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A rich, fudgy chocolate layer cake with a no-bake peanut butter cheesecake filling in the middle covered with a creamy, smooth milk chocolate ganache and finished with chopped Dove milk chocolate peanut butter candies and finely chopped peanuts.
A few weeks ago, I was at a wedding reception for my neighbor’s daughter. I was sitting at a table with another neighbor, Darlene, and she mentioned she’d been dreaming about baking the perfect chocolate peanut butter cake.
We talked about it having a creamy peanut butter filling, icing it with chocolate ganache, and topping it with chopped peanut butter cups. Another neighbor at the table mentioned that she thought Dove made the best peanut butter chocolate candies.
After the wedding, I couldn’t get Darlene’s perfect Peanut Butter Cheesecake Chocolate Cake off my mind. Since my boys are big peanut butter chocolate fans, I asked them if they’d like a peanut butter cake for their 19th birthday. They happily agreed.
(I love this picture of my grandsons mesmerized by the candles on the cake. Matt refused to give me a smile for the pictures. How did 19 years go by so fast?)
Since I served the cake to my crowd at the birthday party, Darlene didn’t get a piece of this decadently, delicious Peanut Butter Cheesecake Chocolate Cake. But now that she’s got a great recipe she can finally bake the cake she’s been dreaming of.
If you’re a chocolate peanut butter lover, you need to make this luscious cake too.
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Peanut Butter Cheesecake Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar*
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda*
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups hot water*
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 package 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 16 oz. milk chocolate finely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 8.5- ounce bags Dove Peanut Butter Promises divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray two 9x2 inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray with flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk together water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and whisk just until combine.
- Divide batter between pans. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes, then invert them onto the rack. Leave cakes upside down (this flattens domed cakes) to cool completely.
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake Filling
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks. In another large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar until blended and smooth. Gently fold in whipped cream a little at a time. Fold in 1 cup Dove chocolates, finely chopped.
- Chocolate Ganache
- Place half of the chocolate in a mixing bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add remain chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool until ganache is thickened but still thin enough to drip down the sides of the cake.
- Assembling cake
- When the cake layers are cool and ganache has thickened, evenly spread filling on bottom layer, carefully stack the second layer on top of filling. Spoon chocolate ganache on top of the cake, spreading to edges and letting the ganache drip down the sides. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Pile remaining coarsely chopped Dove chocolates on top.
Notes
More Chocolate Peanut Butter desserts you might like:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Skookie, Barbara Bakes
Peanut Butter Nutella Cookie Cups, Barbara Bakes
Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake, I Wash You Dry
Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse Cake, Life, Love and Sugar
Peanut Butter Cake Bars, Dine and Dish
Pin It:
Connie Martinez
Delicious:) Can you modify this recipe to be used in a pressure cooker and put it on your Pressure Cooking today site? 🙂
Two other favorite cheesecakes of mine are Toffee Coffee Cheesecake , and Dulce de Leche Cheesecake:)
Barbara Schieving
What a great suggestion! I’ll get working on that. Thanks Connie!
Heather
Just wanted to share a few tips on making this cake. I let the cakes cool completely first. I chilled the cream cheese filling so it was not so runny. Then I assembled the layers with the filling and wrapped saran wrap around it and placed it in the freezer. Once it was completely frozen I iced mine with a peanut butter icing and decorated it with reeses pieces and back in the freezer. Prepared the ganache and poured that over the cake letting it drizzle down the sides and topped it with chopped up peanut butter cups and more reeses pieces.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Heather – Reese’s Pieces sounds like a fun addition. Thanks for sharing.
Rachel @ Bakerita
As a peanut butter and chocolate addict, this is my kind of cake!! Love that thick cheesecake layer, too good! Pinned 🙂
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Mum what a great birthday cake! And I love seeing pics of the family! I feel like I’m there eating a slice with you all 😀 xxx
Teresa
You’re killing me with this gorgeous cake, Barbara. Love it!
Amanda
This looks amazing!!! Beautiful family!
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon
Lovely family, they grow up so quickly. What a decadent cake. I would need a crowd when I make this or I would level away until I ate the whole thing.
Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction
Barbara,
The kids are adorable. This cake looks outstanding and it almost looks too good to eat.
Annamaria
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
How gorgeous those children are!! Even the one who lost his smile. I’d turn 19 again and move next door to have this cake for my birthday. 🙂
Maria
One word, WOW! Or maybe it should be WANT! Ok, so much for the one word thing:) Love it!
2 sisters recipes by Anna and Liz
WOW I think this will make everyone dream that they just stepped into heaven with every bite! I can’t wait to try your recipe! So yummy…can we have a piece now?
Adri
What a simply gloriously decadent cheesecake. And so perfectly realized. Brava – and save a piece for me!
Medeja
I love this peanut butter cheesecake! Looks very delicious!
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles
This looks so crazy good. Beautiful cheesecake!
Liz
My daughter would go nuts for this cake! But we may not be able to wait till her birthday to try it!
Jessica @ Sweetest Menu
YES! Barbara this looks INCREDIBLE! Your layers are perfect and there’s chocolate and peanut butter everywhere. I LOVE IT!
Jane Maynard
gorgeous, barbara!!!!
Nicole
This looks Amazing! How could this cake not make your son smile? Teenagers. LOL
Barbara Schieving
Right! It was one of those you can’t make me smile for the picture moments. 🙂
Carol
Ohhhhhh Barbara, my son in law would be in HEAVEN if I presented him this for his birthday. Saving this for sure.
Thanks so much!
megan
Thank you – I just figured out what cake I’m going to make for my sweethearts birthday!
Or mine – because chocolate and peanut butter = heaven for me 🙂
Rosa
Wow, to die for! This cheesecake is just simply irresistible.
Cheers,
Rosa