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Dessert

Peanut Butter Cake

A moist cake made with butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, milk, vanilla, topped with peanut butter filling and chocolate glaze.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 20 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Peanut Butter Cake

Oven350°F
Timeabout 45 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the cake

  1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy.

  2. Add brown sugar and mix to blend.

  3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

  4. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

  5. Add flour mixture to butter and peanut butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

  6. Add vanilla.

  7. Pour batter into two well‑greased and floured 9‑inch cake pans.

  8. Bake in a preheated 350‑degree oven until cake tests done, about 45 minutes.

  9. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature before frosting the cake.

Make the filling and glaze

  1. Cream the filling ingredients together until light and fluffy.

  2. Place water and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

  3. Add cocoa, sugar, and vanilla to the water mixture and mix until smooth.

Assemble and finish

  1. Spread half of the peanut butter filling over the tops of each cake, using a metal spatula dipped in hot water.

  2. Spread glaze over the cake while glaze is warm.

  3. As glaze cools, it will thicken.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1260Calories
38 gProtein
59 gFat
144 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Peanut + chocolatetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,279 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  4. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Unsalted butter
Adds fat and richness, giving the cake a tender crumb and moist texture.
Creamy peanut butter
Adds fat and nutty flavor, and its oils help keep the crumb moist.
Eggs
Provide structure and help bind the batter as the cake sets.
All-purpose flour
Forms the structure of the cake as its proteins set during baking.
Baking powder
Releases gas during baking so the cake rises and becomes light.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture, and contributes to a soft, tender crumb.

The step that matters

Bake until the cake tests done. Baking past doneness dries the crumb, while underbaking leaves it dense and gummy in the center. Check with a toothpick, since oven temperatures vary.

Swap the peanut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, flour, milk, vanilla, chocolate):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Hazelnutfits better
  3. Chestnutfits better
  4. Peanutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, flour, milk, vanilla, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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