Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting.
Not much makes me as happy as chocolate peanut butter cake.
Sometimes I seriously wonder… does anyone love chocolate and peanut butter as much as I do? Like is it possible that there is someone else in the world who loves that combination MORE than me?
I doubt it.
It is theeee flavor for me. It is the flavor combination I always crave, the one I would choose every single time if I had to.
Even back to the time of my first real break up when I wanted to eat nothing for days but a chocolate chip covered peanut butter spoon.
Yes that was a real thing.
Just yesterday, Lacy and I were talking about these peanut butter fudge cupcakes I made so long ago for the blog. They were our go-to treat, the cupcakes I took absolutely everywhere, to every gathering, made for every party – everything!
They were tops.
And said chocolate chip covered peanut butter spoon has forever been my mental health snack. When I want something sweet, it’s always a go-to because it’s simple, chances are I have the ingredients, and it’s chocolate plus peanut butter, HELLO.
Comfort food at it’s finest, probably the most craved food I have if I’m in a moment of eating my emotions. I know you get it.
And I think back and wonder just where it was that I first learned about how delicious this pairing could be. I don’t think it was from my mom, because even though she enjoys sweets, she doesn’t seem to lose her mind over peanut butter + chocolate like I do. So I’ve assumed that it was from a stray Reese’s cup on Halloween or something, probably my first taste of one that gave me the choco PB high that I’ve never been able to quit.
That’s so funny now, because my palate is such a snob when it comes to chocolate that Reese’s barely fit the bill these days. Pretty sure I went the entire Halloween season without consuming one because a peanut butter melt away with better quality chocolate could be found.
But seriously.
I could give up all dessert in life if I was allowed to have a few chocolate chips dipped in peanut butter every now and then. It would be worth it.
Okay I’ll stop now. But do you get it? The intense love for the best flavor combo on earth?
Eddie does not get it. He does not love it. He likes both separately, but together? Nope.
That’s why I won’t be making this chocolate peanut butter sheet cake tomorrow for Valentine’s Day.
It’s why I made it a few weeks ago to enjoy then, so I could make something else he loves tomorrow instead.
I’m thinking chocolate dipped strawberries – for sure. Maybe just chocolate chip cookies. Perhaps even brownies. No PB involved.
As for this lovely cake?
I live for a sheet cake because it seems easier than cupcakes.
Even if you’re making the same batter the same way, it FEELS easier. Do you get that?
In reality, it’s not like it’s that much easier, but at least you can frost one big slab as opposed to 24 single cakes.
This chocolate cake is not overly sweet but it is deeply cocoa-y.
Which is a fantastic contrast for the sweet, rich peanut butter frosting.
That you will definitely want to eat with a spoon.
Wowza.
The peanut butter frosting compliments the cake perfectly. Perfectly, I tell you!
I can state with certainty that I like peanut butter frosting better than peanut butter alone.
Can we just make peanut butter frosting toast a thing?
I share this chocolate peanut butter sheet cake on a Wednesday because it’s my ideal Valentine’s dessert. It’s not shaped like a heart and it may not be mousse or molten or truffled. But it’s one of those desserts that you love intensely because it tastes so good. It’s not some crazy or over the top treat, it’s not layered or ombre-ed.
But it’s chocolate and peanut butter. So therefore, it doesn’t have to be. It’s perfect by itself.
Watch the video of how I make Chocolate Peanut Butter Sheet Cake:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
Ingredients
chocolate sheet cake
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
peanut butter frosting
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup peanut butter
- 3 to 4 cups of powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk, if needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cocoa and sugar. Add in the softened butter and oil and mix on low speed until the mixture combines and begins to look like sand.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat in the milk, coffee and vanilla extract until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Once the batter is smooth and combined, pour it into the baking pan.
- Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tested inserted into the center comes back clean. Remove the cake and let it cool completely.
- If desired, you can invert the cake onto a platter or piece of parchment paper before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter, cream cheese and peanut butter in the bowl of your electric mixer until creamy and combined. Beat in the powdered sugar gradually, about 1 cup at a time, until a fluffy frosting begins to form. Beat in the vanilla extrast and salt. If the mixture is too thick, beat in 1 tablespoon of milk.
- Frost the cooled cake with the peanut butter frosting. If desired, you can drizzle melted chocolate overtop. I usually just melt about ½ cup of chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzle it over top. Slice and serve!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to follow @howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to our facebook page.
I appreciate you so much!
Breakfast. Yep.
46 Comments on “Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting.”
I will boldly challenge you, my dear friend, that I love chocolate & peanut butter more than you do. This cake is epic ANY time of day, for sure.
it is SO good!
Pingback: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake - Chocolate Peanut Butter Sheet Cake - Kitchenpedia.co
I love chocolate and peanut butter together! This cake looks and sounds so delicious!
thanks natalie!
Hi! This looks amazing. How could I adapt this recipe to make a layer cake? Could I just double the amount of frosting and use two round pans for the cake or would I need to increase the cake mix, too?
Sounds amazing ! My parents have on video the first time I had a Reese’s cup, I was 4 and it was Halloween, my eyes got big and I literally rolled backward and laid in the floor squealing . . . So I get you !
omg i love that!
If i don’t use coffee.. Whay should i use? and should it be used hot?
you can use water and it does not have to be hot!
Yes, please!!
thanks jen!
This looks and sounds amazing and I want to make it for a get together this weekend. I don’t drink coffee, so what would be a suitable substitute?
you can just use water! :)
Pingback: Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting. – recipequicks
Oh my goodness, these look and sound amazing! I can’t wait to make them soon x
Shannon | https://shannonmichelle1.blogspot.com
SHOCKING!!! This was supposed to be a week of heart shaped food. LOL..
Looks lovely though.
Hiya- the method for making the cake is so interesting, not the usual ‘ cream butter and eggs, alternately mix wet and dry- yadda yadda’. Does this method have a reason or change the texture of the cake? Just curious about the process and its effects? Thanks!
Looks delicious and refreshingly easy! Can this cake be frozen?
I saw this yesterday and immediately changed my mind about what I was making for dessert for our family Valentine’s Day dinner. I am a HUGE peanut butter and chocolate fan. I made the cake last night and frosted it this afternoon. I luckily had to trim it a bit because it domed slightly so we got to try it. It is delicious! Thank you for a great recipe 😊
I made this for my son’s birthday. I made the frosting and it was like sand and I had less than half of the icing sugar in. I had to add about a half cup of milk to make it a frosting consistency. Did I miss something on the recipe?
I had the same thing happen for me as well. Very tasty but really dry/not spreadable.
Same for me! I only used about 2 cups and it balled up. I had to add milk and the frosting just didn’t get smooth. It’s almost like the oil from the PB separated it.
Pingback: Friday Faves | foodiecrush
For just me and my husband, I divided up the batter and put some into my 6 in. round pan and then made into a small layer cake. Rest of the batter I made into cupcakes; both topped off with chopped up Reece’s Peanut Butter cups
Absolutely Wonderful
i do i do! (who loves chocolate/pb combo as much as you?) seriously it is THE BEST combo of all the combos on all the earth! so i’m with ya girl. and this looks amazing. and i could eat it all in one sitting. no joke.
Pingback: Friday! Friday! Friday! Favorites! – 02/22/2019
i love this recipe i try it at home it is yummy. thanks for sharing this recipe and i love the way you share the recipe
I love chocolate peanut butter cake! This cake looks delicious – Farhat Sweets
Sorry……but there is NO way you can make the frosting fluffy and spreadable with just 2 Tblsp of milk. The mixture of peanut butter, butter, cream cheese combines to a smooth texture add the powdered sugar and you get a bunch of tiny microballs! It takes about 1/4 cup possibly more to get the frosting spreadable.
I love chocolate and peanut butter together. This cake looks delicious. thanks for sharing this
Do you think I could substitute stout for the milk in the cake part or would I still need milk?
Made the cake per the recipe exactly, baked it for 30 minutes. Came out dense and DRY. Frosting was a welcome pleasure. VERY disappointed, would never make it again. SORRY!!!!!!
Interesting comment…I haven’t made this yet, but as I was looking at the pictures of the cut cake pieces above, and all the crumbs, my first thought was that the cake looked dry. The ingredients look like it should be fine, but maybe it needs some added yogurt, sour cream, or pudding mix to make it moister?
Curious if by “fresh brewed coffee” I am supposed to add it in hot? Making this for Memorial Day!
Should this be refrigerated?
Why does it say to put it in a 9 by 13 Pan if it is supposed to be a sheet cake??
because you use a 9×13 inch sheet pan. a sheet pan is just a term for a pan with a lip around all 4 edges. there are many different sizes of sheet pans, and in this case i used a 9×13 (which is sometimes called the quarter sheet!)
Why does it say put into a 9 by 13 Pan if this is supposed to be a sheet cake?
Could you do a conversion in you recipes for metric we do not have cup sizes in uk
Very tasty! Follwed the recipe for the cake and it was ready in 30 minutes. I didn’t have cream cheese for the icing so used plain Greek yogurt, worked well as far as I can tell! Note that I only put two cups of sugar in the icing and it was plenty sweet for me and my guests.
Made this last night, thanks so much for the recipe! So some family members really liked this but for me as others stated I’m really partial to a light moist cake texture. The cake is good, I just think some will like it more than others based on cake preference. This cake is definitely more dense, but there is some moisture. It isn’t dry as some mentioned. I don’t know how to describe it.
As others mentioned… the frosting portion I was getting worried about. I also never got a ‘fluffy form’. After adding in 3 cups of powdered sugar it just created huge lumps for me. After adding in the 2 Tbsps of milk it really became a lot more of a whipped frosting consistency. It may help to do more generous heaps of cream cheese, peanut butter maybe.
Overall thanks for sharing. Definitely a wonderful and easy peanut butter frosting.
I made this cake yesterday. The flavor was great. The frosting was great, though I did have to double the milk to make it the right consistency. My issue is the cake was dry :(
Made this for my husband for his birthday and father’s day :) He definitely loved it big time~ I wanted to ask about how long should the cake last for in the fridge?
Frosting is scrumptious! I did add just a bit more milk than recommended but it’s common sense to adjust it and no big deal.
My cake was a bit dry but still had excellent flavor and I loved it! Thank you for the recipe. 😊
Absolutely delicious!! This cake is moist and delicious and the peanut butter icing !! Oh my goodness!!! I will use it for other dessert recipes! Amazing recipe!! Amazing cake!! Thank you !! :)