Amazing 12-serving Peanut Butter Cake

Oh, trust me on this one—there’s nothing quite as comforting as pulling a perfectly baked cake out of the oven. It smells like home, right? Our family’s go-to celebration dessert, especially when someone needs a hug in food form, is this unbelievably moist **Peanut Butter Cake**. Forget fancy techniques; this recipe is pure magic made from ingredients you probably already have sitting in your pantry. I can still remember sneaking spoonfuls of the batter when I was little; Dad always made this for my brother’s birthday, and the smell of baking peanuts takes me right back to that cramped, happy kitchen every single time.

This isn’t some fussy, temperamental dessert, either. It’s sturdy, deeply flavorful, and delivers serious moisture thanks to a couple of clever little tricks. When I say simple, I mean it. You’re going to end up with the best homemade peanut butter cake you’ve ever tried, and it comes together faster than you think!

Why This Peanut Butter Cake Recipe Stands Out

Honestly, there are a million peanut butter recipes out there, but this one is the champion in my recipe box. It’s just consistently wonderful, and frankly, forgiving! You get that intense, salty-sweet peanut butter punch without any fuss.

• Incredibly deep peanut butter flavor that tastes homemade, not artificial.
• It stays wonderfully moist for days—if it lasts that long!
• You don’t even need a mixer for the main steps; just a good wooden spoon will do the heavy lifting.

If you struggle with dry cakes, this formula is your new best friend. For more general baking wisdom that helps all your recipes, I always refer back to my favorite baking tips guide. See the basics on making you a better baker when you have a minute!

Perfectly Moist Texture Every Time

The secret weapon here isn’t the peanut butter itself, surprisingly! It’s the combination of milk and that final addition of boiling water. I know, boiling water in a cake sounds wild—but trust me, it works. It creates a super tender, even crumb that just melts when you eat it. It ensures you get that perfect, satisfying moistness that makes homemade cake unbeatable.

Simple Steps for a Foolproof Peanut Butter Cake

Don’t sweat this recipe if you’re new to baking layer cakes. We’re starting by creaming butter and sugar, which is simple, and we avoid delicate folding steps. Everything is mixed until just combined. That means you can focus more on enjoying the process and less on worrying about overmixing. You absolutely cannot mess up this Peanut Butter Cake!

Gathering Ingredients for Your Peanut Butter Cake

Okay, pause right there before you look at the directions! You need the right tools and ingredients ready to go. The beauty of this simple Peanut Butter Cake is that nothing is too fussy here. Check your pantry, because I bet you have everything already!

Here’s what you’ll need for the layers themselves: 1 cup of softened butter—and I mean *softened* to the point where your finger leaves an easy indent, not melted. Two types of sugar—granulated and packed brown sugar for that lovely depth. Four big eggs, creamy peanut butter, vanilla, flour, baking soda, salt, and milk.

Don’t forget the two absolute rockstars: the milk and the ½ cup of boiling water. We’ll talk about those in a second, but have your kettle ready to whistle!

Key Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Let’s talk specifics, because this is where the E-E-A-T comes in. That little bit of boiling water we add right at the very end does something magical to the crumb structure. It wakes up the flour and creates a super velvety texture that just dissolves in your mouth. Don’t skip it!

Also, it’s crucial to use creamy peanut butter for a smooth blend, but if you live life on the edge, go ahead and swap in crunchy peanut butter for a fun textural surprise! If you’re out of regular milk and happen to have buttermilk, you can use that instead! Just remember to check out my guide on how to make perfect buttermilk substitutions if you need a last-minute fix.

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Best Peanut Butter Cake

Now for the fun part! If you tried to skip the ingredient gathering, go back right now—your oven needs to be set before you start mixing anything messy. First things first: get your oven preheated to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Don’t wait until the batter is ready; that’s how cakes end up dense.

Next, take your two 9-inch round cake pans and really, *really* grease and flour them well. I always use a little smear of butter followed by a dust of flour, making sure to tap out all the excess. This simple prep work saves you tears later when you flip them out!

Preparing the Pans and Mixing the Wet Ingredients

Start with your softened butter, granulated sugar, and that beautiful brown sugar in a big bowl. This is the most important part for texture—you need to beat this until it’s genuinely light and fluffy, pale yellow, and airy. If you’re beating this by hand, really put some muscle into it! Once it looks fluffy, beat in those four eggs, one at a time. Patience here means you get tiny air pockets right in the base of your cake.

Once the eggs are fully incorporated, stir in the peanut butter and the vanilla extract. Just mix until it looks uniform. It’s going to look stiff, but don’t worry; that’s about to change!

Combining Dry Elements and Creating the Peanut Butter Cake Batter

In a separate bowl—and yes, you need to use a second bowl for this—whisk together your flour, baking soda, and salt. You want these dry elements evenly distributed before they hit the wet stuff. Now for the alternating dance, which keeps this **Peanut Butter Cake** beautiful.

Add about a third of the dry mix, then pour in half of your milk. Mix it gently, just until it comes together. Repeat with another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and finish with whatever dry mixture is left. Remember, we mix until *just* combined. If you beat it too much here, cake gets tough!

The Final Mix and Baking the Peanut Butter Cake Layers

This is the magic step that everyone worries about: the boiling water! Go ahead and stir in that ½ cup of boiling water *carefully*. I mean it, be gentle! The batter will look suspiciously thin, almost like soup, but that’s exactly what we want for that ultimate moist crumb. Pour that runny batter evenly between your two prepared pans.

Pop them into the 350-degree oven for about 30 to 35 minutes. When you check them, use a wooden pick right in the center. If it comes out clean, you’re done! Let them cool in the pans for a nice 10 minutes before you brave the flipping part onto a wire rack to cool completely. Don’t rush the cooling, or they might crack!

Expert Tips for a Flawless Peanut Butter Cake

Even with a simple recipe like this, a couple of little tricks can take your Peanut Butter Cake from good to absolutely legendary. I learned the hard way that rushing the cooling process is just asking for disaster when you go to frost it!

The most important thing to remember is patience after they come out of the oven. Let those layers sit in the pan for the full 10 minutes. They’re quite fragile when hot, and that little bit of cooling time lets them firm up just enough before you turn them out onto the cooling rack.

Cooling and Frosting Your Peanut Butter Cake

You have to let those cakes get completely cold—I mean stone cold—before you even look at the frosting. If there is even a hint of warmth left, your frosting gets soupy and slides right off. If you’re in a hurry, stick them in the fridge for about 20 minutes! As for what to put on top? A classic chocolate frosting is amazing, but my favorite is a simple homemade vanilla or white frosting. It creates such a nice contrast with the deep peanut butter flavor. If you need an easy guide for topping it off, check out my instructions on how to make a simple white frosting.

Variations on the Classic Peanut Butter Cake

This recipe is already fantastic, but you know me—I can never leave well enough alone! Sometimes you want that classic, deeply satisfying Peanut Butter Cake flavor, but with a little extra *oomph*. Don’t feel like you have to stick to the basic recipe card for every single bake!

It’s one of those recipes that welcomes creativity. Whether you want to enhance the peanut flavor, or maybe add a little chocolate surprise in the middle, this batter handles it beautifully. If you’ve ever been tempted to turn this into a cookie-cake hybrid, I actually have a terrific recipe for that too! You can see how I adapt these flavors over at my favorite peanut butter cookie cake recipe.

Texture and Flavor Twists

So, let’s talk additions! If you want a little textural contrast against that super smooth crumb, you have two easy options right away. First, if you didn’t use crunchy peanut butter in the batter itself, you can totally fold in a cup of chopped peanuts while you mix. They hold up really well!

Second, and this is my favorite for weekend baking, toss in a bag of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. They melt just slightly during the bake, creating little rivers of gooey chocolate throughout the cake layers. It turns this into a total dessert powerhouse!

Serving Suggestions for Your Peanut Butter Cake

Once your beautiful Peanut Butter Cake is cool and frosted—or maybe you just dusted it with powdered sugar, which I totally understand—you need the perfect thing to wash it down with! This cake is rich, so I love pairing it with something that balances that heavy peanut flavor.

A tall glass of cold milk is always a classic winner, but if you want to upgrade the experience, a strong cup of black coffee works brilliantly to cut through the richness. For a decadent pairing, try making one of my famous smoothies. Seriously, nothing beats dipping a forkful of peanut butter cake alongside a chilled chocolate peanut butter banana smoothie.

For a quick garnish, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt right over the frosting isn’t just pretty; it really pops the peanut flavor! It’s those tiny touches that make serving homemade cake such a joy.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

So, you have leftovers? Good for you! This Peanut Butter Cake is actually one of the better cakes for storage, which is great news for us busy cooks. Because it’s so moist to begin with, it doesn’t dry out nearly as fast as some of the fluffier sponge cakes.

If you plan on serving the whole cake within two or three days, you can absolutely keep the *unfrosted* layers wrapped tightly in plastic wrap right on the counter at room temperature. If you’ve frosted it with a butter- or cream-based frosting, you’ll need to stick it in the fridge. Make sure it’s covered well, though, because peanut flavors can sometimes pick up weird smells in the fridge!

I find that a covered slice lasts beautifully for about five days in the refrigerator. But let’s be real, it’s best on day one or two.

If you do end up refrigerating a slice—and sometimes they get a little too firm when chilled—don’t eat it straight out of the cold! Take the slice out about 30 minutes before you plan to serve it. If you’re really impatient (and who isn’t?), you can warm a single piece in the microwave for about 10 or 15 seconds. It just softens that butter content right back up, making it taste freshly baked all over again!

Frequently Asked Questions About This Peanut Butter Cake

I know you might have a few questions floating around, especially if you’re trying this rich Peanut Butter Cake for the first time. This recipe is super reliable, but sometimes baking just prompts specific questions! Here are a few things folks usually ask me about getting this recipe perfect.

Can I make this Peanut Butter Cake into cupcakes?

Yes, absolutely! Cupcakes are perfect for quick treats or bake sales. You’ll just need to line standard muffin tins with paper liners. The bake time is much shorter, though. Instead of 30 to 35 minutes, check them around 18 to 20 minutes. Look for that clean pick test, just like with the layers. They fill standard liners about two-thirds full.

What kind of peanut butter is best for this cake?

For the smoothest, most integrated flavor possible, I always recommend creamy peanut butter. It blends into the batter seamlessly, becoming part of the cake’s texture. That said, if you’re like my cousin Maria, you love a good surprise texture! If you want bits of peanuts in every bite, use crunchy peanut butter instead. Either way, just make sure it’s a standard, shelf-stable brand—natural, oily peanut butter can sometimes separate too much during that creaming stage.

If you find yourself with a craving for more peanut butter goodness after this cake, you might want to check out my easy guide for making quick peanut butter fudge!

Estimated Nutritional Data for Peanut Butter Cake

Now, I’m not a certified nutritionist, so please take this bit with a grain of salt! I only run these numbers occasionally because, honestly, when a cake tastes this good, I’m usually not pausing to think about the macros! But for those of you who like to keep track, here is the estimated breakdown based on standard ingredient calculations for one slice of this luscious Peanut Butter Cake.

We are looking at a pretty substantial slice here, serving up about 12 people from the two layers. Remember, since this is a homemade recipe using butter and sugars, treat this as a decadent dessert!

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 350
• Sugar: Likely around 30g (That brown sugar is delicious!)
• Total Fat: About 18g
• Protein: Around 7g
• Carbohydrates: Roughly 45g
• Sodium: 200mg

This data serves as a helpful guide, but keep in mind that actual measurements can shift based on the exact brand of peanut butter or how much extra frosting you decide to slather on top! Enjoy every single bite; that’s my best advice!

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