Peanut Butter Sheet Cake is a moist sheet cake topped with a super creamy and sweet peanut butter icing. It is a peanut butter lover’s dream and perfect for potlucks and picnics.
Peanut butter is practically the only food I can eat every single day and not get tired of. I often start my day with a banana and a spoon full of peanut butter. I absolutely love the stuff.
Normally when it comes to desserts, I prefer peanut butter paired with chocolate. AKA the best thing ever.
But sometimes a pure peanut butter dessert is just what I’m craving.
With peanut butter in the cake batter and the icing, there’s plenty of peanut butter flavor in this peanut butter sheet cake. It’s like the peanut butter version of a Texas Sheet Cake.
Super Moist Cake Batter
Too often peanut butter cake is dry in texture. This one is super moist. Be sure to measure the flour correctly and use a shelf-stable creamy peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy.
Light and Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting
The frosting is what makes this dessert truly amazing. The addition of two tablespoons of instant vanilla pudding mixture creates a wonderful texture in the frosting and helps stabilize it.
How To Serve
It’s baked in a 10×15-inch pan and can easily be cut into 20 pieces so it is perfect for bringing to a summer potluck or picnic. If you want to dress it up a little, cut it into squares and then place a mini peanut butter cup on top of each one.
Recipe Tips
- I use salted butter for this recipe. If you use unsalted, you may want to increase the amount of salt added to half a teaspoon.
- If you don’t have buttermilk you can make a substitute for buttermilk by adding half a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then add milk to the half cup mark. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
How To Store Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
This cake can be stored at room temperature for 4 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
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More Peanut Butter Desserts
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Peanut Butter Brownies
- Peanut Buter Fudge
- Peanut Butter Bundt Cake
- Double Frosted Peanut Butter Brownies
Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 10×15-inch sheet pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 (12 tablespoons) sticks butter
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- 2 sticks (1 cup) butter,, softened
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding mix
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10x15x1 inch jellyroll pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine 1 1/2 sticks butter and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Sitr to make sure all butter is melted.
- Whisk 1/2 cup peanut butter and vegetable oil into butter mixture. Stir into flour mixture.
- Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Stir into flour mixture until well combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 22 to 26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool.
- To make frosting, use an electric mixer to beat butter and peanut butter together until smooth.
- Add half of confectioners’ sugar and half of milk and beat until smooth.
- Add remaining confectioners’ sugar, milk and the vanilla pudding mix and beat until smooth. Add a little more milk if necessary.
- Spread frosting on cake.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally posted July 14, 2016.
More Potluck Desserts
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I made this last night and it’s definitely my go to recipe for PB frosting now. I used about 2 1/3 cup powdered sugar and kept the rest the same. I just prefer a little less sweetness. 🙂
The cake is also super moist and delicious. I have another PB cake recipe but this one beats it hands down. Mostly b/c it’s from scratch and the other uses a box mix as the base. 😉
Thanks so much! Now I have to resist eating the whole thing by myself! :O
Try Wet Chocolate Cake, made similar to this one. It was my mom and dad’s favorite. Just Google the recipe.
HELP! I need to know if I can mix all purpose flour with some self rising flour. I don’t have enough of one or the other to make the cake.
I don’t typically leave comments on blogs but this recipe is totally worth the time to write one. I’ve never made a cake that was so moist and delicious! This will be a go-to recipe for down the road! Thank you for sharing this. Also, I’m curious if you have any similar recipes for a chocolate cake? You can’t beat the moistness and texture of this cake!!!
This cake is to die for! I’ve made it several times and I always get asked to make it again and for the recipe!
I found the frosting was a little gritty. Could that be from the pudding mix? Other than that it’s delicious!
Hey I wanted to know could you use margarine instead of butter
You can use margarine, if you have to! 😊
I used the vanilla pudding mix and gotta admit…the frosting was delicious. Any reason why you use pudding mix as opposed to vanilla extract? Does it thicken the frosting? Just curious 🙂
Pudding mix is a stabilizer due to the gelatin in the pudding. It holds the frosting together.
I made this for Fathers Day to people who love peanut butter and it was a hit.
As suggested I changed a few things 1 cup peanutbutter, 1 cup granulated sugar , 1 cup brown sugar and used 1 tsp baking soda and made a cream cheese peanutbutter frosting.
Can you freeze them? My wedding is in two weeks and I would like to make them for the sweets table, but I would like to make them this week and freeze them if it doesn’t affect the taste!
Let me know 🙂