Easy Peanut Butter Cake
Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman were my parents' neighbor friends growing up, and we all looked forward to Mrs. Zimmerman's peanut butter cake when someone died or at potlucks and other occasions. It's moist and absolutely wonderful! They've both passed away now, God bless their souls, but thankfully she shared this recipe with my Mom many years ago. By the way, the chocolate drizzle on top was my addition just for fun, Mrs. Zimmerman's had only the peanut butter frosting.
Scroll down for all of the pictures, and yes, this easy peanut butter cake is as moist and amazingly tasty as it looks — it melts in your mouth!
Concerned about too much sugar? Good, you should be, but this is a once-in-a-while treat, and homemade — the only way to eat desserts guilt-free in my opinion! Plus the butter in the recipe helps, believe it or not. Click to read more about mitigating the effects of sugar in our bodies and helping to lower the glycemic index in foods.
Or click for more homemade dessert recipes.
And by the way, one of best things about homeschooling is that my kids aren't getting crap handed to them at school every day of the week, so an occasional treat around here doesn't bother me so much.
(Here are my posts about homeschooling.)
This easy peanut butter cake couldn't be any more simple! Scroll down for more pictures…
Easy Peanut Butter Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 2 cup flour --click for the ones I like: Einkorn flour or just organic all-purpose flour
- 2 cup sugar --click for the natural sugar I use
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt --click for the sea salt we like
- 2 sticks/16 Tablespoons butter/1 cup, melted
- 1/2 cup organic nut butter of your choice --click for soaked nut butter or another soaked nut butter or this almond nut butter
- 1 cup water --filtered is best (click for water filters)
- 2 eggs --pastured eggs are best
- 1/2 cup milk --see my post about healthy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Frosting ingredients:
- 1/2 cup organic nut butter
- 9 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar – I cut this back from 2 cups --if it's clumpy, be sure to sift it before adding it with the other 2 ingredients.
Chocolate drizzle ingredients, optional (this was my addition):
- 1 cup of your favorite chocolate chips --GMO free if you can find them, or buy organic, click here for the chocolate chips I sometimes get, but the label isn't real sparkly
- 6 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*.
- Mix the cake ingredients together well (dry ingredients first, then add wet ingredients), I use my Bosch mixer. Spread evenly into a cookie sheet/sheet cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top feels set. Don't overbake.
- Mix the frosting ingredients together well, and spread onto the cake once it's cool. It's not going to look like enough, but it works out to be perfect, even after the kids (and maybe mom) do some sampling and taste-testing.
- Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a saucepan on low heat until smooth. Let cool and use a spoon to drizzle it around, OR spoon into a baggie (or pastry bag) with a small corner cut off. Pipe it through onto the cake in whatever pattern you feel like.
Notes
ENJOY!
Scroll down for more pictures, including a couple of Kasey's variations… (<– that link has more about the below photos)
Devbabbar says
Amazing looking so yumm! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Lori says
(Reposting a comment from Lori after a website glitch lost it…)
The cake sounds delish! I will have to try. I do not buy bought cakes as they are not only over-priced, they do not taste good! I do not buy cake mixes (haven’t for so many years!) as they leave a metallic taste in my mouth. Occasionally I will have a small piece of cake when we are at an event, but not often. A couple months back we were at a cousin’s graduation party and my husband and I both had some cake. On way home, I mentioned how I was surprised the cake had been a boxed cake since one of my cousin’s wife had made it. My husband asked me how I knew it was boxed. I told him I can always tell by looks and by taste as it always leaves a metallic taste. He looked at me surprised and said he’d had a metallic taste in his mouth and hadn’t thought of it being the cake! I’ve been making homemade cakes for many, many years because they are so easy and delicious. I make everything from sponge cakes (including angel foods), chiffon cakes, to regular cakes in all flavors and kinds. Over the years I just learned to modify recipes that I’ve always used (or new ones) by replacing shortening with either palm shortening, lard, butter, or olive oil. Any recipe calling for vegetable oil automatically gets replaced with olive oil. You cannot taste the difference.
I do not make cakes all the time, just for special occasions. Back in March I made two double sheet cakes (I have a pan this size, which holds the equivalent of two cake batches or mixes), one was a wonderful chocolate cake with homemade chocolate icing (the best recipe I’ve ever had for chocolate cake- can’t remember where I got the recipe, but wish I’d had it 40 years ago), and a spice cake I found online by Emeril Legasse (I read the reviews and doubled all the spices as suggested by many).with a homemade cream cheese frosting. Everyone loved the cakes. No, they are not ‘real food’ cakes as they were made with conventional ingredients (unbleached flour, cane sugar, store-bought butter, farm eggs, etc), but these were for my oldest son’s 40th birthday, a special event, and there were almost 70 people present.
Homemade cakes, brownies, cookies, candies, so easy to make!
And I can’t wait to try your cake recipe as my husband loves peanut butter!
Flo says
I wish my guys liked peanut butter. One doesn’t like chocolate or mint, either. Vanilla is boring to me — especially since it’s a FAVE of the other two.
That looks delicious!!!
Larissa says
Do you think this could be baked in an 8×8 pan (or two) in the absence of a jelly roll pan? Would it come out OK? Looks delicious and I’m going to try it for my husband’s birthday….he adores peanut butter desserts. thanks!
KitchenKop says
Hi Larissa,
Yes! This recipe is very forgiving, I think that if you split it into 2-8×8’s it would be good. Just feel the top to see if it feels done. 🙂
Happy birthday to your hubs!
Kelly
Larissa says
It turned out great, thanks!!
Nicole Wilson says
I just made this for my daughter’s 11th birthday. It was amazing! All of her friends loved it, too. It’s extra good with vanilla ice cream. 🙂
Laura P. says
Is the pan size a 9×13 or is it a ‘jelly roll’ pan?
KitchenKop says
It’s a ‘jelly roll’ pan – a cookie sheet size only with sides.
Kelly
Jan Scott says
How much is a stick of butter? In either grams or ounces? Thanks
KitchenKop says
Sorry I forgot to include that, one stick is 8 Tablespoons, or 4 ounces.
Kelly
Jo-Lynne {Musings of a Housewife} says
yum!!!
Tina says
Do you think you could use sprouted spelt flour (freshly ground) in this? If so, would you increase/decrease the flour amount? Thanks, the cake looks wonderful!
KitchenKop says
Tina,
If you try it let us know, but if I were you, I’d first try with half sprouted and half einkorn or unbleached white flour. If it turns out well, the next time you could try it with a little bit more. I’ve had sprouted flours do funky things to my recipes at times.
Kelly