The best peanut butter cake ever!
Ranked #4,234 in Food & Cooking, #81,122 overall
Peanut butter cake sure to please any lover of peanut butter.
Since I have a wheat allergy, I figured out a way to modify the recipe to be made for our whole family to enjoy. It tasted amazing, so I've included both versions.
This cake isn't a pretty one, so don't expect it to be a showpiece. What it lacks in appearance, though, it makes up for in taste.
Peanut Butter Cake - Original Recipe
The recipe was originally printed in a Dormeyer electric mixer recipe instruction book. My mother-in-law has made it since the early 60's, and I've written the ingredients list and instructions out as she told it to me.
- Serves: 8-10, depending on how thin you slice the cake
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 50 min
Ingredients
- 2 Cups sifted cake flour (regular sifted flour can be substituted)
- 1 1/3 Cup sugar
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 Cup vegetable shortening (common brand name is Crisco)
- 1/3 Cup creamy peanut butter (don't use natural peanut butter that separates. My personal favorite for this recipe is JIF )
- 1 Cup milk - divided
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup eggs
Instructions
Have all ingredients at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 round 8-inch cake pans. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then add 2/3 Cup of the milk. Mix together on the slow-medium setting of your mixer for 2 minutes, scraping the sides frequently. Add the shortening, peanut butter, remaining milk and eggs. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour evenly into the 2 cake pans, then bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool thoroughly before icing the cake with the Peanut Butter Icing. (see recipe further down the page)
Enjoying Peanut Butter Cake
My daughter loves this cake too. It's a dense, heavier cake, so you may want to go smaller on the slices. I personally like to enjoy it with coffee to cut the sweetness, but my little girl here prefers milk.
Peanut Butter Cake - Wheat Free/Gluten Free Version
Here's how I modified the peanut butter cake recipe to make it work for someone who eats wheat-free/gluten-free. It still tasted amazing!
- Serves: 8-10, depending how you slice the cake
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 50 min
Ingredients
- 2 Cups plus 1 tablespoon Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix
- 1 1/3 Cup sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 Cup vegetable shortening (common brand name is Crisco)
- 1/3 Cup creamy peanut butter (don't use natural peanut butter that separates. My personal favorite for this recipe is JIF )
- 1 Cup milk - divided
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup eggs
Instructions
Have all ingredients at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (use rice flour or more Pamela's mix) 2 round 8-inch cake pans. Stir together Pamela's mix, sugar and salt. Then add 2/3 Cup of the milk. Mix together on the slow-medium setting of your mixer for 2 minutes, scraping the sides frequently. Add the shortening, peanut butter, remaining milk and eggs. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour evenly into the 2 cake pans, then bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool thoroughly before icing the cake with the Peanut Butter Icing. (see recipe further down the page)
Get the Ingredients
Additional Tip:
If you'd like the cake to have 4 layers, just use a serrated knife to cut each round cake in half lengthwise. The peanut butter icing recipe makes enough to put between 4 layers as long as you don't spread it on too thick. The cake is also great with just two layers, but there's a lot of extra icing....not necessarily a bad thing.
This Peanut Butter Cake Goes Fast!
I sliced one layer in half to make a 3-layer cake for my husband's birthday this year. It got devoured pretty quickly.
Peanut Butter Icing - My Mother-in-Law's Own Recipe
You just have to use this icing for the peanut butter cake; it makes for a truly heavenly peanut butter experience. This is a candy icing, so you MUST watch it like a hawk, but it's totally worth the effort.
- Serves: Ices one four-layer peanut butter cake, or a 2-layer cake with extra icing
- Total Time: approx. 40 min
It can turn out differently each time in terms of consistency, but the taste is still the same. If you have to err on the side of too thick or too runny, always go for a bit too runny. It sets up quickly. I'm not kidding.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cup tightly packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 Cup sugar
- 1 Cup milk
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 to 1/2 Cup creamy peanut butter (the smooth kind - not natural separated peanut butter. I use JIF.)
- small amount of vegetable oil if necessary
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, boil sugars and milk until they form a soft ball in cold water (235 to 245 degrees Farenheit). ***If you have not made a candy icing before, see the Candy Icing Tips section of this site.
Add the butter. Cool the mixture for 15 min. When you are ready to ice the cakes, pour the sugar/milk/butter mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer, then add the peanut butter 1/4 Cup at a time, beating at medium-high speed after each addition to blend. You have to just eyeball it to see if it's a good consistency. If you need to thin the icing out a bit, just use a little bit of vegetable oil, added sparingly. Even if you don't add any vegetable oil, the icing may still be thin enough to slowly flow down the sides of the cake. That's ok.
Ice the cake immediately. The icing sets quickly, so time is of the essence.
Candy Icing Tips
Please read if you have never made candy or candy icing before.
The easiest way to test the temperature of sugar syrup is with a candy thermometer. While not quite as accurate, you can also use a digital meat thermometer secured to the side of your saucepan with a metal clip so that it rests in the sugar mixture and doesn't touch the bottom of the pan.If you don't have a thermometer, here's a handy how-to guide:
How to Test the Temperature of Sugar Syrup by Elizabeth LaBau, About.com
If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can still make candy from sugar syrups by using the cold-water method. During the cooking stage, remove your pan from the heat and drop a small spoonful of sugar syrup into a bowl of very cold water. Immerse your hand in the cold water, try to form the sugar into a ball, and bring it out of the water. By examining the shape and texture of the resulting candy blob, you can determine the approximate temperature of your sugar. This method takes a little practice, and is not as exact as a candy thermometer, but it will do in a pinch!
A quick word of caution: Please be careful when working with hot sugar, especially if you decide to use the cold-water method of temperature testing. Sugar burns are nasty. Hot sugar is almost impossible to quick rub or rinse off the skin, and thus continues burning long after it comes into contact with your skin. Please don't allow yourself to be sloppy or distracted when working with hot sugar, and avoid dangling hair, jewelry, or clothing over the work area.
Candy Thermometers
More of The Story Behind this Recipe
My mother-in-law Virginia (shown here on her birthday with a shot glass of cake -- at one of my favorite restaurants, Seasons 52) found the peanut butter cake recipe in the recipe book that came with her (now vintage) Dormeyer mixer in the early 1960s and baked it for her husband's birthday. Since he loved peanut butter, she modified a caramel icing recipe to make a peanut butter icing to adorn the cake. The results were delectable, and my father-in-law Sam requested the cake each year for his birthday.One year while Virginia was making the icing for Sam's birthday peanut butter cake, her son Len (my now husband) called to tell his parents that he was engaged. Virginia, focusing hard on the tricky icing, asked her son if he was joking and asked him why he was trying to ruin her cake. Len is a big prankster, so this wasn't as harsh as it sounds, and years later, we're still laughing at it.
Virginia isn't just a good cook, she's an incredible mother-in-law, and I'm so glad that she's in my life. After losing her husband and surviving breast cancer, she still has a positive attitude and an abiding faith in the Lord. She's an inspiration to me.
KitchenAid Stand Mixers
An awesome tool for creating baked goods and so much more.
Show Your Love of Cake
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What do you think?
So are you going to bake the cake? If you have already, tell me about it. Any other great cake recipes or feedback that you want to share?
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Wedding_Mom
May 20, 2012 @ 11:39 am | delete
- Looks delicious.
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Einar_A
May 14, 2012 @ 10:40 pm | delete
- This sounds like something I must try! I wonder how it would work to use peanut flour (roasted peanuts ground in the blender) instead of the GF baking mix?
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pawpaw911
May 7, 2012 @ 4:39 pm | delete
- Looks and sounds good to me.
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gypsykitschpress
May 6, 2012 @ 10:04 pm | delete
- This looks completely yummy. Thanks for a great lens.
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CruiseReady Apr 26, 2012 @ 1:14 pm | delete
- Your mother in law sounds like a real lovely person
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SquidooMBA
Apr 19, 2012 @ 3:48 pm | delete
- Just wanted to stop by and give you a "High Five" for this delicious lens. Great job!
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GeekGirl1
Apr 7, 2012 @ 8:47 pm | delete
- One way to enjoy peanut butter.
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JoshK47
Mar 8, 2012 @ 5:31 pm | delete
- Swimming past again to bless this very tasty looking cake recipe. :)
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hntrssthmpsn
Mar 3, 2012 @ 7:51 pm | delete
- This looks amazing! I've never had peanut butter cake... but hey, I like cake, and I like peanut butter! I'm delighted to see the gluten-free option here, too. A close friend of mine avoids gluten. She'll be *thrilled* to be able to join us for cake!
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Sylvestermouse
Jan 25, 2012 @ 11:39 am | delete
- Oh, my! This sounds heavenly!
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Check Out The Rest of My Food & Recipe Sites
More cake, candy and peanut butter
Also includes wheat-free & gluten-free resources.
- About.com : candy temperature guide
- Here's a guide to candy temperature testing with a link to visuals about what each stage will look like if you're not using a candy thermometer.
- JIF Peanut Butter
- Guide to types of JIF peanut butter and all things JIF, including recipes, Pillsbury Bake-Off info, history and fun tidbits.
- Paula Deen's Peanut Butter Cake
- With 4 stars out of 5, Paula's Peanut Butter Cake has pretty good but mixed reviews. It's another option.
- Pamela's Products
- Pamela's Products specializes in wheat-free, gluten-free baked goods. In case you want to have chocolate or vanilla cake that doesn't need to be baked from scratch, these mixes bake up delectable cakes.
Love the peanut butter cake?
Share the peanut butter love. Pass on the recipe!
Baker of Peanut Butter Cake
by BunnyFabulous
I love peanut butter. And cake. My mother-in-law makes the most fabulous peanut butter cake, and I learned how to bake it for my husband. Now you g... more »
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