Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Yield: four 6-inch cake rounds
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 850kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 Tbsp instant espresso powder
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter room temp
- 2 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 2 ¼ cup whole milk room temp
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅓ cup smooth peanut butter*
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and lightly flour four 6- inch cake rounds (3-inch deep). Line with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso powder. Make sure there are no cocoa powder lumps. If desired, sift ingredients together. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Gradually add sugar and beat until lightened in color and fluffy in texture. Scrape down bowl as necessary.
- Add eggs one at a time, ensuring each egg is incorporated before adding the next one. Scrape bowl as necessary to ensure even mixing.
- Add vanilla extract to milk.
- Add ⅓ of dry flour mixture to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until almost combined. Follow with ½ of milk mixture. Repeat and end with last 1/3 of flour mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined and there are no streaks of flour left.
- Divide batter evenly between four 8-inch cake rounds. (If you only have two cake rounds, divide by two and split cake layers after baking.) Use a mini offset spatula to even out the cake batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cakes are done and toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.
- Let cakes cool for 5-10 minutes before unmolding. Let cake cool to room temperature on wire rack.
Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and peanut butter until smooth and combined. Slowly add sifted powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add cream and mix until desired consistency is achieved.
Assembly:
- This recipe makes four 6-inch cake rounds. I only used three cake rounds to build the cake shown in photos above. Slice each cake into 2 or 3 layers, depending on your preference. Save 3 layers and set aside. Punch 3-inch rounds in the center of the remaining layers. (Snack on punch out rounds, or use them to build a tiny snack cake.)
- Use two of the reserved cake layers to serve as the bottom of the cake. Frost and stack cake as normal using the cut cake layers. Fill the cavity with candies of your choice. Place the remaining reserved layer on top. Coat and frost cake as usual.
- If desired, use the unused cake round to make "dried cake crumbs." Crumble cake into small chunks. Bake in a 350 degree F oven until cake crumbs are dried and crispy.
Nutrition
Calories: 850kcal, Carbohydrates: 102g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 48g, Saturated Fat: 27g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 182mg, Sodium: 612mg, Potassium: 374mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 72g, Vitamin A: 1376IU, Vitamin C: 0.02mg, Calcium: 114mg, Iron: 3mg