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Peanut butter chocolate cake sliced into two pieces on a plate.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cake

Karissa Parrish
This Reese's Peanut Butter cake features a moist and rich chocolate cake, a creamy peanut butter frosting, and plenty of chopped peanut butter cups. If you are a Reese's lover like myself, you need to make this cake!
4.72 from 14 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Decorating 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 slices

Equipment

  • Three 6-Inch Cake Pans
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Electric Stand Mixer
  • Whisk

Ingredients:
 
 

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 cup milk, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 20 miniature Reese's peanut butter cups

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
  • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache

  • ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions:
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper then nonstick spray. Set aside.

Chocolate Cake

  • Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
  • In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the warm water, milk, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry, whisking until a wet batter forms (do not overmix).
  • Divide the batter amongst the three prepared cake pans and bake for 23-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cakes come out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer using the paddle attachent, cream together the butter and peanut butter on med-high speed until light and creamy (2-3 minutes). Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until combined. Then beat on high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.

Chocolate Ganache:

  • In a small bowl, add the chocolate chips. Set aside. In a microwaveable-safe bowl, heat the heavy whipping cream until bubbling (30-45 seconds). Pour the heavy cream into the chocolate chips and allow it to sit for 3 minutes, then whisk together until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Assemble

  • If needed, use a serrated knife to level off the tops of each cake layer to create a flat surface. Place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate and spread about ⅔ cup of frosting. Then top with 8 miniature peanut butter cups that have been chopped up.
  • Repeat with the second layer. Top the cake with the last layer and spread on about ¼ cup of frosting. Frost and smooth the outside of the cake with a thin crumb coat. Place the entire cake in the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes to chill.
  • Remove the cake from the refrigerator and finish frosting with the remaining buttercream. Cover the sides and top of the cake again until frosted to your desire (use a cake scraper for a smooth finish).
  • Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. I used the Wilton 1M piping tip to decorate the top of the cake, along with more miniature peanut butter cups that have been cut in half.
  • Refrigerate the cake for at least 15 minutes before serving so it's easier to cut. Keep any leftover cake slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes:

Cake Pans: For this recipe, I used three 6-inch cake pans, but you could also use two 8-inch or two 9-inch cake pans (the baking time may be different). Prepare each cake pan by lining them with parchment paper and then non-stick spray.
Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.
Crumb Coat: This is where we add a thin layer of frosting on the cake in order to catch the crumbs and keeps them secure. You’ll want to chill the cake in the refrigerator or freezer for 10 minutes after the crumb coat has been put on before the final frosting layer.
Peanut Butter Cups: In total, you'll need 20 miniature Reese's cups for this cake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 815kcalCarbohydrates: 95gProtein: 12gFat: 50gSaturated Fat: 23gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 384mgPotassium: 293mgFiber: 4gSugar: 70gVitamin A: 866IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 3mg
Keyword chocolate cake, peanut butter chocolate cake, reese's peanut butter cake
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