Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake Recipe

This Reese’s peanut butter cake is two moist 8 inch chocolate layers filled and covered with fluffy peanut butter frosting, finished with a chocolate ganache drip and about 20 mini Reese’s cups. It serves 12 and takes about 65 minutes of prep and baking, plus cooling time for the layers.

It’s the cake my family asks for on birthdays. The one choice that changes it most is the hot liquid in the batter: brewed coffee instead of water makes the chocolate taste deeper without any coffee flavor.

What Goes Into a Reese’s Cake

• Pans and oven: two 8 inch round pans, greased and lined, at 350°F (175°C)
• Bake time: 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
• Frosting: 1 cup butter, 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
• Ganache drip: ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips and ½ cup heavy cream
• Topping: about 20 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
• Serves: 12 slices

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Coffee or Hot Water in the Chocolate Layers

The batter is a one bowl cocoa batter with buttermilk and oil. Whisk the dry ingredients, mix in the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla, then slowly pour in 1 cup of hot water or hot brewed coffee. Hot water makes a good chocolate cake. Coffee brings out the cocoa, and once baked the cake tastes like rich chocolate, not like coffee.

The batter will look thin, almost pourable like heavy cream. That is normal. The hot liquid blooms the cocoa and gives a soft, moist crumb, so do not add extra flour.

Divide it evenly between the two pans. Pans at least 2 inches deep are safest, since this amount of batter rises close to the top of shallow 8 inch pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, cool 10 minutes in the pans, then turn the layers out onto a rack. They need to be completely cool before any frosting goes on, or the peanut butter frosting melts and slides.

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Peanut Butter Frosting That Holds a Drip

Use a no stir creamy peanut butter for this frosting. Natural peanut butter separates, and its oil makes the frosting soft and greasy, which is the last thing you want under a ganache drip.

Beat the softened butter and peanut butter for about 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. If your butter is cold the frosting stays dense, so give it time to soften. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, then the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Three cups gives a soft, spreadable frosting; go up to 4 cups if you want to pipe swirls on top. Loosen it with cream a spoonful at a time, then beat on high for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Spread a thick layer on the first cake layer, set the second on top, and cover the whole cake with a thin crumb coat. Chill it for 15 minutes, then spread on the rest of the frosting.

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Getting the Ganache Drip to Stop Halfway

Heat the ½ cup of cream until hot but not boiling and pour it over the chocolate chips. Let it sit 2 minutes, then stir until glossy. The full method for this chocolate ganache is simple. The timing is what matters.

Straight from the bowl, the ganache is too hot and melts the frosting. Let it cool for a few minutes until it feels barely warm and runs slowly off a spoon. Chill the frosted cake first, because cold frosting stops each drip partway down the side.

Test one drip at the back of the cake. If it races to the plate, wait a few more minutes. If it sits in a blob and will not move, warm the ganache for 5 seconds in the microwave. Use a spoon or a squeeze bottle along the edge, then fill in the top with a little more if you like.

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Turning It Into a Reese’s Birthday Cake

Add the mini cups once the ganache has set for a few minutes, so they stay upright instead of sliding. I like a few whole ones around the edge, with some cut in half and tucked in at angles. They are always the first thing to disappear.

For a party, bake the layers the day before, wrap them once cool, and keep them in the fridge. Cold layers crumb less when you frost them. On the day, frost, drip and decorate, then refrigerate the cake for 30 to 60 minutes so the frosting sets. Take it out about 20 minutes before slicing so the frosting is creamy, not stiff.

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Keeping Leftover Slices

Cover the cut cake with a cake dome or plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. To freeze, wrap single slices in plastic and then foil and thaw them overnight in the fridge. I do not freeze the whole decorated cake, because the ganache and the peanut butter cups do not handle the temperature change well. Leftover slices also make a quick trifle layered with whipped cream and chopped peanut butter cups.

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Reese’s Cake Questions

Can I use Reese’s Pieces instead of mini cups?

Yes. Scatter Reese’s Pieces over the top and around the base after the ganache sets. They add color and crunch and work well for a kids’ birthday cake.

Can I bake this as a sheet cake?

Yes, in a greased 9×13 inch pan. Start checking at 35 minutes and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Or try my peanut butter sheet cake, which is built for that pan.

Does the cake need to be refrigerated?

Yes, once it is frosted. The butter and cream frosting and the ganache should be kept cold, then softened about 20 minutes before serving.

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If you want the same flavors in a smaller bake, try chocolate peanut butter cupcakes, peanut butter cup cookies or chocolate peanut butter brownies. For another layer cake, my chocolate peanut butter cake skips the drip. Save this one to your birthday cake board, and tell me in the comments if you used coffee or water.