Today we’re sharing a recipe for Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake. This is a Southern potluck staple and is the perfect sweet and peanut buttery treat. Make this cake for your next potluck, BBQ, or gathering and it will sure to become a favorite in your home too.
All about Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake starts with a base of moist peanut butter sheet cake. Then hot peanutty frosting gets poured right over the warm cake. You can even top the entire cake with roasted peanuts if you desire.
We can’t imagine there are too many out there that wouldn’t enjoy this cake. It’s truly a peanut lovers delight. The peanut butter does something wonderful to the texture of this cake. It’s not too sweet and very pillowy and moist. And the frosting is absolutely divine!
This cake comes together simply by starting to heat the butter, water, peanut butter and oil on the stove. Then you combine these ingredients with your dry ingredients and add the rest of your wet ingredients including eggs, buttermilk and vanilla blending well. Please make this cake by hand and not with a stand mixer. You just get a cake with a much better crumb when you mix it by hand and not with a stand mixer.
Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake
A food old fashioned peanut butter sheet cake with a crazy amazing peanutty frosting!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter Use regular peanut butter, 'natural' peanut butter does not work as well in this recipe.
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 tbsp buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
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Spray or prepare a 9 x 13 pan.
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Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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Heat the butter and water in a medium/large saucepan until it comes to a boil. Take off the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and oil until smooth. Let cool for a few minutes then whisk in the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until well blended.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a cooling rack while you make the frosting.
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To make the frosting, put the butter, peanut butter, and buttermilk in a saucepan and bring to a full boil. Take off the heat and beat in the vanilla and powdered sugar, adding a cup at a time, until the frosting is smooth. You can keep the frosting on gentle heat, stirring constantly, if needed to get it completely smooth before pouring over the cake. Note: if your frosting is very stiff and not pourable, add a little bit more buttermilk to think it out.
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Pour the hot frosting over the warm cake, working quickly because the frosting sets up immediately. Spread evenly over the cake.
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If desired, garnish with roasted peanuts.
Recipe Notes
If you want to use chunky peanut butter for this cake recipe, then do it. We would still recommend using smooth peanut butter for the frosting but, it’s your kitchen and your rules.
To make homemade buttermilk, simply add 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk. Let sit for a few minutes.
How long will this Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake keep?
This peanut butter cake will keep for several days covered at room temperature. We prefer to store our cake in the refrigerator and it will keep for even longer in the refrigerator. We’ve even heard of people making and freezing the cake but it never lasts long enough to have leftovers in our home.
We’d love to hear what you think about this recipe. Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for visiting Sunup to Sundown! Please subscribe, like or share this post with others who could benefit from it.
One of my family’s favorite ❤️
Hi Shelly,
That is so wonderful to hear! This cake recipe is definitely a family favorite for us too! Thank you again for sharing!
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
…can I use brown sugar for this recipe?
Hi Erica,
I think it would turn out fine to make this cake with light brown sugar. It might just be a little bit darker of a cake but it should be just as delicious. Please give it a try and let us know how it turns out for you.
Thank you again,
Ashley Bilyeu
Do I need to adjust recipe for 11×13 pan?
Hi Geri,
You should be fine to bake the recipe in a 11×13 pan. You might just have to watch it and not bake it as long. But everything else should be fine in the recipe for a larger pan.
Thank you,
Ashley Bilyeu
Made it for Christmas & everyone loved it! The cake is so moist & the peanut butter frosting is the perfect texture & perfect amount of peanut butter. The directions were easy to follow & I love that I didn’t even have to get my mixer out.
This will be a new family favorite for sure!
Hi Amanda,
That is so wonderful to hear. We’re so glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it too. It is one of our family’s favorites too! Thank you again!
Ashley Bilyeu