Peanut Butter Cake

square image of a piece of cake on a white plate

4.67 stars (9 ratings)

Calling all peanut butter lovers! This old fashioned peanut butter cake is ultra moist and happens to be vegan. Perfect for get-togethers and easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 443kcal

Author: Nora Taylor

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup soy milk*
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil*

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup vegan butter, slightly softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4-6 tablespoons soy milk, more as needed
tiny pinch of salt, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 x 13 inch cake pan (or a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan for a sheet cake).
Vegan buttermilk: In a measuring cup, measure 1 cup of soy milk, then add the apple cider vinegar and give it a little stir. Set aside to curdle.
Dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the peanut butter, sugar and oil until well combined, scraping the sides as needed.
To the bowl with the peanut butter, with the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the vegan buttermilk, in 3 parts, ending with the buttermilk. The cake batter is thicker than most, and won't really pour like other cake batter.
Transfer to the prepared pan and spread out evenly. Bake for 28-32 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean in the middle. For a sheet cake (10x15 inch pan), it will only need 15-18 minutes in the oven.
Let the cake cool completely, then frost generously with peanut butter frosting and serve. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, if desired.

For the frosting

Using either a handheld or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the peanut butter and vegan butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
Add the powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons of soy milk, vanilla and optional salt. Beat on low speed at first, then gradually increase to high and beat for 2 minutes until very fluffy.
If it seems too thick, add more milk, a few tablespoons at a time. If it gets too runny, add more powdered sugar until you have a smooth, thick and pipe-able frosting.

Notes

You can use another plant milk, such as almond, cashew or oat milk.
I used canola oil, but any vegetable oil will work, such as avocado or maybe even melted coconut oil, though I haven't tried it.
Gluten free: Substitute an all purpose gluten free flour.
Peanut butter: Use the non-natural creamy peanut butter (like JIF) for best results. I haven't tested it using natural, but I'm afraid it won't work well. I haven't tried it with almond butter, but it might work though the flavor will be much different.
Keep the cake at room temperature, there is no need to refrigerate it unless you want to. Cover after you cut it so it doesn't dry out too fast.
For a snack cake, skip the frosting and fold in some mini chocolate chips.

Nutrition