Peanut Butter Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake – tender and moist peanut butter cake made in a jelly roll pan and topped with peanut butter frosting. A perfect dessert for the peanut butter lover!

I know some people love making fancy cakes, but most of the time I’m all about simple cakes. If you’re like me, you would love my Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting, and my Super Easy Pineapple Cake.

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

I may have mentioned this before, but boy howdy have we gotten a lot of rain here in Utah. It’s been dreary and wet for days. Instead of working in the yard, we sit curled up under blankets watching movies. We are starting to grow fins. Not really, but I just wanted to see if you were paying attention. 😉

There is one good thing about cold weather. I get to do a lot of baking. Which I guess is also a bad thing, because I then eat a lot of baked goods. Thank heavens for teenage boys who consume most of the food I make, so we don’t have leftovers lying around tempting me.

My family polished off this peanut butter cake pretty darn fast! I tweaked a couple recipes to come up with it, and we loved it. The chopped peanuts on top add a nice crunch and a bit of saltiness.

I have also made it drizzled with melted chocolate, and that is a tasty variation.

How to make Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

Ingredients:

peanut butter
water
butter
sugar
brown sugar
flour
salt
baking soda
eggs
buttermilk
vanilla extract
powdered sugar

For cake: Bring to a boil peanut butter, water, and butter. In the meantime, combine sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour boiling mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and mix till smooth.

Pour batter into a greased sheet pan. (Mine is about 15×10″.) Cake batter will be thin.

Bake at 375° for 15 – 20 minutes or till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For peanut butter icing, combine butter, milk, and peanut butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over powdered sugar in a mixing bowl and beat till smooth. Beat in vanilla extract. Pour over hot cake and spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts if desired.

You can serve this peanut butter cake at room temperature, but we like it best served warm. The frosting gets down into all the cracks, and it is simply irresistible. I dare you to resist licking the spoon after you spread it on the cake. Oh baby it’s good!

This cake is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or at the very least a glass of cold milk. It is loaded with peanut butter flavor, and we absolutely love it!

Should I use creamy or crunchy peanut butter for this cake? You can use creamy or crunchy in the cake itself, but I prefer to use creamy peanut butter for the frosting.

I don’t have buttermilk. Is there a substitute? Yes, I have used equal parts sour cream with great results. You could also try plain yogurt. In a pinch you can add 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then add milk to reach 1/2 cup.

What kind of peanuts should I sprinkle on the cake? I like salted roasted cocktail peanuts best, but it’s a matter of preference.

I don’t have chopped peanuts, what else can I use? You can drizzle melted chocolate over the frosting, or you could sprinkle it with chopped up Reese’s peanut butter cups or even peanut butter chips. Or you can just omit the peanuts and serve it as is. Whatever you like!

How should I store leftover Peanut Butter Cake? Covered tightly, it will last for several days at room temperature. I have several of these jelly roll pan covers, and I love them!

LOVE PEANUT BUTTER? YOU’VE GOTTA TRY THESE RECIPES!

Reese’s Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut Butter Fudge
Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Yield: 20 servings

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

Simple peanut butter cake topped with warm peanut butter frosting.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Cake

1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Peanut Butter Icing

1/2 cup butter
6 Tbsp milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Instructions

For cake: Bring peanut butter, water, and butter to a boil in a small saucepan. In the meantime, combine sugar, brown sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
Pour boiling mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and mix till smooth.
Pour batter into a greased sheet pan. (Mine is about 15×10″.)
Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then spread with frosting.
For frosting: Bring butter, milk, and peanut butter to a boil in the same saucepan. Pour over powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat till smooth. Beat in vanilla.
Pour over hot cake and spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Notes

-Sour cream can be substituted for buttermilk.