Super moist and fudgy chocolate cake layered with extra creamy peanut butter buttercream frosting. A 1x batch yields 1 6" three-layer cake, and a 2x batch yields 1 8" three-layer cake cut out with cake rings using the Cut and Stack Method. Or choose a different pan size by visiting my recommended cake pan chart.
Servings 8servings or more
Prep Time 10 minutesmins
Cook Time 24 minutesmins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
170 grams (1 ¼ cup + 2Tbsp)All-Purpose FlourI use Gold Medal
1 ½teaspoonBaking Powder
1teaspoonBaking Soda
¾teaspoonSalt
2 Tablespoons Instant Clearjel or 3Tablespoonschocolate instant pudding mixInstant Clearjel is a food starch used in commercial baking that enhances moisture and texture in cakes. Please make sure it is labeled as "INSTANT." See Note #1
26 grams (¼cup)Unsweetened Cocoa PowderI use Hershey's
100 grams (½cup)Sugar
113 grams (½cup)packed Brown Sugar
Wet Ingredients
2largeEggs
¾cupButtermilk
¼cupbrewed Coffee
¼ cup + 1tablespoonVegetable Oil
3tablespoonDark Corn Syrupor use light corn syrup
1 ½teaspoonVanilla Extract
Chocolate Butter Mixture
¾ stick (3 oz)Salted Butter
43 grams (¼cup)Semi-Sweet Chocolate ChipsI use Nestle
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 1" tall ¼ sheet pan with parchment paper, then spray the bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the pan with cooking spray. Or choose a different cake pan(s) using the chart in my post about Half-Batches and Cake Pans.
Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift the first seven Dry Ingredients into a large bowl, then add the brown sugar into the bowl. Whisk until well blended. If you see any large brown sugar clumps, break them up and blend them in with your fingers.
Combine Wet Ingredients in a separate large bowl and whisk until smooth and well-blended.
Melt salted butter in the microwave (or over the stove) until just melted. Avoid overcooking. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips and whisk until melted and smooth (Whisk for 30 seconds to 1 minute--the heat from the melted butter plus the whisking will melt the chips).
Pour Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Pour Chocolate Butter Mixture over batter and whisk until smooth and lump-free. (A few teeny brown sugar lumps are ok and will dissolve as it bakes).
Pour batter into the prepared ¼ sheet pan and smooth out batter until even (an offset icing spatula works well for this). The batter will be about ¼ inch from the top of a 1" tall sheet pan.
Allow pan to set for 5-10 minutes before putting it in the oven. This will give time for the instant clearjel (or instant pudding mix) to thicken the cake batter before it bakes, allowing for a better rise.
Bake in the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of a preheated 325-degree oven for 16 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Check the cake at this point. See if it is done by lightly touching the top of the cake--try to avoid moving the cake pan or baking rack, which could cause an underdone cake to sink. If jiggly at all to your touch, bake for another 1-5 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick or small paring knife comes out clean when quickly stuck in the cake. A couple of moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet.
Wrap thoroughly in plastic wrap and freeze cake in the pan for 2 hours or overnight. (You can even bake the cake up to a week ahead of time and freeze). The cake will be much easier to layer if it is cold or frozen.
Prepare the Peanut Butter Frosting, decorate and serve.
The easiest way to layer the chocolate peanut butter cake is to layer it from frozen the day before you plan to serve it. If you are serving the cake the same day you are layering it, use refrigerated cake layers instead of frozen.
Cut the cake layers with cake rings as described in How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro. Fill the layers with the creamy peanut butter frosting. The remaining cake scraps can be used for peanut butter cup cake truffles if desired.
I recommend frosting a thin crumb coat of peanut butter buttercream on the outside of the cake which will catch all the crumby edges, then allow it to set up in the freezer for about 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm, before adding the final coat of icing.
Allow the completed cake to set up in the fridge, but remove it from the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so it can come back to room temperature. This chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting has the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
Read my article Instant Clearjel: a Magical Little-Known Bakery Ingredient to see why I think this ingredient is worth having in your pantry. Instant Clearjel must always be whisked thoroughly with other dry ingredients before being added to wet ingredients to avoid clumping. Make sure what you purchase is labeled as “Instant.” Cooktyle Clearjel is a different product that does not work the same in cakes.
When baking cakes in a sheet pan, the cake bakes more evenly (flatter on top and with no dark edges), and you get to choose your cake size after baking by cutting the cake out with cake rings. Read more on how to bake and layer cakes this way in How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro: 5 Easy Steps.