Peanut Butter Cup Overload Cake
Today, I turn 34 years young, and I have the most serious of serious questions to ask. Does this mean I’m now in my mid-30’s? If the answer is yes, don’t tell me. It dumbfounds me to think that at 34 years old, my mom already had a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old. I barely feel like a grown-up, save for the mortgage payments and general responsibilities that come with not being 18 anymore.
If time is going to keep on moving, we might as well welcome it with open arms and some phenomenal cake, right? I have had this cake on the brain for months, but decided to shelve it and save it for my birthday. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect for me than an overdose of chocolate and peanut butter to the highest degree.
I basically took my favorite chocolate cake, my favorite peanut butter frosting, tons of peanut butter cups, and smooshed it all together into one of the most fabulous cakes I have made to date.
For someone who could eat chocolate and peanut butter for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this cake is a dream come true.
The cake is the same one I used for my Snickers cake last year; do you remember how much I went on and on about how it’s the best chocolate cake ever?
Well, it’s still the best chocolate cake ever.
Case closed.
The peanut butter frosting is a double batch from my chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes, and I love it because it’s silky smooth, super peanut butter-y and not at all too sugar-y. I would love to just eat it from a bowl with a spoon. However, I’ll settle for it on this cake along with tons of chopped peanut butter cups, because, of course, there needs to be peanut butter cups.
I plan to spend my birthday relaxing, going to a hockey game, and eating a ridiculous amount of dessert.
That’s what birthdays are for, right?
One year ago: Italian Easter Pie
Three years ago: Tiramisu Cupcakes
Four years ago: Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Six years ago: Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy
Peanut Butter Cup Overload Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2½ cups (312.5 g) + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (86 g) + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) salt
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ cups (360 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1½ cups (355.5 ml) strong black coffee, hot
- ¾ cup (163.5 ml) vegetable oil
- 4½ teaspoons (4.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- 2 cups (516 g) creamy peanut butter
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) kosher salt
- ⅔ cup (158.67 ml) heavy cream
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ¾ cup (178.5 ml) heavy cream
- 30 miniature peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped, divided
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the insides of the pans, tapping out excess; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer (or large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer), sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for an additional 20 seconds (the batter will be very thin).
- Divide the batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
- Make the Peanut Butter Frosting: Place the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the heavy cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth (do not overbeat).
- Assemble the Cake: If your cakes baked up uneven or have domed on top, level off the tops. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Cover with 1 cup of the peanut butter frosting and sprinkle 10 of the chopped peanut butter cups over the frosting. Top with a second cake layer and cover with another 1 cup of the peanut butter frosting, and top with another 10 chopped peanut butter cups. Place the final cake layer on top face-down. Frost the cake with the remaining peanut butter frosting, finishing it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, until the frosting is set.
- Make the Chocolate Ganache: While the cake chills, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a 4-cup measuring cup; set aside. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Begin whisking the mixture in the center, gradually working your way outward until the ganache is completely smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until it has thickened slightly, yet still a pourable consistency.
- Garnish the Cake: If the ganache was mixed in a bowl, transfer it to a 2-cup measuring cup. Slowly pour the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake, letting it push itself outward and flow over the sides of the cake. Top with the remaining 10 chopped peanut butter cups. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes, giving the ganache a chance to set up. Keep the cake refrigerated, removing it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This is an AMAZING recipe! I feel like a hero every time I bring it to a birthday party.
I have made this cake a number of times, always stay true to the recipe, and it always comes out so deliciously awesome. However, this go around, my ganache was pretty thick from the start and I know what it is supposed to look like. I was wondering if you could tell me what may have gone wrong, I didn’t get water on anything, so I’m completely lost on a reason. Thank you for your time.
I made this cake for Easter (2022) and it was delicicious! Out of this world! I took the rest to work and by lunch time it was gone. Very easy to make and really impressive!
Could we substitute something for the coffee?
Absolute winner!
Always, always a winner. The cake itself is amazing, moist and rich. I usually simplify to a two-layer and (gasp) skip the peanut butter cups but that doesn’t make it any less fun. I’ve baked it more than 6 times now.
Myself I make a slightly larger batch of icing to really indulge in the peanut butter deliciousness.
Make sure to let the ganache really cool down before pouring it; I have a bad habit of being impatient and starting too soon. Then you get streaks of melted icing in the ganache. I also make more ganache, to really cover it entirely.
Just a general heads-up to readers – in case you hadn’t really noticed from the recipe, this is a proper big cake. If you don’t have a lot of people to feed, be prepared to spend a week or so working your way through it. Whether that’s a bad thing is, of course, a matter of perspective. 😉
I’m plotting how to use the cake part in more recipes. Either black forest or mocha…or hazelnut crunch…
And guaranteed: The friends will allllll want to get the recipe.
I’ve made this cake a few times and it’s always a hit!
I’m trying to make it for thanksgiving but have to drive a few hours the day before and was wondering if it can be frozen before hand to keep it fresh? Thanks!
Do you have a tutorial on rotating pans? Just not sure where I should start each pan and how to rotate them (on different levels or just front to back?) Thanks!
Last year I prepared this cake for our sons birthday because he enjoys Reese’s peanut butter cups. This year he has requested it again. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
From a brown eyed baker in Alaska.
My son requests this cake every year for his birthday!
Made this cake for my brother’s birthday back in January.
Well, to be more honest, I used the “triple chocolate cake” from Sally’s Baking Addiction (will fight to the death for that recipe), but used your peanut butter frosting and ganache.
It was FANTASTIC!
Your peanut butter frosting is the tastiest I’ve ever had, and the ganache was the perfect consistency for pouring over a cooled cake.
I garnished the top with crushed Reese’s Pieces and chopped up mini Reese’s cups. This was SO GOOD.
Unfortunately – one member of my immediate family had covid and didn’t know yet, and we all caught covid that day (except for my fiancee – somehow immune).
So this has become known to us as the Covid Cake. I sincerely apologize.
My husband only wants me to make this cake for his birthday! It is also a crowd pleaser. I make as per recipe with a minor decrease in sugar. Thank you for sharing!!
Hands down, this is one of the best, moist, rich, delish cakes I’ve ever made. I made this for my teenager birthday. Everyone invited, highly complimented this cake on how it looked and tasted. For chocolate & pb lovers, you will definitely not be disappointed. I was told to make sure to save this recipe. 😂❤💯 and that’s exactly what I did. Lol
I van use a converter but it wont be exactly the same. Could you make this recipe metric? Please :-)
Loved this cake!! Deliciously sweet and decadent!
incredible recipe and a family favorite. the most moist chocolate cake ever. thank you for sharing!
Delicious recipe! Cake came out super moist. I was sure to spray the pan thoroughly to make sure it didn’t stick. For the coffee, I mixes 2 shots of espresso and the rest light-medium roast since that’s all I had. I’m not a fan of coffee but you don’t taste it at all in the final product.
Cake was super rich, so you don’t need a big price that’s for sure!
My favorite chocolate cake recipe! The Cale stuck to side of pan when I removed it though. Any suggestions?
I’m making this cake for the first time. I’m afraid of cake being too sweet. Would you suggest all natural peanut butter no sugar added instead of the regular peanut butter?
Hi Rebecca, No I do not recommend that. Your frosting will be runny and oily.
Loveeed this cake!!! It was wonderful.
The only problem I ran into was the icing was a little too soft and it melted really fast so transporting the cake may be difficult. How to solve this?
Oh no! It definitely should not have melted. Did you happen to use a natural peanut butter?
Made this cake countless times and making this again today for my friends birthday.this is a no fail recipe.i tried a lot of chocolate cake recipes but i always come back to this.
I love your recipes i am a follower since before you gave birth to your firstborn.
This cake is amazing ! Love it !!! Made it for my son’s birthday! Thank you for sharing!!
Y’all need to remove the ad! Oh my gosh I didn’t see the 2 1/2 cups of flour just the tablespoon. To say the least it was a complete fail! I feel like an idiot! Lol
OMG!!! One of the best cakes I have ever made!
Hello! Do you have the recipe in grams? :)
This recipe is really Good! The only problem I ran in to was the chocolate panache. I got the cream just right on the stove and it melted the chocolate just right, but I let it cool, just for a couple minutes and it didn’t settle over the cake cake the way I had hoped. Maybe I didn’t get it hot enough or maybe I let it cool too long, it just didn’t look the way I wanted it to. The recipe, however is spot on! My technique is just lacking a bit. I’ll try again. Definitely worth it.
I have made this many times over and it is always a hit. I still have friends who talk about it years later. I always share the recipe and those who made it have similarly good results. I plan to use the recipe in cupcakes this weekend. Thanks-this recipe is a winner and my go-to chocolate cake recipe.
My husband found this recipe online and begged me to make this cake. I followed the recipe to the letter, and achieved something I don’t even think can be described as cake. The recipe badly overflowed 8 inch pans (standard 2” depth). Opening the oven to rotate the cakes deflated them, and I ended up with a dented sticky mess with a crunchy volcanic island in the middle. Threw those in the trash, made them again. The second time, I used 9 inch cake pans, which kept them from overflowing. I didn’t open the oven to turn them, just baked them for 32 mins. They turned out better, but still not properly baked— the center is firm and the sides are porous and sticky. I’ve baked hundreds of cakes and have never seen one go so wrong. Don’t know what could’ve gone wrong (twice), but it was super frustrating to waste the ingredients and have a sad cake for my husband’s birthday. The icing is really good though. Next time, I’ll probably use my tried and true chocolate Guinness cake recipe with this peanut butter frosting and ganache.
Oh no, I’m so sorry that this didn’t work out! I’ve made this chocolate cake (it’s my go-to chocolate cake recipe for tons of different things) countless times and that’s never happened to me. It sounds like it rose too much, too fast. Did you happen to use self-rising flour? It sounds like there was too much leavening.
Same thing just happened to me…it over-flowed and my whole house smells…and smoke alarm went off wh3n I op3ned oven. ..I could not rotate cuz it was too liquid and overflowing…once out of oven the all 3 fell…I’ve never had a cake fall or overflow…my daughter said it’s cuz I used “old” cake pans…but between my gramma and my mom, never had a problem with these. No time to start again, so I guess it’s a box of brownie mix with the peanut butter frosting.
My boyfriend has requested this as his birthday cake for 3 years in a row. He’s a peanut butter fanatic and he LOVES it. You definitely need a HUGE mixing bowl for the batter; the first time I made it, I had to transfer it to a stew pot because my bowls were too small. It isn’t a difficult cake to make or construct, just time-consuming–usually takes me all afternoon, but is SO worth it. Very rich and filling–one slice can be a whole lunch for me.
Absolutely deliscious. The frosting and cake work together so well, though they’d also be great on their own. This was beautiful and tasted even better than it looked.
Have you ever done a version with your espresso icing and Heath bars instead? I am loathe to give up the peanut butter, but my husband’s into coffee flavors.
Hi Sara, I have not done that, but it sounds delicious! Give it a go!
Best cake I’ve ever had
This is my favorite go-to chocolate cake recipe. The coffee adds great flavor and keeps the cake perfectly moist. Thank you for my favorite cake recipe.
I made this cake last week and my husband and son (and I) devoured it! My husband said it’s the best cake I’ve ever made – and I make some pretty amazing cakes! He loved it so much I’m making another one today. I did modify the recipe to make it gluten free, using 1 to 1 GF flour and it still came out great. I highly recommend this recipe!
Is the nutrition information provided for 1 serving based off of 12 or 14 servings? Thank you!
Hello! What is needed for high altitude adjustment?
This PEANUT butter cup overload cake looks awesome but I do not like the taste of coffee. I can taste even the smallest amount when I have added it to other chocolate recipes. Is there any substitute I could use in this recipe in lieu of the coffee? Thank you, Becky Burke
P.S. I noticed in the comments your readers say you can’t taste the coffee but is there a substitute?
I’ve made this recipe before and it was such a hit! I’m looking to make something for a friend‘s birthday who has Celiac. Any idea how this recipe would turn out with a gluten free flour blend?
Hi Alison, I personally have not used gluten free flour blend, but I know others have!
I only have natura cocoa powder and Ghirardelli sweet ground chocolate and cocoa. Can I substitute one of these for the Dutch processed cocoa??please help!
Hi Caroline, You can try the natural cocoa, which *SHOULD* work but you may not get the same rise out of the cake.
Do you have high altitude changes for this recipe? I live at 9,000 feet… thanks!
Hi Ingrid, I do not, although I don’t bake at altitude. If you have certain adjustments you always need to make, I would start there. Enjoy!
have you substituted eggs for egg substitute (flax seeds with water, set aside to thicken)? My little one has an egg allergy but would love to make this!!
I never have, but I know other folks have used that substitution. Let me know how it works for you!
I want to make this cake for my daughters birthday, but she hates the taste of coffee, which the recipe calls for. So I’m wondering, does the cake have any espresso taste and I am better of leaving it out? Or is the taste not noticeable? Thanks!
No, it does not. The coffee actually just enhances the chocolate flavor! We just made this cake and it’s phenomenal.
Hi Kaylee, I am not a coffee drinker myself and you definitely cannot taste the coffee in this cake; it just helps to enhance the chocolate flavor. Happy birthday to your daughter!
Hi: I went out and bought all the ingredients, but was unable to find buttermilk (went to a few stores) is there anything i can use in place of buttermilk? By the way i your snickers cake back a few years and it was perfection. wanted to post a picture of it, but no way to do it.
WOW!!! Made this today for adults daughters Birthday. She wanted a peanut butter /chocolate cake from bakery but after I found this I told her I would like to make this for her. The family loved it and I will make again. I only had 3 8” square pans but worked beautifully , Followed recipe exactly as written and results were amazing! And to tell you the truth…. I don’t bake a lot bc we don’t need it and this was definitely out of my wheelhouse. Enjoyed the challenge …..thank you for sharing this! Try it !!!! You will love it!