It is time to break out one of the most loved foods in my house, which is of course, peanut butter! We go through a ridiculous amount of peanut butter in a week. My family loves peanut butter on sandwiches, in smoothies, oatmeal, cookies, you name it! I love how versatile peanut butter is. It can be used in savory dishes such as satay or baked into delicious cookies. Today I am using peanut butter in one of my most favorite ways, dessert! There was recently a birthday in our household, which called for an extra special cake. This peanut butter cake with white chocolate buttercream is layers of peanut butter goodness that everyone will be crazy for! So let’s head to the kitchen and bake up some peanut butter perfection!

Peanut Butter Cake

This recipe no doubt has a laundry list of ingredients. But don’t let that intimidate you. Most of the ingredients will be things that you probably already have on hand or are super easy to find. And trust me when I say that your efforts will be worth it! The base of any great cake is the cake itself. It serves as the foundation for whatever you are going to pile on top, be it frosting or a simple ganache. If the cake is no good, then it doesn’t matter how pretty it is! What I love about this cake recipe is that it is light and fluffy and not overly sweet. You will see the evidence of fluffiness before you even put it into the oven because the raw batter itself will have a different consistency than some cakes. The most important part of making a good batter is taking the time to cream together your butter, sugars and eggs. This incorporates air into the batter giving it that light and airy texture.

Bake It

It is almost mousse-like in texture. Once your ingredients are all mixed together, it is time to move to the pans and prepare for baking. This recipe can fill two 9-inch pans or three 8-inch pans. Regardless of what size you are using, be sure to spray and flour your pans to ensure that the cakes will come out easily after baking. You could also line the bottoms with parchment paper if you have some on hand. The size of your pans will also determine the baking time of your cake. Larger pans will not need to bake as long, so always check your cakes before the minimum time to avoid overbaking. Once they have baked, allow them to cool for about 15 minutes in the pans before turning them out to finish cooling on a rack.

White Chocolate Buttercream

Perhaps you are accustomed to frosting your peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting. While there is certainly no such thing as too much peanut butter, I chose to go with a white chocolate frosting instead. It reminds me of a peanut butter cup, which happens to be one of my all time favorite candies! This buttercream starts with white chocolate, which can come in the form of blocks or chips. I prefer to use chips because they are easy to find and work with. Because the chocolate is the star of the frosting, I would recommend that you stick with the name brands such as Ghirardelli. Who doesn’t love some white chocolate, or any chocolate for that matter. Yum!

The chocolate will first need to be melted which can be done right in the microwave. No double boiler needed here. Just check it frequently and stir before popping it back in to heat more. Once it is cooled, it can be added into the mixer with your other ingredients. The frosting thickness can be customized by adding more or less heavy cream. If you like to pipe intricate designs on your cake, then you will want to add less heavy cream to keep it more on the stiff side. I used the lesser amount of cream in my frosting so that I could add some decorations to my cake. The frosting recipe should be more than enough to frost and pipe a three layer cake.

Peanut Butter Ganache

As if this cake wasn’t already decadent enough, we are going to take it up another level and add some peanut butter ganache. I’ll admit that the first time I ever heard the word “ganache” I thought it was something super fancy that I would never bother to make. I was wrong! This ganache in particular could not be any more simple. It is only two ingredients, peanut butter chips and heavy cream. All you have to do is put the two together on the stove over medium-low heat and cook it until the chips have melted. Just don’t walk away from it or leave it unstirred as it can quickly burn. After it has become nice and smooth, remove it from the heat and let it cool a bit (so you don’t melt the frosting). At this point, you can either drizzle with a spoon or use a bottle. I found that a spoon worked just fine here. You can drizzle or spread some between each layer, reserving the majority for the top. Read on for tips to make the top look beautiful!

The Perfect Drizzle

Now that your cake is all layered and frosted, it is time to finish off the top. I think that the ganache looks really beautiful dripping down the sides of the cake, almost like a candle. To make this happen, just get a spoonful of ganache and start to drizzle just slightly before the edge of the cake and allow it to drip down. Some drips will go all the way to the bottom, others will solidify part of the way down. You can make as many drips as you want in any shape, size or order. I tried to make them all slightly different because I think it is more visually appealing then completely uniform drips. If you want the drizzles to solidify completely before slicing, you can pop the cake into the fridge. Let me tell you, this cake will disappear very quickly because it is peanut butter deliciousness! Grab a fork and enjoy!

Looking for more great peanut butter recipes? Check out my Nutter Butter Stuffed Cupcakes or Peanut Butter M&M Cookies!