Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake
This peanut butter cake is a southern favorite. It has bold peanut butter flavor without being heavy or too sweet. The peanut butter glaze has just the right sweetness, and tastes like peanut butter fudge. I found this recipe in a church cookbook, with the author’s note: “I made this for a church get-together and had many requests for the recipe…so will you!” (So cute!)I added some crushed peanut butter cookies and honey roasted peanuts on top of this cake, but these toppings are optional. The cake is quite good without them. The cake is baked in a 13x9 inch dish; however, you can also bake it as a 15x10 inch sheet cake. See the recipe notes for these instructions.
Equipment
- 1 13x9 inch baking dish
Ingredients
Peanut butter cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter such as Jif
- 2 eggs well beaten
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut butter glaze
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter such as Jif
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar 16 oz. box
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 Nutter Butter peanut butter cookies optional
- 2 tablespoons honey roasted peanuts optional
Instructions
Peanut butter cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 13x9 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Combine the butter, water, and peanut butter in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally and bring to a boil. When the mixture boils, pour it into the flour mixture. Beat together using a hand mixer on low speed until just combined.
- In a separate bowl or large liquid measure, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Pour the mixture into the peanut butter batter and mix with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is well browned and a toothpick tester inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Remove to a cooling rack and let the cake cool in the pan about 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the peanut butter glaze.
Peanut butter glaze
- Combine the butter, peanut butter, and milk in a saucepan. Set over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture boils, stirring occasionally. When the mixture boils, remove it from the heat and mix in the confectioners’ sugar using an electric hand mixer. Add the vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and lump-free. Pour the glaze over the warm cake and spread evenly. Add toppings immediately, if using.
- Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. Cover leftovers with plastic wrap and store at room temperature. This cake stays moist for days after making it.
Notes
Toppings: If adding toppings to the cake, have them ready to hand right after pouring the glaze on the cake. The glaze sets quickly, and if you wait too long, the toppings won’t stick.
Sheet cake version: Use a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan in which to bake the cake batter. Reduce the bake time to 15-20 minutes. Glaze as directed. This version is sometimes called “Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake”. The cake is good baked both ways, but my family prefers the fluffier 13x9 inch version.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!