups

Prep Time1

Cook Time45

Cooling/Decorating Time2

Total Time3 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Buttercream, Cake Decorating, Cake Recipe, chocolate chip

Author: Katie

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 whole eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup brewed coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces (or 1/2 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 ounces (or 1/4 cup) heavy cream

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1 cup (or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
7 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream
8-12 peanut butter cups, for garnish

Instructions

Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, stir together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Add the eggs and the vegetable oil on low until well incorporated.
Pour in the buttermilk and add brewed coffee. Mix on medium for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely — wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

Add semi-sweet chocolate chips to a small microwavable bowl. In another small microwavable bowl, heat the heavy cream to a light simmer for about 1 minute.
Pour hot, heavy cream over chocolate chips. Allow chocolate to melt for 1 minute. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to mix the chocolate and cream. Mix until its velvety smooth. If chocolate is still not melted, heat in the microwave in 15-second increments.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Turn the mixer to low and add the salt and vanilla.
Next, gradually add powdered sugar, followed by the cream. Mix on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add more heavy cream if the buttercream looks dry.
Before using, turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles or use a rubber spatula to push out the air bubbles. (You will need to repeat this step when frosting the outside of the cake and add more heavy cream if buttercream looks dry).

Assemble

Remove the chocolate cake layers from the freezer and unwrap the cake layers. Next, use a serrated knife to cut off the dome of the cakes to make the layers flat and even.
Add a small amount of buttercream onto the center of the cake board.
Layer a chilled chocolate cake, cut side up onto the cake board. Pipe ⅔ cup of buttercream on top of the cake and use an offset spatula to smooth it out.
Drizzle chocolate ganache over the top.
Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat the process for another layer—Crumb coat and freeze for 30 minutes. (Check buttercream consistency and re-whip as needed).
On the chilled cake, add a thicker layer of buttercream all around the cake. Then use the offset spatula and cake scraper to smooth the sides.
Starting from the bottom of the cake, hold the offset spatula perpendicular to the board and slowly move the spatula up the sides of the cake as you are spinning the turntable. Continue to make rustic texture lines up the sides of the cake and smooth the top of the cake.
Drizzle chocolate ganache on top of the cake in a grid-like pattern.
Pipe a round swirl, then place a peanut butter cup next to it and pipe another round swirl, continue this pattern around the cake.
Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Notes

Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.
In this cake recipe, you need 1 cup buttermilk; if you don't have any buttermilk on hand, you can easily use 1 cup whole milk mixed with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to make your own.
To make cake flour at home, mix 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour and ¼ cup cornstarch. Sift or whisk together to get rid of any lumps.
If you need a quick substitute for brewed coffee, use 1 Tablespoon of espresso powder for ⅓ cup of hot water. Mix for instant brewed coffee.
You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month.
You can make the chocolate ganache and peanut butter buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate them overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping, and you may need to add more heavy cream to prevent the frosting from being dry.
Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake course. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there.