I have come to the conclusion that I really just don't care much for chocolate unless it has something to do with peanuts or peanut butter. This Chocolate Covered Peanut Cake is pretty much everything you could ever want when dreaming of THE chocolate cake. The one of my dreams anyway!

Chocolate Covered Peanut Cake sliced and ready to serve on white plates with extra peanuts scattered around

Chocolate and peanut butter are a classic combination that I personally LOVE! I really should own stock in Reese's because they are really the only candy that I care to eat. And to be clear, I really only care for the holiday shapes that are more peanut butter than chocolate, cause those are more protein than sugar, right?

That's what I like to tell myself anyway.

What you need:

This is a simple cake that requires a few simple ingredients that build just the right flavors you want in a chocolate cake. It is just sweet enough and perfectly decadent.

When it comes the chocolate, I like to use a bar of good dark chocolate. Because you are adding butter and sugar to the cake the darker the better. Even something bitter-sweet will be offset, I like the dark or bitter-sweet that I pick up at Trader Joe's, their pound plus bars are the best for baking.

Building the perfect Chocolate Cake

I love baking this cake in a 9x13 inch pan because for me it provides the perfect cake to frosting ratio when eating. And I'll talk more about the frosting later, but it is pretty heavenly!

Line your pan with overlapping parchment paper and place the batter inside. Smooth the batter so it is evenly dispersed through the pan.

When done baking, let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and then you can turn it out if you choose. You can also serve the cake directly out of the pan if you want. Just be sure it is completely cool before you top with the frosting.

When it is time to frost with this AMAZING frosting, scoop ALL of it out of the bowl and place it on top of the cooled cake. To achieve the beautiful swirls, use the back of a spoon to press the frosting across the cake.

cooled cake with peanut butter frosting spread across the top

Now, this is what makes this a Chocolate Covered Peanut Cake. Sprinkle a handful each of salted peanuts and chocolate-covered peanuts across the top.

📖 Recipe

Chocolate Covered Peanut Cake

These are my favorite flavors all mixed into the perfect cake, well, my perfect cake anyway!

Ingredients

for the cake:

16 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, room temp
1 ½ cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
4 lg Eggs, room temp
6oz Dark Chocolate, melted
2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
¾ teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 ½ cup All-Purpose Flour
1 ½ cup Water

for the frosting:

1 ½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter
½ cup Unsalted Butter, room temp
3 cups Powdered Sugar
¾ cup Heavy cream
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
Chocolate Covered Peanuts, for topping
Salted Virginia Peanuts, for topping

Instructions

for the cake:

Preheat the oven to 325˚F and coat a 9x13 cake pan with pan spray and line the bottom with parchment.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the sugars and beat until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla and blend to combine. Place the baking soda, salt, and one cup flour into the bowl and with the mixer on low-speed drizzle in half the water. Stop the mixer, add in the remaining flour, and again with the mixer on low-speed drizzle in the remaining water. Blend the mixture until well combined and no traces of flour remain, being careful not to over mix so the cake doesn’t become tough. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean and the cake has begun pulling away from the sides of the pan.
Cool the cake in the pan for about 15 minutes, then remove it to a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely, about 2 hours or overnight.

for the frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the peanut butter and butter together until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt to the bowl and mix on low speed until the sugar is worked in. Turn the mixer up to high and beat for about 1 minute until the frosting is uniform and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and beat for about 30 more seconds. Taste and adjust the salt if needed. To adjust the thickness of the frosting, add more powdered sugar to thicken, or more cream to thin to your desired texture, for the top of the cake you want a stiff yet silky texture.
Spread ALL of the frostings on top of the cooled cake and use the back of a spoon to get even swirls.
Top the cake with chocolate-covered peanuts, and salted peanuts just before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

a single slice of Chocolate Covered Peanut Cake being passed

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