This is the deliciousness of a Buckeye in the form of a cake: Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream With A Chocolate Ganache! Then add some peanut butter cups or Reese’s Pieces for the best cake ever!

A few weeks ago my sister was graduating and I said I would make a big celebration dinner and dessert. There were 15 of us to feed. For dinner I made Chicken Parmesan. It’s always a hit. It’s pretty easy to make and when you make it with spaghetti, salad and bread there’s plenty of food.

For dessert, I wasn’t sure what to make. While my family was visiting I had already made them my Ultimate Bundt Cake and White Cake with Strawberries and a White Chocolate Whipped Mousse.

I was trying to think of what I could make her and I remembered how yummy a chocolate peanut butter cake tastes. It’s like eating a giant buckeye and it’s so moist and creamy. It tastes so good with some coffee! This recipe looks like a lot of work – but it isn’t.

Click here for the printable recipe

The chocolate ganache takes a few minutes but makes the cake look so decadent! I also start the cake with a box cake mix and add to it. I buy the small boxes of instant pudding* and add it to my cake mix. I also add some sour cream which makes it very moist.

Then you add the water, eggs, and oil as stated on the cake mix. I also like to substitute the water for milk. (So sorry for some of these pictures. It was night time and there was no way this cake would survive until the morning to get pictures with natural light 🙂 )

Click here for the printable recipe.

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream With A Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix (I like Devil’s food cake)
¼ cup of vanilla or chocolate pudding powder*
½ cup sour cream
water – according to the box instructions but you can change it out to milk
Oil according to the package instructions
Eggs – according to the package instructions

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350*.
Heavily grease 2-9 inch cake pans. If using cookie spray you can also sprinkle some flour or use parchment paper.
In a bowl add the cake mix and pudding – whisk together until the powders are combined.
Add the sour cream, water, oil, and eggs. Mix well until combined.
Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.
Bake for 23-27 minutes. Check it towards the end so you dont over cook it. Let cool completely.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

2 cups creamy peanut butter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup half and half
Peanut Butter cups roughly chopped for garnish

Instructions:

In a large bowl (I prefer a stand mixer) cream together the peanut butter and butter. Slowly add in the powdered sugar alternating with the vanilla and half and half.

If the icing is too thick add a little more half and half or if it’s too runny you can add a little more powdered sugar.

Chocolate Ganache

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into smaller pieces.
¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Wait to do this until the cake has been assembled.

Instructions:

Place the chocolate pieces into a glass bowl. Warm the heavy whipping cream on a stove top over low stirring constantly. Once it is hot you can pour the heavy whipping cream over the chocolate and whip it until it’s a smooth chocolate sauce.

To assemble to cake:

Put 1 cake layer on a plate and top with about ⅓ of the icing. Add the second cake layer and cover the top and sides with the rest of the icing.
Pour the warm ganache over the peanut butter icing and let it drip down the sides. Cover the center of the cake with the peanut butter cups.

Serve and enjoy! It will serve about 12-15 pieces.

I found these Reeses Baking Pieces at Kroger and they were perfect to top this cake. Make sure you look for them and try them.

Yield: 12

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

This is the deliciousness of a Buckeye in the form of a cake: Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Buttercream With A Chocolate Ganache! Then add some peanut butter cups or Reese's Pieces for the best cake ever!

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix (I like Devil’s food cake)
¼ cup of vanilla or chocolate pudding powder*
½ cup sour cream
water – according to the box instructions but you can change it out to milk
Oil according to the package instructions
Eggs – according to the package instructions

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting

2 cups creamy peanut butter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup half and half
⅓ cup half and half

Chocolate Ganache

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped into smaller pieces.
¼ cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Cake Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350*.
Heavily grease 2-9 inch cake pans. If using cookie spray you can also sprinkle some flour or use parchment paper.
In a bowl add the cake mix and pudding – whisk together until the powders are combined.
Add the sour cream, water, oil, and eggs. Mix well until combined.
Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans.
Bake for 23-27 minutes. Check it towards the end so you dont over cook it. Let cool completely.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Instructions:

2 cups creamy peanut butter
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅓ cup half and half
Peanut Butter cups roughly chopped for garnish

Chocolate Ganache Instructions

To assemble to cake:

Put 1 cake layer on a plate and top with about ⅓ of the icing. Add the second cake layer and cover the top and sides with the rest of the icing.
Pour the warm ganache over the peanut butter icing and let it drip down the sides. Cover the center of the cake with the peanut butter cups.

Serve and enjoy! It will serve about 12-15 pieces.