This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake tastes almost like a Snickers Cake! It is a soft and moist vegan chocolate cake filled with a rich and creamy peanut butter frosting. It’s a delicious recipe and makes the perfect dessert for a birthday or any occasion!
I should probably admit that I’m a little bit obsessed with chocolate Cakes, haha! But let’s be honest, who doesn’t love chocolate? Especially when it’s paired with Peanut Butter because this combo is my most recent addiction! Whether I put it in a creamy oatmeal, or use it as topping for pancakes, either for breakfast or for dessert – it always comes right! And since my Brownie Cheesecake was so delicious, I wanted to create another Cake with that heavenly Peanut Butter Chocolate combo.
Vegan Snickers Cake
Actually, I wanted to make a vegan snickers cake, but for some reason, I couldn’t decide exactly how I wanted to do that. There are so many possibilities because you can make it as a snickers cheesecake or snickers cake with layers etc. Anyways, this cake is almost a vegan snickers cake, the only thing missing is the caramel sauce, but you can drizzle it on top, if you want, so you have a snickers cake!
As for the little story behind this creation, my friend Sabine (@alsothecrumbsplease) inspired me to assemble my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake this way. When she shared her gorgeous Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, I immediately fell in love with the styling and wanted to create the vegan version of hers. She’s a very lovely person, by the way, and will also start doing workshops soon!
Soft and moist Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter
Making this vegan chocolate cake is very easy! Start by stirring the vinegar into the non-dairy milk and set aside to create vegan buttermilk. Then simply combine the wet and dry ingredients. Pour it into your prepared cake pans and bake! That’s it!
Actually, this recipe is pretty similar to my Best Vegan Chocolate Cake that I shared a while ago here on my blog. I just changed a couple of things to make it more moist and flavorful. For example, I also added applesauce which gives this cake more moisture and brings out the fudginess. Also, I added a bit of strong brewed coffee because it tastes absolutely amazing in this Chocolate Cake! Anyways, if you don’t want to add coffee, you can also substitute more non-dairy milk or water instead.
Make sure not to overbake your Chocolate Cake!
If you want a soft and moist Chocolate Cake, it is very important to have the right oven temperature and not to overbake it! I’ve figured out that most ovens often vary in temperature, so if your oven is not accurate and it’s hotter than it shows, your cake will probably get overbaked. In this case, it will get dry and crumbly instead of soft and moist. Anyways, you don’t have to buy a new expensive oven because of that, but I recommend you to test your cake with a skewer to avoid overbaking. So when a toothpick in the center comes out clean, you can remove it. Otherwise, as another option, you can also buy an oven thermometer to make sure your oven has an accurate temperature.
Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
While buttercream is often made with just butter and sugar, I made mine a bit “healthier” and used non-dairy cream cheese instead of butter. This not only reduces the amount of fat but it also makes it creamier and lighter in taste. Just in case you can’t find non-dairy cream cheese, it is absolutely okay to use coconut cream instead. And don’t worry, you won‘t taste the coconut flavor because the peanut butter and the chocolate will definitely overpower it.
How to make Vegan Buttercream with Peanut Butter
Making the creamy peanut butter frosting is very easy! Simply mix the soft vegan cream cheese with a handheld mixer until creamy. Then stir in the creamy peanut butter and vanilla and sift in powdered sugar. The peanut butter frosting should become very creamy and spreadable during mixing. If it is too firm, you can add a tiny bit of non-dairy milk. And if it is too soft, you can add more powdered sugar.
I hope you’ll love this Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake too! It is:
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Chocolatey
- Moist
- Soft
- Rich
- with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Can be turned into Cupcakes, Muffins
- The perfect Cake to impress your guests!
The perfect Chocolate Cake for any occasions!
This chocolate cake is great for birthdays, cozy afternoons, or any other occasion when a rich and delicious chocolate peanut butter cake is welcome. So basically all the time and every day, haha. And if you are looking for more Vegan Cake Recipes, you can also check out my Best Vegan Chocolate Cake, Brownie Cheesecake, Vegan Brownies, or one of my favorite Vegan Cheesecake and Vegan Crumble Cake Recipes.
If you try this chocolate peanut butter cake, please leave me a comment below sharing how it turned out for you! And if you take a photo of your recreation and share it on Instagram, please do not forget to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka , so I won’t miss it! Happy baking!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1 ⅓ cups non-dairy milk at room temperature (320m)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (320g) *or sub gluten-free flour
- 1 tbsp soy flour or cornstarch (optional)
- 1 ⅓ cups organic cane sugar (270g) or sub granulated sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder (65g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- ⅔ cup coconut oil melted (160ml)
- ¾ cup applesauce unsweetened (180g)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup strong brewed coffee or sub more non-dairy milk (120ml)
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 2 cups non-dairy cream cheese softened (450g)
- 8 tbsp creamy peanut butter melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted (100g or more to taste)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- 4,5 oz vegan dark chocolate chopped (120g)
- 5 tbsp non-dairy milk or non-dairy cream
Topping
- 1 cup salted peanuts
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350˚F (175˚C) and grease two 8-inch (20cm) cake pans. (You can also line them with parchment paper for easier removal).
- In a measuring jar, add non-dairy milk and vinegar. Stir to combine and set aside until it curdles to create vegan buttermilk.
- Sift the flour, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl and give a good whisk to combine.
- Add the melted coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, and vegan buttermilk. Mix on medium speed using a handheld mixer until well combined. Lower the speed and pour in the hot coffee, continuing to mix until combined. (If you like the cake sweeter, add more sugar to taste).
- Divide the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Please do not overbake, if you want a moist chocolate cake).
- After baking let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and let them cool completely before frosting.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- Mix the non-dairy cream cheese with a handheld mixer until creamy. Then stir in creamy peanut butter and vanilla. Sift in powdered sugar and mix until well combined and creamy. (If it’s too firm and not spreadable, stir in a bit of non-dairy milk. If it is too soft, add more powdered sugar).
Assemble the cake
- Cut the cakes horizontally in two equal layers.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about 1/4 of the peanut butter frosting in an even layer over the top, then place the second cake layer on top and repeat this step with the 2 following layers. Place the last cake layer on top and spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. (Optionally, save a small portion of the frosting for the decoration and fill into a piping bag). Chill the cake at least 4 hours in the fridge or overnight.
Chocolate Ganache
- Slowly, melt the chocolate over a water bath (or microwave½), stirring occasionally.
- Add a bit of non-dairy milk, stirring to combine until smooth and creamy. Let cool slightly, then carefully, spoon melted chocolate around the sides with a teaspoon, and let it drip off. Pour the rest of the melted chocolate on top of the cake, smoothing out evenly.
- Place the cake in the fridge for 5 minutes or so to firm up.
- Optionally, make pipes on top of the cake with the remaining peanut butter frosting and decorate with salted peanuts!
- If you want to serve it as a snickers cake, drizzle over caramel sauce and enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-free: To make this cake gluten-free, I recommend using a gluten-free flour blend 1:1.
- Sugar-free: To make this cake reduced in sugar, you can use a sugar substitute or coconut sugar.
- Cream Cheese: Instead of using cream cheese, you can also make the buttercream frosting with ½ cup vegan butter (mix until creamy), then add 1 cup coconut cream (mix again) and stir in 1 cup creamy peanut butter + vanilla. Sift in powdered sugar and mix again until creamy. Simply refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight. Then scoop out the solid part from the can which should have the same consistency as cream cheese (this is the coconut cream).
- PB: Please make sure to use CREAMY peanut butter and no oily! Otherwise, your frosting will be too runny.
- Storage: You can keep the leftover cake covered in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, or you can freeze the un-frosted cake for up to 1 month. Then thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Muffins/Cupcakes: You can also turn the batter into cupcakes or muffins. Fill the pans ⅔ full and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Frosting Variations: If you’re making this cake without the peanut butter frosting, you can top it with a simple chocolate frosting or enjoy it plain. It also tastes delicious when you serve a scoop of vegan ice cream, coconut yogurt, or whipped coconut cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce on top of your slice.
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Fan assisted oven here is it still 175?
Yes