Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake

This easy Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake is so moist and delicious. The peanut butter frosting is fluffy and creamy. You can whip this up for the peanut butter lovers in your life and they will love you forever.

If you love peanut butter, try this delicious Peanut Butter Sheet Cake with it’s creamy peanut butter frosting! Or whip up a batch of our reader favorite Peanut Butter Cookies!

Peanut Butter cake on a wooden cake plate and topped with reese's peanut butter cups.


Why this Recipe is Best

Raise your hand if you have any peanut butter lovers in your life?

If the answer is yes, then you need to make this peanut butter cake ASAP! This is such a yummy peanut butter treat that you can make for your beloved peanut butter fans, or as a special birthday cake idea!

I also like to call it Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake—It’s packed full of chopped candy and topped with a few extra Reese’s too!

My love for peanut butter dip and peanut butter fudge forced me into making this delicious cake recipe!

As you probably know, peanut butter tends to put a weight on baked goods. There’s definitely a thin line between enjoying a light, moist cake and a heavy, dense, dry cake.

But no need to toe the line with this cake.

  • It is everything you want in a Reese’s peanut butter cake. It’s light and moist and every few bites you get bits of chopped up Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
  • The peanut butter frosting is quite literally the icing on the cake. It’s creamy, silky, and totally addictive. I highly recommend using heavy cream instead of milk to make the best frosting ever!
  • No need to mess with a layer cake here, just one perfect layer of Reese’s packed peanut butter cake!
Peanut butter frosted cake on a wooden cake plate and garnished with mini Reese's peanut butter cups.

How to make Peanut Butter Cake

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9″ cake pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Step 2: Finely chop up the peanut butter cups and then mix them with 1 tbsp. flour. The candy tends to sink at the bottom if you don’t mix it with a little bit of flour. Set aside.

Step 3: In a mixing bowl, cream your butter, peanut butter, and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Step 4: In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

PRO TIP: I rarely sift my ingredients together, however, with this recipe, you want everything light and airy, it’s very important to sift the dry ingredients.

Step 5: At low-speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Step 6: Add in the chopped peanut butter cups to the batter. Using a spatula, mix until well combined.

Step 7: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake your cake for 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Step 8: Let the cake cool for five minutes. Turn it out onto a rack, and peel off the parchment paper. Let your cake cool completely before frosting.

Top view of peanut butter swirled frosting on a single layer cake. Decorated with peanut butter cups.

How to Make Peanut Butter Frosting

Step 1: In a mixing bowl add the butter, peanut butter and 1/3 cup heavy cream. Stir at low-speed until well combined.

Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When all the sugar has been added, increase your speed and mix for two more minutes. If needed, slowly add in a few more drops of heavy cream.

Step 2: Frost the cake completely. Decorate the top with peanut butter cups or Reese’s pieces.

Step 3: Keep the cake covered until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

Peanut butter cake with frosting and Reese's peanut butter cups on top, served on a wooden cake platter.

Tips and Tricks

  • Use parchment paper for the bottom of your cake pan. This helps it come out easily so you can frost it. Do NOT use wax paper.
  • Don’t use the all-natural peanut butter. It tends to be too oily for this cake recipe.
  • Don’t skip using the buttermilk. It makes this peanut butter cake extra delicious!
  • If you don’t use buttermilk often, keeping a can of powdered buttermilk in your pantry will come in handy. It’s so easy to use and has a longer shelf life than the refrigerated buttermilk.
  • Use my buttermilk substitute for a quick swap!
  • Try chilling the cake for a different texture and flavor. It tastes amazing, like frozen peanut butter cups!
  • Switch up the toppings you use. In addition to peanut butter cups (my personal favorite) you could use chocolate chips, sprinkles, or Reese’s pieces to top this cake.
  • Beat the frosting for several minutes, until it’s nice and fluffy.
  • You can also change up the frosting flavors if you want to try something different. Both my chocolate buttercream and Nutella frosting recipes would be delicious on this cake!
Slice of peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting on a white plate.

Can I Freeze Peanut Butter Cake?

Have you ever tried to freeze a cake? I have successfully frozen cakes and am here to tell you that yes, you can freeze this cake as well. If it lasts that long, that is! If you want to make it and then freeze it, you can do so a few different ways:

  1. Bake the cake and allow it to cool completely. Wrap it in parchment paper, then wrap it in foil, and then freeze. When you’re ready to enjoy it, thaw it at room temperature.
  2. Bake the cake and let it cool completely. Frost as directed. Freeze the whole cake in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature when you’re ready to enjoy.
  3. This is my favorite option. Make your cake and enjoy it for several days. Freeze the remaining cake by wrapping the leftover slices in parchment paper and then slide them into a ziploc bag. You can freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature when you’re ready to enjoy.
Cake with peanut butter frosting and Reese's peanut butter cups on a wooden cake plate.

More Peanut Butter

More Cake Recipes

Peanut Butter Cake

4.82 from 59 votes
By: Aimee
This easy Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake is so moist and delicious. The peanut butter frosting is fluffy and creamy. You can whip this up for the peanut butter lovers in your life and they will love you forever.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 33 minutes
Additional Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients 

For the Cake:

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup finely chopped peanut butter cups
  • 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour for coating the candy

For the Peanut Butter Frosting:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • ⅓ to ½ cup heavy cream depending on your peanut butter thickness
  • Peanut Butter Cups

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease one 9" cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  • Toss chopped peanut butter cups with 1 Tbsp of flour, set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl cream butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.
  • In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. At low-speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
  • Add the chopped peanut butter cups to the batter. With a spatula mix until combined.
  • Spoon batter in the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake cake 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool cake 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack, peel off parchment. Cool cake completely before frosting.
  • To make the frosting, in a mixing bowl add the butter, peanut butter and 1/3 cup heavy cream. Stir at low-speed until combined. Slowly add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When all the sugar is added increase the speed and mix for 2 more minutes. If needed, slowly add few more drops of heavy cream.
  • Frost the cake completely. Decorate with peanut butter cups.
  • Keep cake covered. Serve at room temperature.

Notes

  • Use parchment paper for the bottom of your cake pan. This helps it come out easily so you can frost it. Do NOT use wax paper.
  • Don’t use the all-natural peanut butter. It tends to be too oily for this cake recipe.
  • Don’t skip using the buttermilk. It makes this peanut butter cake extra delicious! If you don’t use buttermilk often, keeping a can of powdered buttermilk in your pantry will come in handy. It’s so easy to use and has a longer shelf life than the refrigerated buttermilk. Use my buttermilk substitute for a quick swap!
  • Try chilling the cake for a different texture and flavor. It tastes amazing, like frozen peanut butter cups!
  • Switch up the toppings you use. In addition to peanut butter cups (my personal favorite) you could use chocolate chips, sprinkles, or Reese’s pieces to top this cake.
  • You can also change up the frosting flavors if you want to try something different. Both my chocolate buttercream and Nutella frosting recipes would be delicious on this cake!
  • Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 401kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 279mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 30g
    Course: Cake
    Cuisine: American
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!

    The Best Peanut Butter Cake recipe topped with creamy Peanut Butter buttercream frosting and extra Reese’s peanut butter cups!



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    About Aimee

    Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

    Learn more about Aimee.

    Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

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    Posted on June 24, 2019

    Comments & Reviews

    1. I made this last night and Wow, it’s a keeper! My husband and I both loved it. To be honest it was all I could do to keep from eating another slice as my breakfast. I made the recipe exactly as directed but added 1 tsp of vanilla to the icing. Thanks for sharing!

    2. I have made this cake several times, people love it! I have doubled it perfectly to make a stacked cake
      I do have a question on the frosting: sometimes it gets too gummy … should I add more butter?
      Thanks
      Love it
      Finger lickin good

    3. I already made this cake twice. Absolutely delicious. I used cake flour (add extra 1 and 1/4 tablespoons flour). It was light and fluffy. I did have to bake it for an extra 10 minutes. I will try this cake again using all purpose flour.
      Thank you for sharing this recipe. This will be my go to cake for my family.

    4. Love this recipe, but my cake keeps falling. What am I doing wrong. Thanks for all the great treats to make for my family.

    5. I’m thinking I want to make this into a 2 layer cake and use your Nutella frosting in the middle for added chocolate punch. I figure you don’t want to cut this because of the cups inside. Should I increase the recipe by say 50% and pour two pans?

    6. I made this today for my Husbands Birthday! It was delicious! New favorite here! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!

    7. attempted this today, wasn’t done after 40 mins , center was still soft and edges were done….completely fell in when I pulled it out of the oven…epic fail…I could have baked another 10 minutes and it maybe would have been done but overdone on the edges…no idea why this happened

    8. Thank you for this amazing cake recipe! I made it for my husband for Father’s Day and it was such a hit with my whole family! It was the perfect amount of peanut butter and sweetness. Your directions were perfect. I will definitely make this again.

      1. I just made this without doubling and baked it in a 13×9. It turned out perfect. Just lower the bake time 5 minutes or so. I started checking it at 25 minutes.

    9. Can you make this cake without the peanut butter cups??  My son-in-law is allergic to chocolate but loves peanut butter.  Just wondering how it would work and taste without them.   

      1. The cake still tastes amazing without the peanut butter cups. I put mini chocolate chips in the batter instead and it came out really good!

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