Peanut Butter Dream Cake

Jan 24

The Recipe

Peanut Butter Dream Cake – Peanut butter cake layers, peanut butter marshmallow filling and peanut butter frosting.

Peanut Butter Dream Cake #peanutbuttercake #cakebycourtney #peanutbutterfrosting #peanutbutter

The Ultimate Peanut Butter Lover’s Cake

Every year I get asked if I’m going to make my own birthday cake and every year the answer is the same, ABSOLUTELY! I love making my own birthday cake, and every each year I like to do something a little different. From Sweetapolita’s Campfire Delight Cake, to Milk Bar’s Birthday Cake, to my own Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake, Candy Bar Cake or Raspberry Coconut – I really try not to discriminate flavors.

Peanut Butter Dream Cake #peanutbuttercake #cakebycourtney #peanutbutterfrosting #peanutbutter

For my birthday a few years ago, I decided it was high time for a serious peanut butter cake. Not just a peanut butter frosting, but a cake with peanut butter running through every element of the cake. Yes, I love peanut butter that much. Seriously, I never get sick of it and could put it with just about any food!

Peanut Butter Dream Cake #peanutbuttercake #cakebycourtney #peanutbutterfrosting #peanutbutter

Peanut Butter Dream Cake

After trying some peanut butter sandwich cookies during the holidays a while back, I fell in love with a peanut butter marshmallow filling and knew immediately that it would be the perfect filling in one of my cakes. The filling is rich, creamy and full of peanut butter flavor. I particularly love the dash of cinnamon in it! 

Knowing the filling would be a little on the heavier side, it was a no brainer for me to pair it with my light and fluffy peanut butter frosting. I love how silky and smooth this frosting is! I also use my peanut butter cake recipe from my Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake. 

If you love or even just like peanut butter, I think this cake is going to knock your socks off! Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter Dream Cake

Yield One 3-layer, 8-inch cake

Peanut Butter Dream Cake.

Peanut butter cake with peanut butter marshmallow filling and whipped peanut butter frosting.

Ingredients

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE

  • 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons (366.56 g) cake flour
  • 3 teaspoons (3 g)  baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon (5.6 g) coarse salt
  • 1 teaspoon (2.64 g) cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup (169.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (250 g)  peanut butter
  • 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (375 g) granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons (16.8 g) vanilla extract

For the Peanut Butter Marshmallow Filling

  • 3/4 cup (187.5 g) chunky or smooth peanut butter (I use Skippy)
  • 3/4 cup (37.5 g) marshmallow creme
  • 3 tablespoons (45 g)  milk
  • 3/4 teaspoons (2 g) cinnamon 
  • 3 tablespoons (23.4 g)  powdered sugar 

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

  • 5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) (339 g) unsalted butter, slightly cold
  • 1 cup (250 g) creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream
  • Pinch of coarse salt
  • *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.

Instructions

For the Peanut Butter Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees F. Spray three 8-inch pans or four 6-inch pans with nonstick spray, line the bottom with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and peanut butter until creamy. Add in the sugar and mix on medium for about 3 minutes. 
  4. Decrease the speed to low and add in the vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  5. With the mixer on low, add in half of the flour mixture, then stream in the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Add in the remaining flour and mix until combined. 
  6. Evenly divide the batter between the cake pans and bake for about 23 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans.

For the Peanut Butter Marshmallow Filling

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, marshmallow creme, milk, and cinnamon. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar.  

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

  1. In the bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and peanut butter. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 45 seconds.
  2. Add the powdered  sugar to the bowl and mix in, slowly at first until incorporated, then increasing the mixer speed to high. Blend in the vanilla extract, salt and heavy whipping cream, and continue to whip on high speed until very fluffy, about 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
  3. Beat frosting by hand with a wooden spoon to get air bubbles out.

Assembly

  1. Place the first layer on your cake plate or cake stand and cover with about 1/3 cup frosting, followed by half of the marshmallow filling.
  2. Place the second layer on top and repeat this step until you get to the final cake layer, which you will place bottom-side down.
  3. Cover the cake with a crumb coat and chill for 10 minutes in the freezer. Continue frosting the cake with the whipped peanut butter frosting.

21 thoughts on “Peanut Butter Dream Cake”

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  2. Pingback: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake – The Motherly Escape

  3. Courtney, I’ve tried making this cake twice but both times my cakes fall in the center. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  6. Just made this cake! It’s SO good and SO rich! The cinnamon I found to have a bigger part in the cake than I expected but paired perfectly with the peanut butter. My centers on 2 layers fell almost immediately out of the oven and the middle layer alone kept trying to crack when I was beginning to icing the cake, but I am a beginner so I’m positive it was an error on my part somewhere. Slightly undercooked perhaps and didnt set? The cake tasted great, and I somehow managed to make it look like I knew what I was doing in the end. All in all, I’m looking for my next recipe on your blog to bake. Any recommendations?! And, have you had any epic fails in the kitchen (especially when you first started out baking cakes) similar to mine? Is there any hope for me!!? Haha Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Oh heavens yes! I’ve definitely had my fair share of cake fails. With each cake, I still learn something new and find myself getting better and better. Don’t let the fails get in the way of baking more cakes. You’ll learn all the nuances of baking with every cake. I also share a lot of tips on instagram if you look up #cakebycourtneytiptuesday. Rest assure, there’s hope for you! I promise!

      Reply

  7. I made this Peanut Butter frosting for chocolate cupcakes and it was awesome!! I’d never had PB frosting, so was crossing my fingers that it would taste as good as it looks and WOW… amazing! It took a lot of will-power not to have it for breakfast on toast! I made it at 6:30am for birthday cupcakes I was taking as a surprise for a co-worker. Everyone loved them. I topped each frosted cupcake with a peanut butter cup half. Thank you for sharing your recipe. 🙂

    Reply

  8. The name of the cake is so accurate. It really was a dream! I loved it especially the delicious peanut butter marshmallow filling! My only regret is that I baked it as a 6″ cake instead of 8″ and it finished too fast!

    Reply

  9. Is the PB marshmallow filling only suppose to have 3TBSP of powdered sugar? Seems like it should have been 3 cups???? It was not a smooth creamy filling, but more of a sticky paste

    Reply

  10. I’m an empty nester but still love baking. I don’t necessarily enjoy sweets (I know, weirdo lol) but I love the baking and creating part! And of course gifting baked goods! Would you mind helping me by advising how to convert the recipe for cupcakes? I’m not really experienced in converting times and temperatures. I’ve always guessed… I plan on placing a dab of the marshmallow filling in the cupcake and ice them accordingly! Any advice would be helpful. Thank you! Love watching your videos and I follow you on IG. You are adorable!

    Reply

  12. Please, when you say whipped cream is cream mounted with the rods? And please, I’m from Spain and I don’t know what you mean by marshmallow creme, is it the same as marshmallow fluff?
    Thank you!!

    Reply

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