This super moist dark chocolate peanut butter cake marries the flavors of rich dark chocolate and sweet creamy peanut butter—a match made in heaven if ever there was one. Fill and coat the cake with peanut butter frosting, then cover the whole dessert with semi-sweet chocolate ganache, pipe more peanut butter frosting on top… and get ready to swoon, because this is love at first bite.
Meet our newest most eligible bachelor: the dark chocolate peanut butter cake. This cake is rich. Like, ultra-rich. I think the term “filthy rich” might even apply here.
Here’s Why You’ll Swoon Over This Cake
- Cake crumb is fudge-like and moist, yet a little light and spongey.
- Enjoy extra texture from the chocolate chips. (I insist you don’t leave these out! Taste testers said the chocolate chips are a welcome contrast to the smooth frosting and cake… and I agree.)
- Peanut butter frosting packs BIG flavor.
- It’s sweet, but not overly so; the lightly sweetened peanut butter frosting and dark chocolate ganache is a nice break from cloyingly sweet buttercream.
- Very rich! If you’re going to indulge in dessert, put this layer cake on the menu.
3 Parts to Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Let’s break down each component of this unapologetically indulgent cake:
- Dark Chocolate Cake: We’re starting with the same cake batter from dark chocolate mousse cake and chocolate raspberry cake, both reader favorites. The cake batter is essentially the same as this chocolate cake, but we’re using the sour cream variation because it produces a sturdier cake—certainly beneficial for tall and towering layers.
- Peanut Butter Frosting: Slather on a layer of creamy peanut butter frosting between each cake layer, and use it to apply a crumb coat to the exterior of the cake. It’s a scaled-up version of my original peanut butter frosting recipe.
- Chocolate Ganache: Top the whole cake with 2-ingredient semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I originally frosted this cake with a chocolate buttercream, but all of my taste testers said it was simply too rich and too sweet. “Hard to finish a slice,” most said. With chocolate ganache, one taster distinctly said, “I cannot stop eating this.”
My team and I made at least 6 of these cakes during the testing phase and we had some VERY happy neighbors and friends.
A Cake With Serious Chocolate Flavor
You need a handful of basic baking ingredients for the cake batter. The acidity in both sour cream and buttermilk is a must to provide proper leavening. (If desired, see my Baking Powder vs Baking Soda and Baking with Buttermilk posts for more information.) A touch of espresso powder and hot coffee further enhances the chocolate flavor. The cake will not taste like coffee—rather, the two add depth to the cake’s dark chocolate flavor. Feel free to skip the espresso powder and replace hot coffee with hot water.
- Why hot liquid? The hot liquid encourages the cocoa powder to bloom and dissolve.
Chocolate chips take the chocolate flavor to the next level, and, as I mentioned above, they also supply phenomenal texture. Toss them in a little flour before folding into the batter.
Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
I played around with the ingredients in my usual creamy peanut butter frosting recipe, and made some adjustments in order to yield just the right amount for this cake. You need 5 ingredients:
- Butter
- Peanut Butter: Use the conventional kind, like Jif or Skippy, rather than natural.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: I know you’ll appreciate that there’s less than 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar, a far cry from the usual 6 or 7 cups required for buttercream on a tall layer cake.
- Heavy Cream: You also need this for the chocolate ganache.
- Vanilla Extract
You’ll end up with 3.5–4 cups (about 850g), which is enough frosting for filling, crumb-coating, and some basic piping on the exterior. This frosting has incredible peanut butter flavor because it’s packed with nearly 2 cups of it! There’s no other way to make it. 😉
2 Ingredient Chocolate Ganache
I won’t go into a lot of detail about how to make the ganache because I have a complete chocolate ganache tutorial for you. You need just 2 ingredients: chopped semi-sweet baking chocolate (about 56–60% cacao) and warm heavy cream.
#1 Success Tip: Wait 20–30 minutes for the ganache to thicken before pouring or spooning onto the cake, which is convenient because you also have to wait for the crumb-coated cake to chill.
As you can watch in the video tutorial below, a chilled cake helps set or solidify the ganache as you’re applying it, which helps prevent major drips/big messes.
How to Assemble & Decorate This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
I’m NOT a professional cake decorator and with all of my layer cakes, I prefer simplicity. Let me share how I stack and decorate this beauty:
Assemble: Place the bottom cooled cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Using a large icing spatula or small offset spatula, evenly cover the top with about 1 cup of peanut butter frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and another 1 cup of frosting. Top with the third cake and then spread a thin layer of the peanut butter frosting on top and around the sides as a crumb coat. Run a bench scraper around the cake to smooth it out. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours to set the crumb coat.
Decorate: Pour slightly cooled chocolate ganache on top, then, once again, run a bench scraper around the sides to smooth it out. Finally, fill a piping bag (reusable or disposable) with the remaining peanut butter frosting and pipe around the edges of the cake. I use Wilton 1M for the piped detail. If desired, you can finish off this chocolate peanut butter bombshell with peanut butter cups.
If you’re just learning how to use piping tips, my piping tips guide is a helpful resource, and don’t miss these complete lists of cake success tips and cake decorating tools.
Now it’s your turn! Swoooon.
Recommended Tools
- Stand Mixer or Handheld Mixer
- 3 9-inch Cake Pans (8-inch also works, but I recommend 9-inch for this cake)
- Parchment Paper Rounds
- Large Icing Spatula and/or Small Offset Spatula
- Cake Turntable (optional, I don’t use one for this)
- Bench Scraper
- Piping Bag (disposable or reusable) & Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Cake Carrier for storing and transporting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12-14
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This super moist chocolate peanut butter cake combines rich chocolate cake with creamy peanut butter frosting and smooth chocolate ganache. Crumb-coated cake and ganache must chill before assembling and decorating the cake. See recipe Notes for further information about some ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (62g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder* (see note)
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot water or black coffee*
- 1 cup (170g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (tossed in 1 Tablespoon flour)
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cup (440g) creamy peanut butter*
- 1 and 3/4 cup (210g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 8 ounces (226g) quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped*
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- optional garnish: chopped or mini peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if using) together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or you can use a whisk), mix the oil, eggs, and sour cream together on medium-high speed until combined. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the hot water/coffee, and whisk or beat on low speed until the batter is completely combined. Fold in the flour-coated chocolate chips. Batter is thin and you may see some air bubbles on the surface—that’s normal. You should have about 6–6.5 cups of batter, or around 1400g.
- Divide batter evenly between 3 pans. Bake for approximately 24–26 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely in the pan. The cakes may slightly sink in the middle as they cool—that’s expected.
- As the cakes cool, make the peanut butter frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium high speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the peanut butter and beat until completely combined, about 1–2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to help combine. Mixture will be thin. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and then pour in the heavy cream with the mixer running on low speed. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for 1–2 minutes, or until fully combined and creamy. Add up to 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting seems quite thin. You should end up with about 3.5–4 cups (850g) of peanut butter frosting. This amount makes enough for the filling, crumb coat, and for a little piping on top.
- Assemble cake + apply crumb coat: Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Using a large icing spatula or small offset spatula, evenly cover the top with about 1 cup peanut butter frosting. Repeat with 2nd and 3rd cake layers, spreading about 1 cup of peanut butter frosting in between each layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the top and around the sides as a crumb coat. Run a bench scraper around the cake to smooth out crumb coat. Chill uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours to set the crumb coat.
- As your crumb coat sets, make the chocolate ganache: Place finely chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil—that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2–3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. With a metal spoon or small rubber spatula, very slowly stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Ganache is thin. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream. If it’s not melting, do not microwave it. If needed, see Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache. Once ganache mixture is smooth, let it chill for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator to thicken before spreading on chilled crumb-coated cake.
- Pour/spoon thickened ganache on chilled cake. Smooth the top with an icing spatula and the sides with a bench scraper. If desired, pipe remaining peanut butter frosting around the edge of the cake. I used Wilton 1M piping tip on the pictured cake. Garnish with peanut butter cups, if desired. Serve cake immediately or chill, uncovered, for up to 4–6 hours before serving. Cake can be served at room temperature or chilled.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days. I like using a cake carrier for storing and transporting.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 4. Wrap the individual baked and cooled cake layers tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, then continue with step 5. You can prepare the peanut butter frosting in advance. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using and beat in a little more room-temperature heavy cream to thin out if necessary. You can also prepare the chocolate ganache ahead of time. Refrigerate prepared ganache for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before spreading onto cake. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Large Icing Spatula and/or Small Offset Spatula | Cake Turntable, Cake Stand, or Serving Platter | Bench Scraper | Piping Bag (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Cake Carrier (for storing)
- Cocoa Powder: This recipe requires natural cocoa powder for its acidity, so do not use dutch-process.
- Espresso Powder/Coffee: Espresso powder and coffee will not make the cake taste like coffee. Rather, they deepen the chocolate flavor. I highly recommend them both. If coffee isn’t your thing, you can leave out the espresso powder and use extra hot water instead of the hot coffee.
- Sour Cream: Instead of sour cream, you can use plain yogurt. The cake won’t taste as rich, but it’s a fine substitute.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute if needed. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1/2 cup. (In a pinch, lower-fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Peanut Butter: To prevent the frosting from separating or coming out too thin or oily, use processed creamy peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy.
- Why Room Temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter and frosting mix together easily and evenly. Read more about why room temperature ingredients are important.
- Chocolate Ganache: You can use high-quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips if needed, but when melting chocolate, I recommend using pure chocolate baking bars (chocolate chips have stabilizers). You can find them right next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. I like Bakers or Ghirardelli brands, the ones labeled semi-sweet (56% cacao), which come in 4-ounce (113g) bars.
- Cupcakes: Here’s a very similar recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. Feel free to fill them with the peanut butter frosting (instead of frosting them with it) and top each with chocolate ganache.
Could I possibly half this recipe?? I have a 6×3 circle pan and was planning on cutting the layer in half to have two layers. It’s a small birthday cake for my fiancé that use two will share
Hi Brittany, you can certainly halve it, but that will still be too much batter for your pan. Fill it only half way and then use the leftovers to make a few cupcakes on the side. Or, you can use our small chocolate cake recipe (for 1, 6-inch chocolate cake) and use the frosting and ganache from this recipe. Hope this helps!
I made this recipe for our annual block party, I could have eaten the peanut butter buttercream with a spoon it was so good! Everyone enjoyed it, it will definitely be going into my rotation.
My cake turned into crumbs help! After I got it out of the pan. Did I over cook it?
Hi Jade, it sounds like the cake was likely over baked. Be sure to spoon and level (or use a kitchen scale) to measure your flour too, as too much flour can also dry out the cake.
I love a cake with deep, dark chocolate notes, especially when it isn’t too sweet. This cake is perfect!
Made this cake twice for the last two family events I went to and both times it was gone within hours. It’s been requested next weekend as well. I end up having to make a tad extra frosting to use for piping each time and have used all the frosting in the recipe for the filling.
If I wanted to make a 6 inch cake version of this, would I just use the chocolate peanut butter cupcake recipe? However I noticed that it doesn’t include sour cream or chocolate chips in that recipe. Don’t have substitutions for the cupcake recipe to include or would you just make the is cake recipe and add a few cupcakes?
Hi Kathy, We’d recommend using our dark chocolate cupcakes recipe for the cake batter, and you can follow the bake time and instructions from our 6 inch cake recipes post. Then, you can halve the frosting and ganache from this recipe. Happy baking!
Thank you!
I made this a year ago for my husband’s birthday. He loved it so much he has requested it several times since.
This has been my go to cake a little over a year ago. I introduced it to my family around Christmas and they have all made it multiple times too. It is seriously the best cake I have ever made or tasted.
What difference will semisweet chips make rather than Bakers chocolate
Hi Kathy, are you talking about the mini chips in the cake batter, or the chopped chocolate for the ganache?
Would have been a great recipe if it wasn’t for the fact that I now have to bake new cakes because they stuck to my silicone cake pans.
What a great way to spend the day before my son’s birthday.
Tip, don’t use the chocolate chips.
Hi Victoria, we’re sorry to hear the cakes stuck to your silicone pans. We don’t bake with silicone baking pans, and while they’re usually nonstick, it’s better to be safe with cakes and generously spray and line your pans like we do in step 1 for our metal pans. Hope this helps for next time!
It was a big hit. The cake was moist and chocolatey. The frosting and ganache were easy to make and delicious. I did use the espresso powder and the coffee and it enhanced the chocolate flavor which meshed well with the peanut butter frosting. I served it to some musicians, a discriminating group, at their weekly jam and it left them making beautiful music. I’ll definately this cake again.
Hi Sally, need your help, can I make this to 6 inch size cake? this is my husband’s request for his birthday. Hope you can help me out.
btw, always love love love your recipes! always a hit! ❤️
Hi Sarah, We’d recommend using our dark chocolate cupcakes recipe for the cake batter, and you can follow the bake time and instructions from our 6 inch cake recipes post. Then, you can halve the frosting and ganache from this recipe. Happy baking!
All of your recipes are excellent
I loved this as a cake and so do all my family. However I’d like to make the same as a cupcake batch of 6. How would I do it?
Hi Heather, we’re so glad this is a favorite for you. Here is our small chocolate cake recipe—you’ll see in that post that it yields exactly 6 cupcakes, too. You can use that as the cake, then top with peanut butter frosting and ganache. Hope this helps!
Hi Sally can u double this peanutter cake to make it thicker I made it and it’s real thin
You can use 8 inch pans for thicker layers, the bake time will be longer (we’re unsure of the exact time, so use a toothpick to test for doneness). Thanks for giving it a try!
This cake is amazing. I was thinking of making it with the chocolate ganache from your peanut butter chocolate cake instead of the buttercream. Do you think that would work? Thanks!
Hi Anna! This recipe has both a peanut butter frosting and a chocolate ganache.
Hello! I actually meant to post this under your German chocolate. Sorry! Would it work on that cake? Thank you!!
Are the chocolate chips suppose to melt in the cake? mine did not
Hi Linda! No, the chocolate chips are not supposed to melt.
Why is my cake fulling apart?
Hi Jade, did you use all-purpose flour? And spoon and level it correctly?
This is incredible, even with the following shortcuts I had to take – I didn’t wait for the buttermilk and sour cream to come to room temperature, I forgot the chocolate chips until I put the cake pans in the oven and had to sprinkle them in and gently stir (with no flour mixed in with them), and I took the risk and used store brand chocolate chips to make the ganache. As the recipe indicated, the chocolate chips did not melt easily and I ended up with some surprise chocolate lumps once I cooled the ganache. It gave the cake a textured look that I didn’t mind, and it still tasted incredible. If chocolate chips are all you have, don’t let that stop you from making this cake!
In order to do this recipe for a 9×13 two layer cake, should I double it or do 1 and a half times the recipe?
Hi Noelle, you can bake this cake in a 9×13 inch baking pan. Same oven temperature, about 35-40 minutes bake time. We would make the batter twice for a two layer cake (instead of doubling).
So I ended up just doing 1 and a half times the recipe as well as making it gluten free by substituting the flour, and let me tell you, one of the BEST cakes I have ever had. No one even thought it was gluten free. I love your recipes they never fail me, and this one I will for sure make again.
There are really no words for this cake….if you are a chocolate/pb lover, make this cake. THE BEST as are all her recipes.Thank you Sally for sharing such awesome recipes!
Can i make this into a 6in cake and then cupcakes with the extra batter? If so, about how much batter would you use per pan in 3 – 6″ pans?
Hi Michelle, you can certainly do that. Fill your pans no more than half way, so about 2 cups of batter per pan.
Made this today (exactly as written) …and I’m not really a baker but wanted to make something for my husband’s birthday) and it was a hit…so yummy. It is quite rich so one cake will definitely feed a crowd. the cake was moist and the peanut butter filling was so good. I topped it with crushed peanuts because I didn’t have peanut butter cups…will be making this again!!
This is a fabulous recipe. I was worried it was going to be too rich, but the peanut butter frosting isn’t overly sweet. I didn’t make the ganache but next time will try it. I ran out of parchment paper but sprayed the tins very well and the cakes didn’t stick. The only issue was that even though I covered the chocolate chips with flour, they sunk to the bottom, so when I removed the cakes from the tins, I lost half the chocolate chips.
I used all lactose free products (including making my own buttermilk with full cream lactose free milk and lemon juice). There was only low fat lactose free sour cream at the supermarket but it didn’t affect the cake texture at all – it was still really moist.
Everyone enjoyed this cake and I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing.