This super moist dark chocolate peanut butter cake marries the flavors of rich dark chocolate and sweet creamy peanut butter—a match made in heaven if ever there was one. Fill and coat the cake with peanut butter frosting, then cover the whole dessert with semi-sweet chocolate ganache, pipe more peanut butter frosting on top… and get ready to swoon, because this is love at first bite.
One reader, Julia, commented: “This recipe is incredible! The cake texture and crumb is moist and delicately fluffy. The peanut butter frosting is perfect—not too sweet or strong. It was a hit at our little after graduation party. And it was gorgeous! Thank you for such an amazing recipe with simple ingredients! ★★★★★“
Meet our newest most eligible bachelor: the dark chocolate peanut butter cake. This cake is rich. Like, ultra-rich. I think the term “filthy rich” might even apply here.
Here’s Why You’ll Swoon Over This Cake
- Cake crumb is fudge-like and moist, yet a little light and spongey.
- Enjoy extra texture from the chocolate chips. (I insist you don’t leave these out! Taste testers said the chocolate chips are a welcome contrast to the smooth frosting and cake… and I agree.)
- Peanut butter frosting packs BIG flavor.
- It’s sweet, but not overly so; the lightly sweetened peanut butter frosting and dark chocolate ganache is a nice break from cloyingly sweet buttercream.
- Very rich! If you’re going to indulge in dessert, put this layer cake on the menu.
This spectacularly rich chocolate ganache-enrobed cake is such a personal and reader favorite that I knew I had to include it in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101 (which has become a New York Times Best Seller!). The cakes chapter just would not have been complete without it!
It’s actually the first recipe in that chapter, and in the book it’s titled “Chocolate Ganache Cake: 2 Ways,” because I include a second filling option—chocolate mousse, just like this recipe for dark chocolate mousse cake. Both versions of ganache-topped chocolate layer cakes have received such glowing reviews on my website, I simply couldn’t choose between them… so I found a way to include them both!
3 Parts to Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Let’s break down each component of this unapologetically indulgent cake:
- Dark Chocolate Cake: We’re starting with the same cake batter from dark chocolate mousse cake and chocolate raspberry cake, both reader favorites. The cake batter is essentially the same as this chocolate cake, but we’re using the sour cream variation because it produces a sturdier cake—certainly beneficial for tall and towering layers.
- Peanut Butter Frosting: Slather on a layer of creamy peanut butter frosting between each cake layer, and use it to apply a crumb coat to the exterior of the cake. It’s a scaled-up version of my original peanut butter frosting recipe.
- Chocolate Ganache: Top the whole cake with 2-ingredient semi-sweet chocolate ganache. I originally frosted this cake with a chocolate buttercream, but all of my taste testers said it was simply too rich and too sweet. “Hard to finish a slice,” most said. With chocolate ganache, one taster distinctly said, “I cannot stop eating this.”
My team and I made at least 6 of these cakes during the testing phase and we had some VERY happy neighbors and friends.
A Cake With Serious Chocolate Flavor
You need a handful of basic baking ingredients for the cake batter. The acidity in both sour cream and buttermilk is a must to provide proper leavening. (If desired, see my Baking Powder vs Baking Soda and Baking with Buttermilk posts for more information.) A touch of espresso powder and hot coffee further enhances the chocolate flavor. The cake will not taste like coffee—rather, the two add depth to the cake’s dark chocolate flavor. Feel free to skip the espresso powder and replace hot coffee with hot water.
- Why hot liquid? The hot liquid encourages the cocoa powder to bloom and dissolve.
Chocolate chips take the chocolate flavor to the next level, and, as I mentioned above, they also supply phenomenal texture. Toss them in a little flour before folding into the batter.
Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
I played around with the ingredients in my usual creamy peanut butter frosting recipe, and made some adjustments in order to yield just the right amount for this cake. You need 5 ingredients:
- Butter
- Peanut Butter: Use the conventional kind, like Jif or Skippy, rather than natural.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: I know you’ll appreciate that there’s less than 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar, a far cry from the usual 6 or 7 cups required for buttercream on a tall layer cake.
- Heavy Cream: You also need this for the chocolate ganache.
- Vanilla Extract
You’ll end up with 3.5–4 cups (about 850g), which is enough frosting for filling, crumb-coating, and some basic piping on the exterior. This frosting has incredible peanut butter flavor because it’s packed with nearly 2 cups of it! There’s no other way to make it. 😉
2-Ingredient Chocolate Ganache
I won’t go into a lot of detail about how to make the ganache because I have a complete chocolate ganache tutorial for you. You need just 2 ingredients: chopped semi-sweet baking chocolate (about 56–60% cacao) and warm heavy cream.
#1 Success Tip: Wait 20–30 minutes for the ganache to thicken before pouring or spooning onto the cake, which is convenient because you also have to wait for the crumb-coated cake to chill.
As you can watch in the video tutorial below, a chilled cake helps set or solidify the ganache as you’re applying it, which helps prevent major drips/big messes.
How to Assemble & Decorate This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
I’m NOT a professional cake decorator and with all of my layer cakes, I prefer simplicity. This detailed how to assemble and decorate a layer cake post is a great guide. Let me share how I stack and decorate this beauty:
Assemble: Place the bottom cooled cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Using a large icing spatula or small offset spatula, evenly cover the top with about 1 cup of peanut butter frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and another 1 cup of frosting. Top with the third cake and then spread a thin layer of the peanut butter frosting on top and around the sides as a crumb coat. Run a bench scraper around the cake to smooth it out. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours to set the crumb coat.
Decorate: Pour slightly cooled chocolate ganache on top, then, once again, run a bench scraper around the sides to smooth it out. Finally, fill a piping bag (reusable or disposable) with the remaining peanut butter frosting and pipe around the edges of the cake. I use Wilton 1M for the piped detail. If desired, you can finish off this chocolate peanut butter bombshell with peanut butter cups.
If you’re just learning how to use piping tips, my piping tips guide is a helpful resource, and don’t miss these complete lists of cake success tips and cake decorating tools.
Now it’s your turn! Swoooon.
Recommended Tools
- Stand Mixer or Handheld Mixer
- 3 9-inch Cake Pans (8-inch also works, but I recommend 9-inch for this cake)
- Parchment Paper Rounds
- Large Icing Spatula and/or Small Offset Spatula
- Cake Turntable (optional, I don’t use one for this)
- Bench Scraper
- Piping Bag (disposable or reusable) & Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Cake Carrier for storing and transporting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12-14
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This super rich chocolate peanut butter cake combines moist chocolate cake with creamy peanut butter frosting and smooth chocolate ganache. Crumb-coated cake and ganache must chill before assembling and decorating the cake. See recipe Notes for further information about some ingredients. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (64g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder*
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (optional)*
- 1/2 cup (113g/120ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120g/ml) hot water or black coffee*
- 1 cup (170g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, tossed in 1 Tablespoon flour
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (440g) creamy peanut butter*
- 1 and 3/4 cups (210g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 3 Tablespoons (45g/ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
Chocolate Ganache
- 8 ounces (226g) quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped*
- 1 cup (240g/ml) heavy cream
- optional garnish: chopped or mini peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if using) together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or you can use a whisk), mix the oil, eggs, and sour cream together on medium-high speed until combined. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and beat until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the hot water/coffee, and whisk or beat on low speed until the batter is completely combined. Fold in the flour-coated chocolate chips. Batter is thin and you may see some air bubbles on the surface—that’s normal. You should have about 6–6.5 cups of batter, or around 1400g. Divide batter evenly between 3 pans.
- Bake for 24–26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Run a knife around the edges to help loosen the sides, remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment, and place on the rack to finish cooling. The cakes may slightly sink in the middle as they cool—that’s expected.
- As the cakes cool, make the peanut butter frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium high speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. With a spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the peanut butter and beat until completely combined, about 1–2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to help combine. Mixture will be thin. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt and then pour in the heavy cream with the mixer running on low speed. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for 1–2 minutes, or until fully combined and creamy. Add up to 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting seems quite thin. You should end up with about 3.5–4 cups (850g) of peanut butter frosting. This amount makes enough for the filling, crumb coat, and for a little piping on top.
- Assemble cake + apply crumb coat: (For extra help with this step, see this video & post on how to assemble a layer cake.) Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Using a large icing spatula or small offset spatula, evenly cover the top with about 1 cup (240g) peanut butter frosting. Repeat with 2nd and 3rd cake layers, spreading about 1 cup of peanut butter frosting in between each layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the top and around the sides as a crumb coat. Run a bench scraper around the cake to smooth out the sides. Chill uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours to set the crumb coat.
- As your crumb coat sets, make the chocolate ganache: Place finely chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil—that’s too hot!) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2–3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate. With a metal spoon or small rubber spatula, very slowly stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Ganache is thin. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream. If it’s not melting, do not microwave it. If needed, see Troubleshooting Chocolate Ganache. Once the ganache is smooth, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour to thicken before spreading on the crumb-coated cake.
- Pour/spoon thickened ganache on chilled cake. Smooth the top with an icing spatula and the sides with a bench scraper. If desired, pipe remaining peanut butter frosting around the edge of the cake. I used Wilton 1M piping tip on the pictured cake. Garnish with peanut butter cups, if desired. Serve cake immediately or chill, uncovered, for up to 4–6 hours before serving. Cake can be served at room temperature or chilled.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I always use a cake carrier for storing and transporting.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 3. Wrap the individual baked and cooled cake layers tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, then continue with step 4. You can prepare the peanut butter frosting in advance. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using and beat in a little more room-temperature heavy cream to thin out if necessary. You can also prepare the chocolate ganache ahead of time. Refrigerate prepared ganache for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before spreading onto cake. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold. See this post on how to freeze cakes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Large Icing Spatula and/or Small Offset Spatula | Cake Turntable, Cake Stand, or Serving Platter | Bench Scraper | Piping Bag (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip | Cake Carrier (for storing)
- Cocoa Powder: This recipe requires natural cocoa powder for its acidity, so do not use Dutch-process. Learn about the difference in this post on Dutch-process vs. natural cocoa powder.
- Espresso Powder/Coffee: Espresso powder and coffee will not make the cake taste like coffee. Rather, they deepen the chocolate flavor. I highly recommend them both. If coffee isn’t your thing, you can leave out the espresso powder and use extra hot water instead of the hot coffee.
- Sour Cream: Instead of sour cream, you can use plain Greek yogurt. The cake won’t taste as rich, but it’s a fine substitute.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute if needed. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1/2 cup. (In a pinch, lower-fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Peanut Butter: To prevent the frosting from separating or coming out too thin or oily, use processed creamy peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy.
- Why Room Temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter and frosting mix together easily and evenly. Read more about why room-temperature ingredients are important.
- Chocolate Ganache: You can use high-quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips if needed, but when melting chocolate, I recommend using pure chocolate baking bars (chocolate chips have stabilizers). You can find them right next to the chocolate chips in the baking aisle. I like Baker’s or Ghirardelli brands, the ones labeled semi-sweet (56% cacao), which come in 4-ounce (113g) bars.
- Cupcakes: Here’s a very similar recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. Feel free to fill them with the peanut butter frosting (instead of frosting them with it) and top each with chocolate ganache. Or use this recipe for ganache-topped cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, and replace the cream filling with peanut butter frosting.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I put a thin layer of rhubarb jam in between the layers to lighten the rich cake. I also used just one pan, and baked the batter in two times. I took the risk of cutting one of them horizontally to end up with three layers and it all worked out well as the cake has a moist but firm texture. Thank you for the recipe!
have made it twice…the best!
Hi Sally,
I’d like to make this cake for a peanut butter lover but I am worried it would be too “thick”. Is it a good idea to add a thin layer of sour jam on each layer before the peanut butter frosting to lighten it a bit?
Also I only have one 9 inch pan. Shall I bake the batter all at once and cut in three or rather split the batter in two and bake one layer after each other?
Thank you!
Hi Lucia! We haven’t tested thin layers of jam in this recipe, but it sounds delicious! We would bake the cakes one at a time in your 9 inch pan. Leave the batter covered at room temperature as you wait to reuse the pan.
Hi Sally, could I make this cane in a 8inch pans instead? If so, what would be the baking time? Thank you!
Hi Sonya, you can use 8 inch pans for thicker layers, the bake time will be longer (we’re unsure of the exact time, so use a toothpick to test for doneness).
If I wanted to do a full coating of peanut butter frosting after the crumb cake and omit the chocolate ganache.. Do I need to double the recipe of the frosting?
Hi Liza! Depending on how thick you want your coat of frosting and how much decorating you’ll do, we would do 1.5 or 2x this recipe.
Can I use regular chocolate chips instead of mini?
Hi Kim, Regular sized chocolate chips may be too heavy for the batter to suspend while baking and they could fall to the bottoms of the cakes.
Hi Sally! You’re my go to baker! A few notes I wanted to share is that for this recipe with 2 pans the bake time should be longer (for your 3 pan cake, the time is listed as the same 24-26 minutes) obviously a 2 pan cake would need a longer bake time, so a modification should be made. The peanut butter amount is exactly a 16.3 oz jar that I thought could be helpful to share!
I made this for a customer’s Labor Day family event. It was the discussion of the event! Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Any suggestions on how to make this cake with 2 cake pans? What types of adjustments would you make? Just do 2/3 of everything? Might be tough with the eggs but I could weigh them. Thanks!
Hi Brittany, you can use two pans for thicker layers, the bake time will be longer. Or, for a smaller cake, you could make 2/3 the amount of batter, but that math may be a little tricky. Happy baking!
Can you use Cake Flour for this recipe
Hi LM, we don’t recommend it. Cake flour is often too light to use with chocolate cakes, which are already very light from using cocoa powder. It’s best to stick with all-purpose flour here.
Hi! I want to make this for my dad’s bday but he’s not a fan of dark chocolate, is there a way to make it not so bitter like dark chocolate?
Hi Briana! The cake doesn’t have a bitter taste, but if you leave out the espresso powder and use hot water instead of coffee, the cake certainly doesn’t taste as dark. Hope it’s a hit for your dad’s birthday!
This was amazing. Followed recipe exactly, and it was perfect! I am experienced with making cakes, and really enjoyed the dense, moist crumb with the rich pb frosting and ganache. Thanks!
I loved this recipe, but I wanted to comment for those wanting a tall cake. The layers turned out thinner than I expected. I made another half recipe for a fourth layer to make my cake decently tall, so if you want a big cake, definitely do that. I used this cake recipe and paired it with cookie dough frosting and it got rave reviews!
Really great cake. Everybody just loved it. Saved in my best cake recipe file
Crowd pleaser!
thanks so much for this recipe. i honestly love all your ideas!
Could you use the peanut butter frosting used in the high top cupcakes if you doubled it? Thanks!
Hi Anna, I *think* that should work, though I haven’t tested it myself with this exact cake. I have used it for another cake and it was excellent. Let me know how it turns out.
Hi I’d like to make a 6” cake instead of a 9”. I see the chocolate cupcake recipe but it’s not the same. Can you provide a 6” cake recipe with all of the ingredients from the 9” recipe?
Hi Lisa, here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes. Happy baking!
DOUBLE WOW-IE!!
I made this cake and it came out PERFECT!! Moist, flavorful chocolate cake with the BEST tasting peanut butter frosting I have ever made!! The ganache came out perfect and spread beautifully on the cold cake:-). I decorated it with the peanut butter cups:/). Sally- this has to be in the top 5 of the best of your recipes!! I personally would rank it number 1, with the lemon blueberry layer cake at number 2. Your recipes are reliable, delicious, and easy to follow! Thank you for sharing your talent with the baking community!!
Going to make this tomorrow for my husband’s bday! Any tips for high-altitude baking? (in Colorado)
Hi Dana, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Hi! I’m wondering if Sally has a recommendation for making this a Chocolate Peanut Butter *Espresso* Cake. I read that the added espresso doesn’t make it taste like coffee—but I would love to add a coffee flavor to this one! Any advice?
Hi Abigail! Adding extra espresso powder could definitely bring that flavor out. You may also love our espresso chocolate chip cake!
Hi I’m wondering if it’s possible to convert this recipe to 3 6 “ round cake pans?
Hi Lisa! We’d recommend using our dark chocolate cupcakes recipe for the cake batter, and you can follow the bake time and instructions from our 6 inch cake recipes post. Then, you can halve the frosting and ganache from this recipe. Happy baking!
I’m about to try this recipe with a few tweaks as my brother requested a chocolate peanut butter cake for his birthday, however I plan on doing a two-tier fondant covered cake rather than ganache, is this cake too soft for stacking or would it work well?
Hi Latasha, unfortunately we do not have a chocolate cake at this time that is sturdy enough for using as a bottom tier. You could use it as the top tier, though, with the bottom tier as one of the flavors listed in our wedding cake post. Let us know what you try!
I made this tonight. The only thing I did different was to bake it in a 9×13. I wanted to do a sheet cake but didn’t have the pan. This cake was a hit with everyone that tasted it.
I don’t usually leave reviews. I felt that since I have made this cake three times now, I should comment upon my experience! The flavor is fantastic. I use the peanut butter frosting on many recipes, not just this cake. I put it on brownies, cupcakes, etc.
The problem with the cake is the sinking. Each time I have made it, the cakes sink quite a bit. So much so that I have to put a pool of frosting in the middle to level things out. That’s the only downfall. I think there are better chocolate cake recipes on her website that don’t fall so much.
Just made cake for my 15 year old son’s birthday. Cake looked great and all went well until I got to the buttercream. Yours looks nice and fluffy (watched video too), mine was like concrete and then split, added extra cream to try and rescue it, alas did not work. Has to use it as had no more peanut butter or icing sugar, will probably need to use hammer and chisel to portion cake . Never mind, I tried. Cake and ganache look great. Thanks for recipe, will try again in the future and will make sure I have lots of peanut butter and icing sugar for another go.
I’m sorry to hear that you had trouble with the peanut butter frosting! What kind of peanut butter did you use?
This recipe.is incredible! The cake texture and crumb is moist and delicately fluffy. The peanut butter frosting is perfect, not too sweet or strong. It was a hit at our little after graduation party. And it was gorgeous! Thank you for such a amazing recipe with simple ingredients!
This was fantastic! I made it for my son’s 16th birthday and it was a huge hit! I added Reese’s pieces to top – yummy and colorful!
Delicious. Everyone in the family loved it. Made as directed.
Do you think the frosting could be colored with gel food coloring? I wanted to do a sunset ombré look so I’m wondering if the PB frosting would work or if I’d have to make a batch of vanilla frosting. Thanks!
Hi Mina, we honestly aren’t sure! We haven’t experimented with tinting the peanut butter frosting. I’m sorry we can’t be of help here!
Can these be made into cupcakes? How many would they like make and how long to bake?
Hi Michele, Here’s a very similar recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. Feel free to fill them with the peanut butter frosting (instead of frosting them with it) and top each with chocolate ganache.
I think I forgot to rate it! 5 stars!