A Peanut Butter Lover’s Dream Cake
Sure, layer cakes are impressive, but there’s something to be said about classic, from-scratch sheet cakes. Their ease (no leveling, layering, crumb coating), flavor (just as good!), and nostalgic, homey feel is simply unparalleled in the cake world. Today’s tender peanut butter sheet cake is no different; it’s simple, flavorful, and is decorated and served right in its baking dish. It’s a classic! This cake has a balanced peanut butter flavor that’s prominent without being too overwhelming. My favorite part is the frosting though…it’s like a candied peanut butter fudge topping! It’s super rich (so we use just the right amount) and pairs beautifully with the texture of the cake. I think you’re really going to love this one, so let’s dive right in!
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients in this peanut butter sheet cake:
Peanut butter. Do NOT use “natural” peanut butter that separates! Unfortunately, in many peanut butter recipes (like my buckeyes, peanut butter balls, and the frosting on my peanut butter chocolate cake) readers have reported oily failures when they tried to use natural peanut butter, so best bet is to avoid it here. I prefer to use creamy peanut butter, but crunchy could be used instead. Butter. I highly recommend using unsalted butter in this recipe (and most of my others!). I have a post comparing salted vs. unsalted butter that you can check out if you’d like an in-depth explanation, but essentially, unsalted butter allows for better precision. This is especially important when using a salted ingredient like peanut butter Buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can always use my easy buttermilk substitute, but the real stuff will give you the best flavor and moisture. Brown sugar. Light brown sugar adds some depth to the cake that really complements the peanut butter flavor well, like in my peanut butter cookies. Baking soda. Make sure to use baking soda and not baking powder–they are not the same thing! If you want to learn more about the differences between the two, read my post on baking powder vs. baking soda.
SAM’S TIP: When making your frosting, you’ll want to stir CONSTANTLY once the butter melts. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove it immediately to prevent any burning. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make It
SAM’S TIP: Once your frosting is fully prepared, you need to work quickly to get it on the cake. The frosting will solidify somewhat, and you want that to happen on the cake–not in the bowl! Baking, decorating, and serving all in the same pan–the beauty of a sheet cake! Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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