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!
We LOVE this cake. My son has requested it for his birthday cake for so many years now that I’ve lost count. Sometimes I make buckeyes and to add to the top. I also use this chocolate cake recipe as my base for other cakes because it’s so delicious.
I made this cake for the second time over the weekend for a family birthday celebration. It was a hit! This is a moist cake paired with the perfect peanut butter frosting. The ganache just puts it over the top! The recipe is not hard, but it does take some time to pull it all together. When I was checking my ingredients on hand, I missed that the heavy cream is used twice – fortunately, I had enough in the fridge without making a second grocery run. If you bake for a Reese’s lover, you have to try this recipe!
I have more of question than a comment. The cake just came out of the oven. I had to bake it 10 minutes longer than indicated. I noticed as it was baking that I missed the extra tablespoon of flour and cocoa. I noticed that my cake has sucken slightly in the middle and it seems to have crater like center. Could this be due to the missing tablespoon of flour and cocoa? Or could it be something else? It smells really good. I have yet to taste it since it just came out. Please let me know what you think may have gone wrong. Thanks!
I just wanted to add an update. In
spite of my mistakes, the cake
turned out amazing. I agree with
the others that this is the best
Chocolate cake recipe I’ve ever
had. I also read on Sally’s baking
addiction that that sometimes
with chocolate cake recipes the
middle can sink slightly due the
amount or cocoa powder (I believe)and that this is not an issue. I realized that too since my cake was perfect and truly the most moist chocolate cake ever.
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!
I made this 4 years ago and couldn’t remember where I found the recipe. After sifting through tons of peanut butter chocolate cakes I finally found your recipe again, just in time for my dad’s birthday! For everyone asking about strong coffee, I think the stronger the better here because it really adds dimension to the flavor of the cake and cuts into the sweetness. The peanut butter buttercream and chocolate ganache more than balance out the bitterness of the coffee. Great recipe!
Making this for my husband’s birthday and I wondered by “strong” black coffee, does it matter what kind of coffee is used? And when you make the coffee, do you use more than the normal amount of grounds to brew it? Thanks so much!!! I’ve made your Guinness, Bailey’s and Jameson cupcakes every year for St. Patrick’s Day since my husband and I started dating years ago. I swear he would’ve proposed to the cupcakes over me if he had the option.
Hi Mallory, I just use our regular coffee. I think you would not want to use a watered down or light brew.
OMG this cake is phenomenal! I hate coffee so even with all the reviews I was skeptical that it I would be able to taste it, but you couldn’t taste it at all. The chocolate cake was so dark and moist and light-not dense at all. The peanut butter frosting was fabulous and the ganache on top made it taste like a peanut butter cup. I brought this to work for a birthday and it got rave reviews for all. This one is definitely a keeper. I made it in 3, 9 inch pans with no issues. My cakes came out super moist and sticky so were a little hard to frost, but tasted amazing so I’m not going to complain about that.
This cake is wonderful! Made it over the weekend for a party and everyone loved it. It was beautiful and the taste was heavenly. Thank you very much for this special cake recipe.
This has become a family and friends favorite! Making it again for my friends birthday this week, Thank you! It’s out if this world delicious xo
Question: did you scoop the flour or spoon and level?
I always weigh!
Made this for my wife’s 50th. Absolutely delicious! One of the best cakes EVER made. Not too sweet either. Had it for breakfast.
I’ve made this cake multiple times for different occasions because I know this recipe will make the consumers’ eyes swirl! It never fails to get raving reviews.
I normally don’t leave comments on recipes I find online, but I HAD to for this chocolate peanut butter cake. OH MY GOD. The cakes came out beautifully (I used 3 9-inch pans, which worked fine for me) — they were moist, but sturdy enough to work with, and tasted great! The icing was also spectacular, and with the ganache on top it was perfection. I make a cake for my husband every year for his birthday, and usually we will have about half a cake left over after the party. This year, there was NOTHING left. Everyone raved about it, asked for the recipe, and said I could sell it! Ha!
If you are looking for a chocolate peanut butter cake, then this is it. Probably the best cake I’ve ever tasted. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
I’m in the middle of making this for Thsbkgiving tomorrow. Does this need to be refrigerated ?
Hi Shannon, Yes, per step #8 above, keep the cake refrigerated and removed about 20 minutes prior to serving.
Do you have this recipe with weighted measures?
Yes, just click “metric” underneath the list of ingredients.
Yes! 100% delicious. This was a huge challenge for me as I refer to myself as a cook not a baker… followed the steps to a T and it was AMAZING!!!!!!
My go to chocolate cake recipe! The cake is soft, moist & dense without being like a brownie. It’s amazingggg. The frosting is really good too and compliments the cake however serving with vanilla ice cream or milk isn’t a bad idea 😉 I’ve served this cake a few times at parties & I always receive compliments.
I made this for a friend’s son’s birthday and they all agreed it was the best cake they had ever tasted. Only change I made was to omit the candy in between the layers – I just sprinkled on top. Thanks for a great recipe!
I have made this cake 5 or more times and love it every time. The cake comes out moist and is so delicious. The peanut butter frosting and ganache make this cake so good.
I love this cake so much. I made it for my husband’s birthday a couple of years ago, and our friends still talk about it as the best cake I’ve ever made.
This has become our family’s favorite cake! I love it because it is not too complicated & has turned out great every time I have made it. I would like to convert the recipe to a sheet cake for my son’s graduation party. What are your suggestions?
Hi Mary, I think it would be too much batter for a 9×13-inch, and I’m not sure how it would work in a half sheet pan. Might just need to do some trial and error; I’ve only ever done a layer cake.
You can bake any cake into a sheet cake or 9×13 cake pan. What you do is simply make sure you don’t fill the pan more than 1/2 to 2/3 full. Any more than that and you will likely have a mess in your oven with run over. Hope this helps.
Wow! Made this cake yesterday for my husbands birthday, it was awesome, the cake was so moist and delicious, I was worried it would be way to sweet but it was just perfect, and it’s a beautiful looking cake.
Made this cake for my coworker’s promotion. It was the bomb. Had a great salty sweet thing going on. Thx for such a great recipe.
We made this cake for a 4-H cake auction and it was a show stopper! It looks beautiful and is delicious. My boys now request this cake for there birthdays. Thank you for such a great recipe!
I made this cake. It turned out GORGEOUS. The frosting was a perfect consistency, the cake delish and rich. I wish I could share a picture. It cam out so yummy looking.
Best cake I have ever made. My son requested a cake like Reese’s pieces for his 14th birthday, and as I was looking around I found your recipe. I am so glad I did. The only minor change was leaving out the candy in between the layers but I decorated the top with the mini cups. The cake is so moist and delicious. The perfect texture. The frosting was so perfect as well. I was so worried at first with the amount of sugar, but it was not oversweet at all. And that’s coming from someone who loves her coffee black. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe! The frosting, proportions and presentation was great! I also liked how it wasn’t overly sweet.
But the cake came out dry and bitter. I tested it at 20mins and it was done, so it definitely didn’t need the extra time. If I make this again I will check the cake sooner and maybe cut back on the coffee?
Looks incredible, but can i reduce the sugar without hurting the recipe?
Hi Donna, I haven’t tried reducing the sugar, so I couldn’t say 100% for sure.
I have been making this for my husband’s birthday for about 4 years. I always reduce the sugar in the cake by half. Turns out great. You don’t need a real sweet cake with the frosting and chocolate on top. .
I am hoping to make a 6 inch, 2 layer cake? Do you think it would work to half the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Margaret, Yes that should work just fine!
Your REESE cup chocolate cake says 3 cups of sugar and that’s more than any cake I’ve ever made. Is that correct? I ‘m taking for thanksgiving so don’t want to screw it up
Hi Jeanne, Yes that’s correct!
Thank you for this awesome recipie! I made it for my dad’s birthday and it was a hit! So fluffly and moist, a great balance of taste, not too sweet and just enough chocolaty. Delish! Now, I must find an occasion to make it again. :)
I made this cake once and everyone loved it! I want to make it again as a 2 layer cake this time, because it’s for a smaller group. I was thinking I’d use the extra batter for cupcakes, but I saw other comments that you said you’ve not had good luck using this batter for cupcakes. Can you tell me how I’d reduce the recipe so I’d have just enough for a 2 layer cake? Would I reduce the recipe by 1/3? Math is not my strong suit 😂 Thanks!
Hi Mary, I’ve had some folks comment that they’ve had good luck using this recipe for cupcakes, so maybe it was just me! But, I think if you’re going to go ahead and make cupcakes anyway, you should just make the full version of the cake and freeze leftovers for an emergency :)
Thanks. I tried to improvise. I did 2 layers in 9 inch pans and did a mini cake in a deep 6 inch pan. The mini cake came out fine. I over-filled the 9 inch pans and they overflowed in the oven! What a mess!!! But, I was able to salvage them and make the cake, and everyone still loved it!
Made my Gluten Free go-to chocolate cake and then used this frosting and ganache to complete. HUGE hit!! Frosting is the perfect amount of peanut buttery, not too sweet fluffy goodness! Will make again, and again!
Just curious if the cake recipe could be used for cupcakes? I made the recipe as written for my husband’s birthday cake a few weeks ago and it was the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever had. I’d like to use for my son’s birthday cupcakes this weekend, if it was thought to work well.
Hi Nancy, I have never had luck using this batter for cupcakes, although some commenters have mentioned that it has worked for them. I use this as my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe (can omit the ganache filling for regular cupcakes): https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe/
Nancy, to use for cupcakes, simply fill your cupcake pans/papers not more than 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for about 15 minutes.
I have used this cake recipe for almost every one of my chocolate cake orders because it always kept the customers coming back for the same cake! But now someone is ordering cupcakes and i wanted to use this recipe…has anyone tried putting the batter into cupcake tins ? Wondering if batter would be too thin…? Helllpp!
Hi Lizzy, I have never had luck using this batter for cupcakes, although some commenters have mentioned that it has worked for them. I use this as my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe (can omit the ganache filling for regular cupcakes): https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe/
Hi Michelle,
I was wondering if you could tell me the nutrition values of the cake?
Thanks!
Unfortunately, I do not have them calculated, but there are many free resources online where you can input a recipe and get the nutritional value. I think a popular one is MyFitnessPal.
Made I think today for my wife’s 39th bday. Turned out great. Wish I could post a pic! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome James! What a wonderful husband you are, and happy birthday to your wife!
Hi I just made this cake for an office birthday and I was very careful with the measuring. But the cake overflowed all of the oven in the first 20 minutes. Is the 1 tablespoon of baking soda correct or do you know what else would have gone wrong.
Hi Nathalie, The baking soda measurement is correct. Are your pans at least the standard 2 inches high? That’s the only thing I can think of that might cause the batter to overflow. I’ve made this chocolate cake dozens of times and have never had an issue.
Hi! I have made this cake countless times and absolutely love it! I was wondering if it can be made into a 9×13 layered sheet cake? I know you have a recipe for chocolate sheet cake, but I prefer dutch chocolate for a deeper flavor. However, this cake has a pretty delicate crumb, in my opinion, so I’m not sure it would lend itself well to be a rectangular cake. Thoughts?
Hi Daniela, I haven’t made this in a 9×13 pan, so I couldn’t say for sure, but I do think the texture would be okay!
Amazing. Made it over the weekend for my daughter’s 13th birthday.
The whole family are peanut butter dessert fanatics. This was a HUGE hit. My wife pointed out that it tasted like a funny bone and I agreed, but much much better.
I would highly recommend.
Michelle, your recipe has made a baking STAR with my family and friends. I think I have made your recipe about 10 times now. Thank you, thank you for sharing. I was wondering if you have ever made this cake in a 9×11 pan, and if so, how did you adjust your recipe and the baking time. I have been asked to make this cake for a 60th birthday party and I wanted to make if more like a sheet cake. Thanks for your advice.
Hi Kim, That’s awesome! I’m so glad this has been enjoyed so much! I think this is too much cake batter for a 9×11 pan. You might need to go to a traditional half sheet of 13×18 for this amount of batter. You’ll of course need to reduce the baking time quite a bit if you go that route. Enjoy!
This cake is AMAZING. I made it for a friend’s birthday and immediately had requests to make it again. I’m currently doing a cupcake version, and another full cake will be made tomorrow. It’s dense and decadent- not for the feint of heart!
Made this cake for my partners birthday and it was amazing. Such a hit at our gathering – we were handing it out to all the people in the bar who were eyeing it up.
Only place I went a little wrong was letting the ganache cool a bit much. It still was pourable but it was too far gone to really flow off the the cake.
I also used chunky PB because it was what we had in the cupboard and it was really great – depends on what you are into.
Can this recipe be used to make cupcakes?
Hi Stephanie, I have not tried it, but I do swear by these particular chocolate cupcakes (minus the ganache center): https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe/. Perhaps you could use them to recreate a cupcake version of the cake!
Excellent recipe. I think it is even better the second day!
Made this cake for my sons birthday. Huge success. Nothing but compliments. The cake was so moist….Had to cook for about ten minutes longer but the cake was perfect. Already having people request I make this again. ..Cut into thin slices a very rich and decadent cake
Could you please convert this recipe into ounces or grams. Thank you.
I’m very new to baking but decided to jump in with this cake over the weekend—it was excellent! One tip I received from a more experienced baker was minding the temperature of the coffee so that the eggs don’t cook. Overall, the flavors were awesome. I loved the chocolate cake, which was very moist—I’ll definitely try the chocolate recipe with other frostings as well.
Hello! I am making this cake tonight for a party tomorrow. How would it keep overnight? Should I put it in the fridge, or on the counter? I was also a little confused about the bake time. How long after the initial 20 minutes? Thank you! I can’t wait to make this!
Hi Anna, You can definitely keep it on the counter once the ganache has set; if you keep it refrigerated, just let it come to room temperature before serving. After the initial 20 minutes, it is about 12 minutes. Enjoy!!
The peanut butter frosting was more than I could bear, but the cake itself was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had; I’d definitely make that again, omit the frosting, and ice it with just the ganache. In fact, I’m going to try that today, using Frango mints in the ganache. Merry Christmas!
Hands down the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. I have made this cake several times with different icings and inevitably everyone asks me for this recipe telling me it is the best chocolate cake they have ever had as well..
YAY! So awesome to hear! Thank for stopping back to share your review!
Im not really a coffee lover …if i leave the coffee out do i need to replace it with something else?
Hi Karen, I don’t like coffee either, but it plays a pretty significant role in some chocolate recipes, as it helps to really enhance the flavor. You can’t taste it in the cake at all. If you really don’t want to use it, you can substitute water, but the chocolate flavor will be less rich and intense.
AMAZING…….my husband loved it!!!!
Can you make this without the coffee? I assume it adds some moisture and richness but would rather not use it for the kids. Any ideas?
Hi Amy, The coffee really helps with moisture and enhancing the chocolate flavor. If you’re concerned about serving to kids, I would just recommend using decaf.
This is the best cake my family and I have ever tasted!! I could eat the PB icing and the ganache by the bowl full… but I resist temptation! This is the cake we bake for our family birthdays throughout the year. I’ve also baked it for friends and their kids, for their birthdays and I give out the recipe a lot. Since peanut butter is my 19 year old son’s favorite food, he was so happy that I discovered this recipe! Thanks so much! We love it!
You’re welcome! So thrilled that your family has been enjoying this cake!
This may well be the best cake I’ve ever had.. and I’ve made a lot of cakes as a baker/pastry chef over the years. I’ve been having peanut butter cravings so I went on the search for a chocolate/peanut cake recipe and stumbled across this recipe. It’s a bit labor intensive, but the result is so worth it! All of the components balance so perfectly from the texture of the firm but moist chocolate cake, to the light peanut butter mousse complemented by the smooth ganache. I was a bit hesitant about a ganache poured on top of a mousse (also that ganache would generally just make the cake too rich) but I was delightful proven wrong. This recipe is a masterpiece and I can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Susanna, I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed all of the aspects of this cake! Thanks for stopping back to share a review!
I think the baking soda measurement is incorrect- I’ve made this twice- and it is outrageous!!!- but the TABLESPOON of baking soda I believe causes the cakes to oveflow out of the pans in the oven. It’s happened twice to me. Anyone else? I also used 9in cake pans as I didn’t have 3 x 8. Not sure how all the batter would fit into 8in?
Hmmmm I’ve used this chocolate cake recipe literally countless times for tons of different cakes, always in 8-inch pans, and I’ve never had it overflow the pans, so I don’t think the baking soda measurement is incorrect. I’ve had dozens of people make and review this cake, as well as others using this same chocolate cake recipe, and I’ve not heard of the batter overflowing.
Thanks Michelle- I also wanted to say the cake truly is amazing! Everyone always compliments it and the flavors/richness are beyond compare!!… i’ll continue to check my oven temp/calibration. I agree- I see all the reviews and no one else having this problem has me perplexed. Perhaps it’s an altitude issue as i live in denver.
I’m a big fan of your website and I’ve made numerous recipes (all with great success) but I feel I have to leave a review for this cake because it is INSANE! I made it for my chocoholic friend last night and she said it was the best cake she has ever had – and beautiful on top of that! I did have to change it slightly because my veg oil went rancid so I used melted butter instead and I didn’t have 8 in round pans so I use two 9 in round pans and halved the layers to make a 4 layer cake but it was still delicious & stunning! Thank you for posting this greatness!!
Awww so awesome to hear you gals loved it!! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop back and share a review!
Substitue for coffee? Don’t like its flavor!
Hi Nita, You can’t taste it in the recipe (I’m not a coffee fan, either), but it really, really helps to enhance the chocolate flavor. If you must skip it, substitute water.
Just want to say that I love the chocolate cake component in this recipe, and have used it more times than I can count in the last nine months as I experiment with my own baking business.
For my last order I needed two decorated cakes for an event, one gluten-free. I tried a number of gluten-free recipes and did not like the texture. I finally decided to try the King Arthur cup-for-cup gluten-free flour mixture in this recipe–and success! The texture is different, but not in an unpleasant way, it just seems like rich fudgy-ness. I froze the layers completely before frosting them, and I think that helped because they might have been too soft. I was worried they would be soggy when they thawed, but nothing bad happened at all. Many people were able to enjoy a tasty and pretty cake by just switching out the flour in this recipe.
Thank you for sharing your best chocolate cake! Love your whole page!
Hi April, Thank you SO much for letting us know about the gluten-free flour conversation, I’m sure that will be so helpful for so many!
Hi there! May i omit coffee?
Hi Shah, The coffee really helps to amplify the chocolate flavor, so I generally don’t recommend omitting it (if caffeine is the issue, you can use decaf), unless you absolutely have to for dietary or religious purposes. If so, then you can substitute water.
Have you ever used Natural creamy peanut butter? I didn’t have regular creamy peanut butter so used Skippy Natural creamy peanut butter instead..
To me, It tasted too much peanut butter. Maybe because it is ” Natural” one????
Do you use regular peanut butter, correct?
Thanks
Hi! I don’t ever use natural peanut butter for baking, as it can be too oily. I always use “regular” peanut butter.
Can I make on a Sunday evening to take to work on a Monday?
Yes, absolutely!!
PEANUT BUTTER CUP OVERLOAD CAKE
Could you please tell me what peanut butter cups are as I have never seen them in Australia. Is there an alternative please?
These are peanut butter cups: https://www.hersheys.com/reeses/en_us/products/reeses-peanut-butter-cups.html
There really wouldn’t be a substitute, although you could use your favorite chocolate/peanut butter candy.
Thanks for sharing this recipe I’ve made it 3 times now and it’s one of the best chocolate cake recipes I’ve tasted! My son loves it. Quite difficult to concert cups to grams at first but the results are well worth it! X
Does the cake have a strong coffee flavor? I want to make it for my teenage sons, so I don’t want a strong coffee flavor.
Thanks!
Hi Jill, It does not have a strong coffee flavor at all, it just enhances the chocolate flavor. And if you’re concerned about caffeine, you could certainly use decaf.
Thanks! I am making it right now!
I love this cake! I made for a school event and it was loved by everyone! It is really fluffy and rich. I use this cake recipe without the penutbutter frosting as my go to chocolate cake. Love it so much. I will be making this cake many times in the future!
This sounds heavenly!I am addicted to chocolate&P.B.I order a 36 pk.of P.B.cups every month.(Regular size w/2 cups per pack.They rarely last me 2 wks.! I do not share????! I have Celiac disease so I was wondering if Gluten free flour would work in place of regular flour?I need to make this ASAP!! B.T.W.,you’re never too old to be a kid????????????????????…
Hi Kelly, Mmmm peanut butter cups! I’ve never tried this recipe with gluten-free flour, so I couldn’t say for sure. If you experiment, let me know how it turns out!
Would it work to bake and freeze the layers this weekend, then defrost and assemble and frost the following weekend?
Hi Maria, Yes, you can definitely do that!
This cake gets rave reviews every single time I make it (I’ve made it 4 times and then today again…! ) I did swap out the pb cups for crushed prezles in the layers – some of my guests thought the cake was good but very rich so the salt cuts this down a little… all in all, nobody ever believes that I made it – is a great cake for birthday’s and special celebrations!
would this recipe also work to make them as cupcakes? any ideas on how to make it a little better than just a cupcake? Also instead of your chocolate topping recipie i used a melting chocolate that dries hard. Would love for that to ne the topping of the cupcakes still also
Hi Brittney, I’ve tried to convert this recipe to cupcakes a number of times, and they just never seem to work out. If you’d like to make chocolate cupcakes, I’d recommend this recipe:
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe/
Hi, I don’t have Dutch processed cocoa. I have Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa at home. Does it matter a lot if I don’t use Dutch kind? This cake sounds delicious btw!
Hi Frankie, Both baking soda and baking powder are used in this recipe so you MIGHT be okay with using regular unsweetened cocoa powder (usually Dutch reacts with baking powder and unsweetened reacts with baking soda). I haven’t made this swap so I can’t guarantee that the rise won’t be affected… please report back and let me know how it turns out!
I made this recipe. I had tons of compliments on the product, however, the cakes dropped in the center while baking. I ended up omitting the Peanut butter cups, because it just seemed to be too much. Also, the for the frosting, I would increase the butter and decrease the peanut butter because it was super sticky and not really fluffy. I also would find another ganache recipe. This one was not super great. I learned a great lesson with it though — make sure that the top of the cake is flat and smooth so that the ganache does not pool up. I like the moistness, but I’m truly a sucker for the traditional butter sugar base.
I know everyone is different.BUT,FOR ME YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH P.B. OR CHOCOLATE!!!
My first homemade cake ever and it was PERFECT
I am a longtime fan and I have made countless numbers of your recipes. Thanks so much for making such easy to follow instructions for such delicious food. Best baking blog EVER–I’d be lost without it. I just made this cake for a lab member’s birthday. I even broke my diet because I HAD to have a taste- holy smokes Batman, this is mindbogglingly delicious. Two thumbs up – you did it yet again. I look like I can cook- you are a magician.
Aww thank you so much for the kind comment! I’m so happy you enjoy the site!
if I want to bake this cake in a 12×3 inch round pan, do I keep the same amount of batter?
Hi Sophy, I’ve never tried using a pan that size, so unfortunately I’m not sure how much batter you would need.
Don’t use natural peanut butter like I did! It made the frosting thick instead of fluffy.
I would like to make this for a party where children will be joining in. Do you have any suggested replacements for the coffee in the cake recipe?
Hi Kim, I would just use decaf coffee if you’re worried about the caffeine content.
This cake is absolutely amazing. I’ve been wanting to make it forEVER, and now I finally have! For my 30th bday, which is tomorrow!! I’ll tag you on IG when I post pics of it in a bit! ?
Hi michelle I LOVE your site I been doing alot of your recipes for years they never fail :) anyways it would mean alot if you answer 2 questions please. does the material of the cake pans matter? Do they have to be non stick? Or aluminum ? Also can I try making with two 9 inch pans?
Hi Michelle, The material of the pans should not matter – mine aren’t non-stick; I use aluminum pans. I think there might be too much batter for two 9-inch pans, but you could try it – I would just recommend placing a rimmed baking sheet on the oven rack underneath to catch any potential spills. The baking time will need to be increased.
Love this cake! Did a practice run earlier this week and decided to tweek a bit for todays event. Decided to make 4 layers and split between 2 cakes. Cooked them for a total of 30 minutes, rotating halfway through and the texture was much better. Also the frosting to cake ratio when split between 2 cakes was more to my liking. Overall soooo yummy!
I just baked the cakes and they totally sunk in the middle. Baked them for 20 and turned and then another 12. Any idea what I could have done wrong?
Hi Jess, Oh no! Did you check that they were absolutely baked through in the center? If they were undercooked, that could cause them to sink in the middle.
I had the same problem!!!
Hi have used your chocolate cake recipe several times and is always absolutely delicious I was wondering about making it gluten free ? Have u done it before and if so how ? Thanks
Hi Brigitta, I haven’t done any experimenting with gluten-free substitutions, unfortunately.
This came out great. Thanks for the recipe!
Making this cake again this year – once for my dad’s birthday in March and now for Christmas Eve. A huge hit at the birthday. The chef we hired to prepare the rest of the meal took a big piece of cake home. It does freeze well if you need to make it ahead. My sister has made this as a single layer cake and a double layer for less of a crowd.
Will be definitely serving this with pride on Christmas Eve.
This cake is excellent. I made it for my father’s 90th birthday and am making it again for Christmas Eve. Keep up the great recipes. Thanks
Can I make cupcakes out of this cake recipe if so how long would they need to bake?
Hi Veronica, I’ve tried using this cake batter for cupcakes and have never had luck with it (they always sink). I would recommend this chocolate cupcake recipe (with no ganache center) as the base:
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe/
I just wanted to say that I made this cake and it was a huge hit. Its such a decadent recipe.
Oh my Michelle! I am the Auntie that always makes the desserts for our family gatherings. I made this wonderful, delicious cake for our October Birthday celebration this year, we had 5 birthdays to celebrate. I was told it was the BEST cake that I’ve ever made and that it was definitely a “keeper”. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I’m now searching your site for other recipes. Thank you from another BEB :)
Okay, I couldn’t help myself. I made this cake again for a December birthday dinner. Of course it was a great hit! YUM YUM! I’m going to try your Oreo Cookie and Snickers version this year, 2017. Looks like the same cake recipe, but the icing and toppings are going to be delish! Thanks again for sharing.
I have made this cake twice in the past year and are getting ready to make it again for my boyfriend’s birthday. This is the most deliciously moist and impressive cake ever and I get rave reviews every time i make it. I even made a little one for a friend of mine out of little springform pans and mini Reeses cups and it turned out so adorable and just as delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Made for my sons birthday. Was delicious. Used teddys natural peanut butter, came out great.
Hi Michelle! I made this cake today for my sister’s birthday, and I can’t wait to dig in. I have a question about the frosting: I made this in two 9-inch layers (tall pans, baked for appx 40 min total and they came out fine) and I put a little extra frosting in the middle since I did not have three layers. I barely had enough to cover the cake. I also found it to be very stiff and difficult to spread. Did I maybe not mix it long enough? I used th recipe exactly as you stated, no substitutions.
Hi Carole, Oh no! It shouldn’t be terribly stiff, I might add a bit more cream a little at a time to get it to a more spreadable consistency. And happy birthday to your sister!!
I just made this cake a few days ago. It is fabulous. So much for being careful with calories! Oh well..it is totally worth it. If anyone is worried about the coffee…don’t be. I don’t drink coffee at all, but I loved the cake. It’s moist and you can’t taste any coffee at all. Mostly what you taste is the wonderful peanutbutter flavor. Be careful not to put too much frosting between layers – I think I overdid it and then it was tough to get the whole cake covered. My daughter will be 21 this year and already said that she wants this cake for her birthday. Thanks for the great recipe (and it wasn’t too difficult to make either!)
Hi, I don’t have kosher salt for the peanut butter frosting. Can I use regular table salt instead? And if so, how much table salt? Also, where is the heavy cream located in the grocery store? Is it in the refrigerated section? Does it come in a cardboard container or a round plastic tub like sour cream? Thanks!
Hi Savannah, You can use table salt, but I would use a scant ½ teaspoon, as table salt has finer granules, thus the same amount will be saltier. Heavy cream is in the refrigerated section near the milk – it’s in a cardboard container. It is usually sold by the pint or quart.
Hi, thanks for the prompt response : ) So, just to make sure I understand you correctly I use the same amount of regular table salt? Because the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt…. not sure what you mean by “scant”. Will using regular salt change the taste of the PB frosting? Thanks!
Savannah, Scant means a little bit less than. So I would fill your ½ teaspoon measuring spoon a bit short of full. It won’t change the taste; you want to use a little bit less than the kosher salt because the granules are smaller, so you end up with more salt per measuring spoon.
Thank you for the fabulous recipe! I just made this tonight for a birthday at work tomorrow. Cake turned out beautifully. Had to level the layers but that let my husband and I taste test it. ~wink~ Peanut butter frosting is rich and creamy and made plenty to frost the cake and layers–I always worry that there won’t be enough. Chocolate ganache is inspired! Rich, decadent, and positively sinful. Perfect! Thank you!
I know I am very late to the party here but any idea what quantities I would use for a 9inch cake? Planning on making this for my friends birthday.
Thankyou x
Hi Nikki, You can use the same amounts, the baking time will just need to be shortened a bit since the cake layers will be a little shorter.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!!! I made this last year for my husbands birthday and he talks about it so much I decided to make him another one!!!! Definitely have some fans of this cake!!!!
Wow! This turned out so incredibly delicious. I actually made it in cupcake form, filled w/the ganache, frosted, drizzled w/ganache & melted pb, & topped w/a peice of a Reese’s. Bakery quality in both taste & presentation. Thank you so much for sharing this which I will use over and over again! :)
Finally made this cake (after bookmarking it when it was posted) for a friend’s birthday. First off, it turned out so pretty that she took a picture and started sharing it with everyone. Second, it was SOOOOO good. I gave a piece to another woman in the office who promptly abandoned her JUST purchased lunch in favor of cake…because of course… My husband claimed that he could eat just the cake part with no frosting or anything because it’s so yummy. 10 stars out of 5. If you love chocolate and peanut butter then MAKE. THIS. NOW. And if you don’t love chocolate and peanut butter (?!) then I think your tastebuds are broken…
I just made this cake today for my brother’s birthday! It was absolutely fantastic! Everyone loved it and surprisingly it looked almost exactly like the gorgeous pictures. I used Valrhona cocoa powder that I bought online. The cake itself was incredibly moist and rich! I will definitely be making this again in the future and I especially love that you can freeze this cake. Thank you for an unbelievable recipe!
I want to make this tomorrow for my sister’s birthday. I’m nervous about adding hot coffee to the eggs in the mixer. Won’t this scramble the eggs? Or its itfine once the other ingredients are mixed in? Has this happened to anyone ?
Hi Regina, I’ve made this cake many times and have never had an issue with the hot coffee.
Thanks! I made it and added the coffee in last, gradually, mixing. There were no problems. The cake was so rich and sooooo delicious. I followed the recipe exactly except I used bittersweet chocoate for the ganache, expecting it to balance out the sweet cake. It was perfect! Everyone was impressed!
Hi. how much is cup, same 100 grams?thanks
Oh which ingredient? All ingredients have different volume, so there is no standard gram measurement for 1 cup, it depends on what you’re measuring.
This cake looks amazing but I don’t drink coffee. Is there something I can substitute for the coffee?
Thank you,
Julianne
Hi Julianne, I don’t drink coffee either, but I definitely use it in chocolate recipes that call for it – it really helps to enhance the chocolate flavor, and you can’t taste the coffee. I really urge you to use it here, even if you just grab a cup from a local coffee shop. Otherwise, you can use water, but know that the flavor will be diluted.
I’ve made it with and without hot coffee and its DEFINITELY better with!!
Does this chocolate peanut butter cake freeze well? It looks delicious.
Yes! :)
I made this cake, it was amazing. Sadly, I did have some difficulty with sticking in certain spots and crumbling. It was so moist I managed to salvage it by piecing it together! (hahaha) My question is do you have any tips on how I can prevent this in the future?
Thank you,
Elaine
Hi Elaine, Do you mean that it stuck to the pan? I always grease my pans with shortening, then flour as directed above. I typically have great success with the greasing/flouring of cake pans and haven’t really had any sticking issues since doing that consistently. I hope that helps!
Hello michelle
I just want to say that I have tried several of your recipes and they all have been fantastic. I have been meaning to try this cake, but I’m wondering which dutch process cocoa powder do you use ?
Hi Michelle, I use Valrhona Dutch process cocoa powder (I order online).
Michelle! Michelle! Michelle! I want to first say that I love your recipes and website. I made this cake last night for my family and literally all you could hear was “mmmm, yum, oh my gosh” . I have this one cake I make for my family all the time, one of those family favorites and last night everyone said they have found their favorite new cake. Now, I have another amazing family favorite to make. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I will never use another chocolate cake recipe. This will be my go to recipe for chocolate cake from now on. It is just THAT delicious!!! Going to look through your recipes again and pick another one to make. Keep the deliciousness coming!!!!
This cake looks dreamy!! I want to make it for my husbands birthday this weekend and you have probably already answered this, but did you use natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt) or the sugary processed kind??
Thanks for the awesome recipe :)))
Hi Morgan, I never use natural peanut butter for baking, it’s much too oily unless a recipe is specifically formulated for using it.
Hi! I love this cake! It’s so fabulous I want to convert it into cupcakes. Do you think it would work?
Hi Emma, I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think it should be an issue. Let me know how they turn out if you make them!
I made this cake the other day and it was delicious! I used expresso instead of coffee and, I made my own buttermilk (by substituting 1 Tbsp. of lemon per cup of whole milk ). I made a thicker 2 layers instead of 3 and used the rest of the batter for cupcakes. This is a great recipe, very moist, came out wonderfully.
tgat is seriously the best icing. Made a giant peanut butter cup cake and used this for the filling. It tastes like the real thing.
Sound delicious except for the coffee, can it be substituted with something else?
Hi Paula, I highly recommend using the coffee unless you can’t due to a dietary restriction. You can’t taste the coffee in the cake, but it really enhances the chocolate flavor. If you cannot use coffee, substitute hot water.
Can you use 9inch cake pans? If so, is there a recipe portion adjustment?
Hi Ronnie, Yes, just reduce the baking time a bit so the cake doesn’t dry out.
Hi Michelle,
I am just trying to figure out how to make this for my Hubby’s birthday on Tuesday. I work that day and won’t have time to make it until after I get home. Should I prep the batter the night before? Or just bake the cakes this weekend and leave it iced in the fridge until Tuesday? In other words, how would you make this cake ahead of time?
Thanks!
Hi Megan, You do not want to prepare the batter ahead of time, as leaving it to sit overnight will affect how the cakes rise. You can bake the cakes a few days ahead of time, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate, then frost and assemble the cake the day before you want to serve it.
would this batter be enough for 2 10″ cakes? waiting for your reply. thx
Hi Sadaf, Yes, I think so!
I’m definitely going to have a go at making this for my fiancé birthday looks great he loves peanut butter and chocolate :)
Oh my lanta. I made this cake for my dad for Father’s Day and it was SO GOOD. It was my first time making a 3 layer cake but it turned out PERFECTLY. I couldn’t find Dutch process cocoa powder anywhere so I used Hershey’s special dark. The flavor was good but not amazing. It was, however, extremely moist and baked perfectly even accross the top. The frosting…OH MY GOODNESS. BEST PB FROSTING EVER. I will be stashing this away for my go-to for the rest of my life. To me, it’s what made the cake so good. I made this cake a second time for a work party but made a milk chocolate cake and only did 2 layers. My husband said he liked it better with the milk chocolate so I think that’s how I’ll make it from now on. I’m sure if I would have followed the recipe exactly and used Dutch process, it would have been excellent. Unfortunatley, it’s not an easy ingredient to find so I think I’ll be making milk chocolate from now on.
Hey! I need to make two of these (2-layer) cakes for a birthday party. Would I one-and-a-half this or double it? Any help would be super awesome thanks!!:)
Hi Destiny, I haven’t cut this down to layers, but you would probably be okay with 1.5. If you only want two layers, then doubling it would be too much.
Doing the cake right now for my peanut butter chocolate obsessed husband’s birthday…wish me luck!!
Hi there! I know this is an older posting, but I’m hoping you still check these! I was wondering if you thought this recipe would hold up okay to being carved for a sculpted cake? I have to make a car cake this coming weekend for a peanut butter cup fanatic. Thanks for posting this! I might make it anyhow, for my own enjoyment!
Hi Nicky, Unfortunately, I’ve never made a sculpted cake, so I’m not sure how dense or sturdy the actual cake needs to be. This cake is rather dense, but I just can’t say with certainty if it would be okay for sculpting.
Hello! This looks absolutely delicious, and I’m hoping to make it for my s.o’s birthday. However, I would probably need to make something smaller as it will just be the two of us. Any ideas on how I could make this in a mini cake form or something more tart sized? I’m not really sure how to adjust the cooking times. Thank you! Your recipes never fail to please!
Hi Catherine, You could totally scale this down, just decide what size pan you want to use and scale down accordingly from the three-8″ pans. This is a helpful site for that: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
This cake sounds amazing! My son requested a chocolate and peanut butter cake for his birthday. I love other recipes of yours, so I have no doubt this will be delicious too. Question, I want to make this as a sheet cake? Is it enough batter for two 9×13 pans or one 9×13 and one 8×8? Also, any recommendations on time? Thank you so much!
Hi Kristin, I haven’t tried using this batter for other size pans, so unfortunately I couldn’t say for sure how much you would need for the sheet cakes.
I want to try this cake so bad but I don’t drink coffee. What can I substitute it with? Hot water? Or hot chocolate? Any suggestions? (No alcohol please)
Thanks.
Also, I LOVE this blog!!!
Hi Kristine, Thank you! I don’t drink coffee either, but you can’t taste the flavor and it really does enhance the chocolate. If you still don’t want to use it, you can substitute hot water, but the flavor might be changed slightly.
Made this cake for my son’s birthday this past weekend, and it was delicious. The chocolate cake was very moist (I’ll be using this recipe for other chocolate cakes in the future) and the peanut butter frosting had great peanut butter taste without being overly sweet. I found several other Peanut Butter Cup Cake recipes online, but I was glad I went with this one.
It is very rich, so I would save this recipe for a special occasion celebration cake.
My son asked me for a peanut butter cup cake for his birthday. I didn’t even know where to start. So glad I find your blog. This cake is amazing. Thank you for sharing. I shared your link on my Facebook.
I found your recepie just browsing around. I have now made four of these cakes. They are a big hit. It was requested that I make one for a Bake Sale/Auction at church. It made 100.00!!!! Everyone is requesting it for their birthdays! :D Thank you so much for sharing your recepie. I love your site!
I made this yesterday and it is perfection! Turned out beautifully. The perfect dense, moist and fudgy chocolate cake in my opinion. The peanut butter frosting was just right, great peanut butter flavor and not overly sweet. So glad this was the recipe I went with. I I finally have found the recipe that fits my idea of the perfect chocolate cake. Best cake I have ever eaten.
Hello :) I want to make this for my husbands birthday but i dont think i will be adding the hot coffee as we arent coffee drinkers and any coffe I purchase will just go to waste. Wondering if there is something I should substitute or can I just omit it entirely?
Thanks!
Hi Kelly, You absolutely cannot omit it entirely… the coffee adds both moisture and helps to enhance the chocolate flavor. You can’t taste the coffee in the cake, and it really does enhance the flavor. If you’re totally opposed to it, you can substitute hot water, but just know that the flavor may be diluted a bit.
I made this cake yesterday and overall was very pleased with how it turned out! The chocolate cake was very moist. To anyone thinking they won’t like it because of the coffee, trust me, you won’t taste coffee. It just brings out the chocolate flavor. I loved the peanut butter frosting too. It was not too sweet at all, but very peanut buttery! I know it sounds funny, but the heavy cream really lightened it up. The cake is very, very rich so make sure you have a glass of milk handy!
I made this over the weekend for a friends’ birthday and it was fabulous! I couldn’t believe how moist and flavorful the chocolate cake was. It definitely seems important to use the dutch process cocoa powder and good dark coffee (which I did). It’s definitely a rich cake and a million calories, but well worth it. I bake from scratch quite often but everyone at the party was saying this was one of THE BEST desserts I have ever made. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to wait for the ganache to set up more. I got impatient and just started pouring it on the cake and it was still too thin and went everywhere on my plate and cake board. Oops! Anyway, thank you for sharing such a great recipe, I will definitely be making this again!
Tossing aside the urge to buy a bakery cake for my daughter’s baby shower, I made this cake. It was an eye-catcher for sure. People couldn’t wait to cut it. In minutes there was nothing left on the serving plate. However I did omit the PB cups and it was still absolutely delicious. You and I received a lots of compliments. Thank you for such a wonderful cake.
First and foremost, thanks for sharing this outstanding recipe. You truly were not exaggerating when you said this was using the best chocolate cake ever. The cake was light and full of chocolate taste but not too sweet. The cake in combination with the frosting, ganache, and Reeses is simply beyond words. I made this for my son’s birthday two days ago. Everybody is still talking about it and I can’t believe how many requests I’ve gotten for the recipe. Michelle, again I thank you for offering up such an incredible recipe.
P.S. The cake is even more amazing the next day.
I made this cake for my birthday and it turned out amazing! I don’t drink coffee, so I just used hot water and the cake was still super chocolatey and delicious.
Also, it’s even better the next day!!! Such a decadent treat. I was going to save half of my cake for sharing with friends this coming weekend, but I think I’ll just have to bake a second cake on Saturday! My husband, daughter and I are enjoying this cake too much to save it!
I don’t drink coffee either, but definitely use it the next time you make this. It really adds to the flavor of the chocolate cake but you don’t taste the coffee at all once the cake is baked and everything is assembled.
I see your cake calls for buttermilk. I’ve been telling people for years, buttermilk makes the BEST baked goods!! I put it in everything. This cake looks like the PERFECT way to celebrate!
I have made this cake twice now, both for birthday parties. To say everyone loved it, would be a massive understatement! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Plan on enjoying some tonight, when we celebrate a happy 60th birthday of a good friend, yum yum!
I made this cake and it turned out amazing! I made the cake the night before and put in the fridge. The next day, I made the frosting and ganache and put it all together. It got so many compliments, worth the effort!
I made this cake yesterday and it was amazing!! I love making new cake recipes and I think this one may be the best I’ve ever made! I will definitely be making it again :) The only thing that was perplexing to me was that the batter almost overflowed out of my 9 inch pans…not sure what happened there! But it was delicious nonetheless. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
good job for this AMAZING cake, i seriously feel like licking my screen (jk) but it’s really awesome! I was just wondering if i could reduce the sugar amount in the buttercream because I don’t like the taste of sugar, I want that amazing taste of peanuts in my cream, not the sugar’s. can I for example put half a cup or not put any?
Hi Samar, I would not recommend eliminating the sugar. It’s actually a fairly small amount of sugar compared to the other ingredients.
If I wanted to use 9″ pans instead of 8″ do you see any issues?
Hi Johnnie, No, not at all, you just might need to reduce the baking time a bit since the layers will be a little thinner.
Thanks for the recipe! I’ll be making this for my husband’s birthday this weekend. He is a peanut butter love through and through!
What r u using for heavy cream in this recipe?
Looks amazing!!!! Trying to make this SEMI vegan as I have a dairy allergy. Cocoa power and such is fine… what could I use to sub the heavy cream for the frosting and ganache? I can use enjoy life choco chippys and can probably find some dark chocolate peanut butter cups :)
Thanks!!!
Hi Ashlee, I’m honestly not that familiar with vegan substitutions and am not sure what you could use in place of the heavy cream that would give you the same consistency. I’m sorry I’m not more help!
Yay! I usually use that exact chocolate cake recipe when doing your cakes — I’ve found it to be my favorite for all chocolate cakes :) Glad to see it here so I don’t have to pull up multiple recipes. BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER! :D
Can’t wait to make this for my brother’s birthday
Little tip: put the egg yolks in the wet mixture, but separate out the egg whites into a separate, clean dish. At the very end right before pouring the batter into the pans, whip the whites into soft peaks, and fold it into the batter. :) Fluffy, moist cakes every time
Made it for my brother’s birthday :) here’s the final product:
https://flic.kr/p/pVd5zq
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes instead of the cake? If so, would you get 24 out of this or more since the cake is 3 layers? Thanks for any insight!
Hi there, I haven’t tried to convert this to cupcakes, so I couldn’t say for sure how they would turn out. You would get more than 24.
This cake looks amazing!!! Happy belated! I was planning to make a cake just like this for a work baby shower. Glad I have some direction now. I’m a little nervous about the ganache…but eager to try it. Had a quick question: Can I sub in greek yogurt for the buttermilk? If so, what would be the appropriate amount? I have 0% on hand, but 2% may be better taste wise. What are your thoughts?
I would not recommend substituting Greek yogurt for the buttermilk.
First off, happy belated birthday! Second, I just wanted to leave a comment to let you know that this cake was absolutely fantastic. The cake really is the best chocolate cake ever, super moist without being too dense, and really really chocolatey. The frosting is sooo soo good, like the inside of a reese’s cup, and the ganache on top was just perfect. I brought this to my boyfriends birthday, attended by about 20 of his relatives and catered by a food company, and the look on his face when I brought him this cake was priceless! I got tons of compliments from both him, his family, and even the caterers for not only presentation, but for taste too! One of the relatives even begged me to show her how I made it! We got to take the leftovers home and they lasted for several sinful, delicious days. If you are a fan of peanut butter and chocolate, for all that is holy MAKE THIS CAKE. So thank you so so much for not only a delicious cake, but for helping me to boost my confidence in my baking skills and to impress my boyfriend’s family! You rock! :)
Could someone be ever so kind as to convert these measurements into British lbs or grams, or share a conversion chart! Thankyou xxx
google ;)
Hi, I am planning on making this cake for my boyfriends birthday and I was wondering about the taste of the iceing. Is it super sweet? If so what do you recommend doing to reduce the sweetness? thanks!
Hi Alicia, Unfortunately, I really feel like labeling things too sweet or too spicy or totally subjective since everyone has different palates. I don’t find this icing to be too sweet at all.
Made this cake for my best friend for her birthday! Everyone loved it! It was as delicious as the pictures make it. Love this blog!!
Hi Michelle, I made this cake for my hubby’s birthday this past Saturday and he absolutely loved it! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
Wow. What else can I say? I made this for a friend’s birthday, and also a housewarming. It was amazingly decadent – peanut butter and chocolate (combining two of our favourite things). I never thought of using them together, but it worked really well. Thanks so much for sharing this with us, I can see it’s going to become a favourite!
I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday today and OH MY GOODNESS!!! So moist, flavourful and not too sweet. Didn’t change a thing and wouldn’t. I love pb and chocolate and this is a perfect cake for that. I have thought about making this cake in a chocolate mint version with the only change being the icing and use Andes instead of pb cups. Thank you for the great recipe.
Hi, I converted all the ingridients into metrics, and I got 600 grams sugar. Does really that much sugar go in there!?
Hi Dominik, Yes, that’s a correct conversion. It’s a very large three-layer cake.
Help! I need to make this as a 10 inch cake… what should I do to adjust the recipe??
Hi Bianca, If you want to use the same amount of batter in three 10-inch pans, you will need to reduce the baking time. If you want similar sized 10-inch layers, you will need to calculate the volume in the 8-inch pans vs 10-inch pans and then increase the ingredient quantities by that much.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! This is the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten! Do you think it would be heavy enough to use in a 3 tiered cake with 2 layers in each tier?
Hi Amy, Yes, I think that would work (I always made sure to use dowels when I stacked cakes, I would recommend that).
Hi, this cake looks so amazing….do you think it would be ok to cover the cake in fondant rather than the ganache? i want to make a pug cake for my friends birthday!!
Hi Helen, I think that would work out just fine.
I just made this cake today for my friends birthday. It turned our really well. Nice and moist and very peanut buttery. I served it with peanut butter ice cream.
I baked this beautiful cake for my daughter’s 18th birthday. She loves peanut butter cups and chocolate. The cake turned out perfectly and made quite an impression on our family. Pictures were taken. :) Thanks so much for sharing this recipe and your gift of baking with us. You are a talented lady.
I made this cake for the 4th of July. It was gone before the sun set that day! I caught my nephew licking the plate it arrived on! The cake was so moist and tender. The peanut buttercream frosting was an excellent foil to the semisweet ganache! Once cut, this cake is a beauty to behold…. It’s beautiful inside and out! Thanks for such a great desert!
I made this cake with a few slight variations for our Father’s Day get together because my Dad is a huge chocolate and peanut butter lover and this cake was a HUGE hit!! Everyone at the partying was raving over it and wanted the recipe. It put all other desserts at the party to shame and I have already been asked to make it for the next family gathering. It’s absolutely delicious and beautiful, definitely a keeper!!
Hi,
I’ve been searching for the perfect chocolate cake recipe (to make this and also for a choc mint cake!) and it really sounds like this is it! However, I only have one of each size of cake pan and so I usually make one taller cake and slice into 2, 3, or 4 layers after baking as required. Would that work with this cake (obviously I would adjust baking times)? I want to make it for this weekend and don’t think I have time to get another tin….
Thanks – and I love your blog
xx
Hi Cremino, You would need to have a very high cake pan in order to bake this entire cake in one pan. I would venture to guess you would need AT LEAST 5″ sides to ensure that the batter would not spill over.
Haha yep, my tins are high. Good to know you think it would work though, and that the height of your tins appears to be why you baked as three separate cakes rather than as one and then cut them, rather than some intrinsic reason relating to this cake only working in small flat quantities…Thanks for the speedy response!! I look forward to making this amazing cake tomorrow :)
I’m making this cake today for my daughter’s birthday. Is it okay to substitute three 9″ round cake pans for the 8″ pans?
Hi Aileen, Yes, you’ll just need to reduce the baking time a bit, as the layers won’t be as thick. Enjoy and happy birthday to your daughter! :)
I made this today for my husband’s birthday. The cake took a while to make, but it was so worth it! The cake was extremely moist, the frosting was amazing (and not too sweet), and the ganache made it even more beautiful than it already was. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
With everyone commenting oh how delicious this cake looks, I thought I’d chime in to say how delicious it tastes. I made this for a crowd and everyone went crazy for it. It was a real showstopper, and not much more work than an ordinary from-scratch cake with frosting. It tastes great!
I made this cake for father’s day. It was a huge hit. I loved how rich and dense the cake came out paired with the delicious peanut butter frosting. Only thing is next time I will listen and use the parchment paper as the cake was so dense it was sticking to the bottom of the pan. i was also wondering if you had any tips on how to prevent the crumbs being mixed into the frosting when trying to frost a cake- i always struggle with this. Thanks for the amazing recipe! Will definitely make again.
Hi Jen, I would recommend doing a crumb coat, where you spread an incredibly thin layer of frosting on the cake, where it does catch crumbs, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes until it’s set. Then, frost as normal. All of the crumbs will be caught in that first layer. There are a lot of YouTube tutorials on doing a crumb coat, if you’ve never done it before.
Beautiful cake. I made it for Father’s Day for my husband. Tasted delicious but I had trouble with the frosting. It was difficult to work with and not the consistency that I had expected. When I tried to spread it, it didn’t stick to the cake. The frosting peeled off the cake and stayed on the spreader. It was like the frosting was too slick and not sticky enough. Any suggestions? I am new at baking this kind of thing (I usually make squares) and this is the first time I baked a triple layer cake. The cake is fantastic though and this will be my go to chocolate cake recipe. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it for my brother’s birthday today (we are big peanut butter cup fans!) and it is absolutely devine! He loved it. You are right- it is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. I made it gluten free and with some modifications as I’m in Scotland (couldn’t find Dutch process cocoa and with only 2 eggs as apparently our eggs are bigger- who knew?!) and it was still incredible. Going to try your snickers cake next!
I wanted to make this cake in the form of a sheet cake. Does anyone know if this will work?
Hi Eva, This makes a lot of batter, so you would need a very large sheet pan. I would recommend getting the volume for three 8×2-inch round cake pans and then using a sheet pan with the appropriate volume (or scaling as necessary). This is a good reference: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
This cake was fabulous!!!
Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe! I just googled “chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting”, and found your blog, so nice job! I made it this weekend for my son’s birthday for a family party of 20, and everyone RAVED about it! Every part of it was off the charts….the cake itself, the pb frosting, the chocolate ganache, the mini pb cups….outrageous if you’re Reeses obsessed like our family. Definitely worth the time and effort.
Also, I just wanted to share with those of you who don’t drink coffee for religious or other reasons (since I was searching the comments for tips on this), I made it with 1-1/2 C hot water in place of the coffee and it turned out PERFECT. I had another old fashion chocolate cake recipe that called for hot water, so I assumed it would turn out okay and it did. It’s possible the coffee brings out a richer chocolatey flavor in the cake, but without it I’ll say it was still exceptionally moist and chocolatey and there is so much goodness going on with the ganache, frosting and candy that it wasn’t missed. Also, I made it as a 2 layer cake (I only had 2 round pans available at the time) and it was fine, although your 3 layer photos are beautiful. :)
Can’t wait for the next special excuse I can find to make this cake again!
Looks sooo good! Im making it tonight!
However, can I sub regular natural cocoa powder for the dutch?
Hi Jordi, I would recommend using the Dutch cocoa in this particular recipe.
Thanks for the delicious cake recipe! When I saw it back in March I pinned it and planned to make it for my birthday (and Co-workers birthdays) in June. I made it this morning and brought it to work at lunch time. It was GONE within 35 minutes! Everyone loved it! I gave them your recipe and instructed them to your blog also! Have a great day!!
Is there a way to recover the frosting if you overbeat it? Mine seems oily and stringy :(
Hi Liz, I’m not sure how that could have happened! Did you use natural peanut butter, by any chance? If so, it could be causing too much oil. I always recommend using a “processed” peanut butter for baking recipes, as the excess oil in natural peanut butters can cause issues.
Must haves been the peanut butter- first batch I used whole foods 365 natural brand, second batch which was perfect, I used skippy.
Hi Michelle, my name is Jiohanny, I’m from Dominican Republic, I find your site around a month ago looking for a chocolate cake that I really seem moist and delicious for make a cake really popular here named “Milky Way Cake”. Yesterday was Mother’s day here in DR and my sister’s birthday too. I made this cake receipt, but I filled with “Dulce de Leche” or “Arequipe” (I not sure if you there know it, but is a delicious Milk Sweetmeat like caramel) and covered it with the topping you used for your “Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes” For the chocolate in this topping I used melted Milky Way chocolates. It was just amazing from now this is my favorite chocolate cake batter. The proportions of the recipes were perfect and very well detailed. Thanks a lot for sharing your culinary experiences for free. I think that I have reviewed more than half of your recipes and they all look fabulous. Excuse me for so long story but certainly these on my list of favorite sites.
This cake is AMAZING!!!!! Seriously the best cake I have ever tasted/made!!
My mom made this cake for my birthday and it was an instant favorite! Now I am planning a surprise party for a friend and would really love to make it into cupcakes.. Do you have any suggestions for baking time?
Really appreciate your diligence in replying to comments!
Hi Erica, I haven’t tried adapting this cake to cupcakes, so unfortunately I am not sure how long they would need to bake. Less than the cake, I would imagine, but I don’t know about an exact time. Enjoy!
THANK YOU! I made this yesterday for my husband’s birthday and everyone was freaking out about it! You are right, that chocolate cake is excellent and everything else is just incredible as well. I posted a few pics of it but I wish mine could have looked as perfect as yours! I got into a bit of a rush at the end but it’s hard to mess this recipe up! :) LOVE!!
I made this for my own 40th birthday party…and it was a huge hit! I had to hunt down the dutch process cocoa powder, but it was totally worth it. I’m definitely keeping this recipe and making this again. Thank you!
I saw this cake when you originally posted it in March and I knew it would be the perfect birthday cake for my husband. I made it for him and my family today. This is the most amazing cake I have ever made. Not only was it spectacular looking, it was melt in your mouth decadence. I will definitely make this again! Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this cake for a special family event today and it was incredible!! I would even call it epic. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Amazing! I made this cake for our annual Mother’s Day brunch and it was a huge hit. For all those wondering about eliminating the coffee, don’t! It adds depth to the flavor and you don’t taste coffee in the end product. The cake itself is one of the most delicious chocolate cakes I have tasted. A fair amount of work, but well worth it.
Did you use unsweetened peanut butter, or sweetened? Is nutella ok for it? I hope you answer :) thanks anyway!
Your fan from Finland
Hi Siirizep, I used store-bought processed peanut butter. It does have sugar in it. You can use Nutella, but you will get a completely different flavored cake. I’m not sure how the peanut butter cups would pair with it.
If I want to make this cake in a 13×9 pan instead of a round pan and with two layers instead of three, can I use the same amounts or do you think I would need to increase them?
Hi Kari, You would actually need to decrease. A 9×13-inch pan will typically hold the same amount of batter for two 8-inch or 9-inch layers. Since this is three layers, you will have too much batter. I would recommend reducing the recipe by a third.
Thanks! I actually made the recipe with the same amounts with two 9×13 pans and it turned out great! Everyone loved it and people have requested it from me over and over. I have now made it twice, the only thing I would say is I have had extra frosting left over at the end, but I think the flavor is still amazing that way.
Although if one 9×13 pan is equal to two 8-inch layers, wouldn’t I need to increase the amounts since I did two 9×13 pans?
Either way, it turned out great!
This cake is awesome!!! It turned out so moist & delicious. Someone even asked me where I bought it; I was so proud to say I made it. Recipe is easy to follow, as all her recipes are. Thank u for this recipe!!! :)
Happy Belated Birthday! I celebrated my 35th birthday on March 21st. :)
I was wondering how much coffee powder do you mix into the 1-1/2 cups of hot water? Thanks!!
Hi Khalidah, Happy Belated Birthday to you! I’m not sure what you mean? You need 1.5 cups of hot coffee. If you are making instant coffee, I would follow the directions on the package.
When you say use a 8″ cake pan do you have a preference for depth whether going with 1.5″ or 2″. By the way i have made the cake and it is definitely a keeper.
Hi Johnnie, All of my cake pans are a 2-inch depth. I hope that helps!
I made this for my daughter-in-laws birthday and it was Yummy! I found I didn’t use all the peanut butter cups ( I used less than half and will only make half of the ganache the next time) Everyone loved it.
Hi, If I dont have heavy cream? what can I substitute that? Izzit a must to have the heavy cream?
Hi Annie, You can use whole milk in the frosting (might need less of it), although I really recommend heavy cream. However, you definitely need to use heavy cream for the ganache or it won’t set up properly.
Thank you. I followed ur recipe and it taste very nice. Awesome ! =D
made this for my husbands birthday 4/6 to good to be true!
This cake is absolutely beautiful. I hope you enjoy your mid-thirties as much as I have.
is there a substitute for the coffee? we dont have or drink coffee and didnt know what you would recommend. thanks
Hi Nikki, I really do not recommend making a substation, as the coffee is important for both texture and flavor. You cannot taste the coffee flavor, but it enhances the chocolate and keeps the cake moist. I am not a coffee drinker myself, but it’s vitally important in some chocolate recipes.
Why can’t this cake be really? I might start nibbling on my computer!!!!
I made this cake from your blog this weekend. Oh.My.Goodness. My family could not stop going on and on about it. It was a huge hit! I think the chocolate cake part was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. I plan to reuse that recipe to make cupcakes and other cakes from now on. Yum yum yum!!
I made this cake today – I’m not an expert at all and I found this so stressful! But I’m sure it’ll be so worth it! I did accidentally buy half and half cream, seemed to work fine, and forgot to layer in the pb cups… Whoops! Oh we’ll. thanks for the recipe and happy birthday!
Happy Belated Birthday.. This cake looks so delicious and stunning.. Awesome job! :)
Happy birthday!! Your cake looks amazing! Thanks for the recipe :)
Happy birthday, Michelle! This looks like an awesome cake to celebrate with!
This looks AMAZING. Yum!!!
Just made this, but all three of my cakes sunk in the middle. Why does this happen?
Not sure if you copied this from Birdonacake.blogspot.com, or if the 2 of you had exactly the same idea. Either way, it is a fabulously delicious cake.
just wondering how you came up with 2 l/2 cups, PLUS 1 TABLESPOON?
Really, one T makes a difference?
This cake and I are meant for eachother.
I was wondering about a substitute for the coffee ingredient. I would LOVE to make this for my husband for our anniversary but we aren’t coffee drinkers. I’m assuming it’s added for flavor and moisture; could i just use more milk or water in place of the coffee? Would you mind emailing me and letting me know? Thanks!
Cami Smith
Shimmy2thebeat@gmail.com
Hi Cami, I really do recommend sticking with the coffee, it’s a key ingredient in developing the chocolate flavor. If you don’t want the caffeine, using decaf is fine. Water would definitely dilute the flavor, I don’t recommend that. Milk would add more fat, which could affect the final texture.
Happy belated Birthday! Somehow I missed that part on Tuesday. I love reading your posts & checking out your recipes, too. I especially like your “Friday things” posts….they’re always entertaining & a joy to read. You are definitely talented in so many ways! Do you do your own food photography? The pictures are always amazing! Hope your birthday was wonderful & keep being the special person that you are! :)
Hi Lynn, Thank you so much! I do all of the photography for the site, thanks so much for the kind words :)
Hi Michelle I really want to make this cake next month for my tio’s (uncle) birthday but he hates coffee I was just wondering if you can really taste it in the cake
Hi Marissa, You can’t taste it at all!
I’m wondering if the cake batter makes the same amount of batter that a box mix does. I would make this batter but my daughter has celiacs disease and can not have wheat. There is a gluten free chocolate box mix that is fantastic and thought I would try this cake using that instead.
Ok, you’ve ruined me. I’ve been wanting to bake a cake for best male guy friend and then I was going to make Smitten Kitchen’s cake: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/
AND THEN YOU POSTED THIS!!! Now I’m going to have to make 2 cakes.
One for him, and one to celebrate your belated Bday. Happy Birthday! I turn 34 this yr too. And I’ve got no kids. I better get started (on this cake) huh?
Happy Birthday, Michelle!!! This cake looks amazing. I just HAVE to make it now. Haha. Thanks so much for this recipe!!
Happy Birthday! You’re definately still in your early thirties.
This looks sensational!
http://www.myownbakeoff.blogspot.co.uk
Enjoy your birthday week! This cake is a fantastic way to celebrate. And haven’t you heard 34 is the new 24.
Happy Belated Birthday. Delicious looking cake
Happy, Happy Birthday!!! This is a cake I would so make for my birthday too. Nothing beats this combo and chocolate cakes all the way!! Hope you had a great day!
Awesome Cake! Happy Birthday!
It almost hurts to look at this beautiful piece of art! It’s simply exquisite!
Happy Birthday! I can’t think of a better way to spend a birthday than with this cake, fantastic!
Happy birthday! You are almost exactly eight months older than me, so mid-thirties or not, I’m close behind you. I don’t have kids as old as your mom did at this age, but I do have two kids in addition to the mortgage and other adult-ish responsibilities, and trust me, kids do nothing to make you feel more like an adult!
I actually do not like chocolate cake–but this one looks like it’s fudgy enough that it would be good for me (the thing I dislike about chocolate cake is the light, spongy nature of so many of them) and I can usually eat chocolate cake if it’s covered in frosting that is peanut buttery or minty. Chocolate + peanut butter is always a winner!
Now THIS I need to try!
Happy Birthday! Mine was yesterday! I’m looking forward to making this as EVERYONE in my office loves chocolate and peanut butter. I know this will be a big hit!. Thanks for all the amazing recipes!
Happy, happy birthday!! I’m kind of jealous that you get to spend it with this cake – it looks phenomenal!!
Happy Birthday! That cake looks amazing. I love chocolate and peanut butter! Can’t wait to make it.
Happy Birthday!! I found my sons birthday cake for when he turns 18 next month. Thank you and enjoy your day!!
Happy birthday! My birthday is Saturday and I think I will need to make myself this cake. We are celebrating with a Red Wings game next week. And don’t worry about 34 being mid-thirties. I am convinced 36 is still mid-thirties too!
This cake is so full of deliciousness! I love this recipe!
Is there any way i can omit the coffe ???
Hi Madelynn, I really don’t recommend it; it’s a key ingredient in the cake, adding moisture and enhancing the chocolate flavor. You can’t taste it at all.
So I don’t drink coffee for religious reasons but this cake looks amazing, so I was wondering if you could think of any subsitutes? I know that coffee is commonly used with really chocolatey things so if you know a good subsitute that would be really helpful in general.
Hi Elena, Is it due to the caffeine content? If so, you can certainly use decaf. Unfortunately, I don’t know of a suitable replacement since water would dilute the flavor, milk would add extra fat, possibly affecting the texture of the cake, and hot chocolate would add extra sugar.
Elena- I don’t drink coffee either. I’ve used coffee flavored Postum or Pero in other recipes and that’s worked. I’ll be making this cake later today and will be doing that substitution. I’ll post back with the results.
I made it with water in place of coffee. I can’t say how it compares, but I can say it was delicious and still very chocolatey. It doesn’t taste like it’s missing anything to me, and unless you had a side-by-side comparison, I don’t think anyone would complain.
This looks delish! How strong is the coffee flavor? I do not like coffee. Wondering if I could leave it out of the cake recipe? Happy Birthday!!
Hi Sarah, You can’t taste the coffee at all! I don’t recommend leaving it out as it helps to add moistness and enhances the chocolate flavor.
Happy “29th” Birthday! You’re as young/old as you feel. No labels.
Just saw your cake on PARADE website. How exciting!
Happy Birthday, Michelle! Hope your day and upcoming year are full of joyful surprises! Thanks for all the delightful recipes, especially this amazing cake!
:)
Happy Birthday, Michelle. Your cake is perfect for the occasion (as well as any day of the week). ;) It looks so yummy. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Happy birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day. :) Your blog is one that I read every day- thank you for all that you do. This looks delicious!
First of all, happy birthday! Secondly, this looks AMAZING!! But, unfortunately I can’t have it, because I gave up chocolate for lent. I know,I know, I’m crazy, but I’ve gotten used to it. After Good Friday this is definitely on my to-bake list! I hope you have wonderful birthday!!
Happy Birthday to you!! The cake looks Delicious! Thank you for having one of my very favorite food blogs. I sure do appreciate all you do for us foodies. 34 is young, and it sounds like you feel that way. Wishing you many more.
Happy birthday, Michelle! This cake is the PERFECT way to celebrate. I might just have to make it this weekend to celebrate my own birthday… a month and a half early. ;)
Happy Birthday! It’s like you know I’ve been obsessed with making three layer cakes, or else why would you post this delicious recipe to tempt me?? Unfortunately my kitchen is being renovated so baking anything right now is a huge hassle. I’ve been on a chocolate cake kick, trying a bunch of different recipes. I’ve found two others that were very good, so I’m excited to try this one as well. The frosting you used for this cake is actually my go-to peanut butter frosting! It can’t be beat.
Happy birthday! I may just request this cake for my own birthday next week! Thanks for sharing!
Happy birthday! I’ll be 18 in a couple of days and this looks like a serious contender for my cake…
Happy birthday, Michelle! If this cake tastes anything close to as good as it looks, I want to eat the entire thing right now!
34 years young! Happy happy birthday! Thank you for sharing this amazing cake, I think I will “save” it for hubby’s birthday in October!
Hi :) its my husbands this weekend and I really want to try baking this cake, I have one question, would it be OK to replace the buttermilk with yoghurt? I usually find it difficult to get hold of buttermilk :) thanks for the amazing recipe
Hi Safia, I have not tried to make that substitution and am not sure how it would affect the batter, so unfortunately I can’t say one way or the other. You can always make your own buttermilk with regular milk and lemon juice: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/substitutions/
Happy Birthday friend! I am drooling over this cake. The best way to celebrate! xo
I would definitely want this as my birthday cake! Happy Birthday Michelle!
Happy birthday to you. I bet you’re the only person in your life that bakes like you do, otherwise somebody could have made you a cake for once :-P I mean that in a good way, because this blog is amazing.
Happy Birthday!!! I know exactly what you mean about barely feeling like you’re grown up. I’m 31 and sometimes I really have to think when someone asks how old I am because I still feel like I’m still in my early 20’s! I hope you have a great birthday!! That cake looks absolutely AMAZING!!!!
This looks so freaking amazing. Making this ASAP! Happy Birthday!!
Happy birthday, Michelle! This is the perfect way to celebrate. This cake looks SOOO amazing. I am going to bookmark this to make for my husband’s birthday in May – this is a dream cake for a choco pb lover! Hope you have a fabulous day!
Happy Birthday Michelle! Your cake and photography get me in the Cake Mood! I am Not a cake person, rather a pie girl so Kudos to You! Your age is only how you feel and what people perceive! You are young and young at heart and will probably look & feel young when you are in your 70’s! Enjoy life and your loved ones!
This chocolate cake really is the best chocolate cake ever. It is the only one I make.
LOL! As soon as I saw the picture, I knew exactly why you made this. Happy, happy birthday!
Happy Birthday; the best is yet to come!
Woahhh that cake is a masterpiece. Happy birthday! You spent the day exactly as you should – relaxing, eating, and doing what you love. Keep doing you!
Happy Birthday! Keep all the great recipes coming & enjoy your birthday! It’s just a number; you’re only as old as you feel!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Michelle! Hope you have a great day with your pups and CCC :)
That cake looks absolutely amazing, is it available for order?!
Hi Katie, Thank you! I do not do any baking orders, I’m sorry!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope you have a fantastic day and many blessings in the year ahead!
I can’t wait to try this. After I read the recipe & finished drooling, I saw this article about “9 Amazing Cakes To Make For Birthdays” and was sooooo excited to see you on there. Congratlations!!!
http://www.philly.com/philly/food/20140325_Parade_9_Amazing_Cakes_to_Make_for_Birthdays.html
Happy birthday! :) You’re in your low 30’s for one more year, so live it up! haha With this cake, you’re doing just that. Enjoy your hockey game and your day. And you’re still much younger than me. :)
Happy birthday to you.. happy birthday to you..
happy birthday happy birthday
happy birthday to YOU!
The cake looks like heaven! can’t wait to try it! Have a nice birthday :)
Michelle, happy birthday! Enjoy and remember age is just a number. Great looking cake…..I want piece!
Happy Birthday you young pretty “Girl” Enjoy your youth and just revel in it. Age is only a number. It is how you feel inside that reveals your true age. I turned 60 this year and still feel like a 16 year old girl. Never stop laughing, having fun and being a free spirit. As for this incredible cake…out of this world and I can’t wait to try it. Peanut butter and chocolate are heaven on earth!
That is a dream of a cake! I can’t imagine anything more fantastic.
May your day be everything you wish for and more! Happy birthday, Michelle!
Happy Birthday!! I can’t think of a better birthday cake to celebrate with! This looks delicious; I will definitely be trying this!
Happy Birthday Michelle!!
My birthday is in 3 days and, as the baker of the family, I think you’ve given me the PERFECT cake to bake! I’m totally crazy about peanut butter & chocolate. Hope your 34th is wonderful! :)
I cannot believe we have the same birthday. Michelle, happy birthday. I pray for good health and blessings to you. And more delectable desserts to come.
Happy Birthday, Michelle!
The cake looks amazing, and 34 is definitely early 30s.
Hope you have a sweet day!
OH MY! WHAT A CAKE! I’m making the snickers one right now, and I would absolutely change it for this one if peanut butter cups were sold here.
Happy B-day BEB you’re the best! And don’t worry according to my mum until 50 you’re still very very young haha ;)
Happy Birthday! This cake looks amazing! Not only beautiful but yummy too!
Happy Birthday Michelle! That looks so damn good. Enjoy your day that will be filled with joy any way you can get it.
Oh my word, this cake is one of the most beautiful things I have seen!!!! It looks so delicious!!!
Dear Michelle, just tell everyone you’re celebrating the 13th anniversary of your 21st birthday :)
(I’m on my 35th anniversary)
Nooooo! Don’t even tempt me like this.
Peanut butter + chocolate is my absolute weakness. I can only imagine how amazing this cake is!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Happy Birthday!!! Hope you have a wonderful day and year!! And no way you are in your mid-thirties yet. This cake is perfect for celebration and can’t wait to try.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHELLE!!
Happy birthday, Michelle!!!! Well, let me just say…..you are a mere baby, and not yet in your mid-thirities. I just turned 60-the new 40. That is my story and by golly-I am sticking to it! The cake looks……I don’t have words!!! Enjoy your special day!
None of my birthdays bothered me quite as much as when I turned 44. I realized I’d been married half my life and had two sons, one in his 20’s. Happy Birthday. Age is a relative thing anyway. I had a birthday 3 weeks ago and I’m not way over the hill!!!
Happy Birthday Michelle! I totally understand the comparison making between self and mom. My mom…got married on her 16th birthday and had my brother the next year the day before her 17th birthday. My brother made her a grandma @ age 38. (And my parents are still happily married…how awesome is that???) Me…I got married at 40 and miraculously became a 1st time mommy at 43. We all have to live our lives within the windows of opportunity that our life presents. I have pegged myself “the late bloomer”! Enjoy and no, I won’t tell you that you’ve hit the mid-thirties…LOL!
Happy Birthday! Love, love, love your blog and the cake looks incredibly scrumptious!! God bless you~Enjoy!!
Happy birthday!! This cake looks like I need to eat it RIGHT NOW. And no, not mid-30’s yet ;)
Happy birthday! That cake looks scary good! Enjoy
Happy Birthday!!!!! This cake looks RICULOUSLY AMAZING!!!!!!!!
I am 34 years old as well… I will be 35 in September… I think the exact same way as you….. My parents had a 15 and a 10 year old at 34…. I have 3 dogs and a mortgage. LOL!!!!
Hope you have a great day! Go Pens!
Happy Birthday! Beautiful cake. Enjoy your day and dessert and ‘Lets Go Pens!’
Happy Birthday! I really enjoy your recipes. I can almost taste that birthday cake, pictures are awesome
Happy Birthday!!!!! Your cake is the perfect way to celebrate your birthday! I would LOVE one of these cakes for my b-day! It looks just amazing!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy your day!!!
Happy Birthday!!! Awesome cake. I’m saving it for my daughter’s birthday – she’s 21 one this year and adores peanutbutter and chocolate. Can’t wait to surprise her in July!
Happiest Birthday to YOU!! Have the best day! With this cake, how can you not?! It just shot to the top of the list for my birthday cake in July.
Happy Birthday! Enjoy your cake!
Happy Birthday Michelle, this cake looks epic!!! Have a fabulous day :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY – Everything of the best and don’t worry about your age. You really don’t look it :) Thanks for the recipe. It looks amazing! Hope you had tons of birthday cake x
Beautiful cake! Looks delicious and it should help enhance your very special day. Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday today, and that is a very delicious looking cake you have!
Happy, Happy Birthday, Michelle. I am well past your age but 34 was one of those years that I would like to go back to…just a really good, peaceful, happy time in my life. Actually, I really loved all of my 30’s. Enjoy this day and that super delicious cake.
Happy Birthday Michelle!!!I think you have made the Best Cake ever!!!Enjoy!!!!
Happy Birthday!!!! This cake looks fabulous !!!I I want it for my birthday!!!
Happy Birthday! You are still in the first quarter of your life and 34 is just a number. Eat cake! Especially if it is this one! Enjoy your day!
Happy Birthday!! What a fabulous cake you have to celebrate the occasion. That ganache looks to die for – you had me at the lead photograph. Looks so beautiful. Wishing you a wonderful day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHELLE!!!! Who cares about age when you you have an AMAZING cake to celebrate with :-)
Well the snickers cake is a fave around here and amazing …I can’t imagine anything being better…until this…hehe…guess I need to go to the kitchen and find out! :) Thanks for sharing this!!!
Happy Birthday! You and I share a birthday, and, like you, I generally make something for it since I’m the baker in the family, so for the past several years, I’ve looked forward to seeing the wonderful birthday desserts you’re going to post because they always seem to be exactly what I want. This is no exception. I was craving a chocolate peanut butter cake. I usually am. I made the birthday chocolate PB cheesecake one year and it was too good for words. This also looks amazing, and I’m so excited to make it!!
Hope you have a great birthday today!!! Thanks for the perfect birthday dessert, as always!
Happy Birthday, Jessica!! Have an awesome day!
Awesome cake, birthday girl! I love that you chopped the regular-sized Reese’s (more peanut butter per bite than the mini-sized ones) to put on the cake. I also love that this is peanut butter and chocolate overload madness. We happen to be the same age and like you, I could eat chocolate and peanut butter all day. This cake is on reserve for my next birthday!
Ong I love Peanut Butter Cake. Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday!!! And what a gorgeous cake! Glad that you stuck with your fave choc cake base and then went nuts with all that PB! YES!! My kind of birthday cake! Pinned to multiple peanut butter boards!
Happy Birthday, Michelle!
this cake looks amazing – perfect birthday cake for you!
You are such an inspiration to so many of us, thanks for sharing your life with us!
I wish you a great day with everything and everyone you love!
Hugs from Switzerland,
Gry
This is one of the best cakes I have ever made! I made it for my husband’s birthday and it was a big hit. If you love chocolate and peanut butter you have to try this recipe!!
Happy Birthday and what a SMASHING cake!! Your def still only early thirties so don’t stress! :)
Happy Birthday, Michelle! In my book, you’re still considered as in your early thirties. Next year, I can’t help ya. ;) This cake is phenomenal! Wouldn’t our 10-year-old selves flip out over it? Thanks for sharing and enjoy your birthday week!
Happy Birthday! Don’t be in a rush to be in your mid-thirties, your still in the “rounding down” bracket til next year. This cake is total BONKERS!! I have a 13 year old young man in my house that would love me forever if I made something like this. = )
Happy Birthday, Michelle! What an incredible cake – I love the PB cups sandwiched between each layer and the ganache makes it a bit like a giant PB cup!
Happy Birthday…this cake looks awesome!!!! My husbands birthday is next month and he loves Chocolate and Peanut Butter…I have to make this cake for him.
Happy Birthday, Michelle!! No, you are not in your mid-thirties! (Next year might be another story.) Have a wonderful day and enjoy your cake; It’s divine! :)
Firstly, Happy Birthday! I married my husband at 34 so you’re ahead of me!
Secondly, this is my DREAM cake! My birthday isn’t until December, but I’m planning on celebrating early with this!