My vegan peanut butter cake is rich and flavorful with an amazing texture. Top it off with fluffy peanut butter frosting for a heavenly dessert that’s sure to be a hit. This cake is an absolute must-make for peanut butter lovers!
I always say that chocolate desserts are my favorite, but that might not be true. Peanut butter is the one ingredient that can give chocolate a run for it’s money, as far as my tastes are concerned. I’m pretty in love with vegan peanut butter cookies, vegan peanut butter pie, and vegan peanut butter bars. But you know what my favorite type of dessert is? It’s cake. With that in mind, I decided it was time for, you guessed it, vegan peanut butter cake.
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If you’re as much of a peanut butter lover as I am, you’re going to flip out over this one. It’s not like other cakes. Peanut butter cake is ultra moist, a tad dense, and loaded with rich, peanut butter flavor. But it gets better: this cake is topped with a fluffy peanut butter frosting that’s so good you’ll be at serious risk of eating it all from the bowl (I sure was!).
This cake is also really easy to make, and it’s excellent for everything from birthdays and holidays to simply satisfying your sweet peanut butter cravings.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below you’ll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Water.
- Ground flaxseeds. We’re using these to make a flax egg, which is an excellent vegan egg substitute for baking, and it happens to work great in this cake.
- Peanut butter. As much as I love natural, runny peanut butter, it’s not the best choice for this particular recipe. Stick with conventional peanut butter — the kind you don’t need to stir.
- Vegan butter. You can get this at most grocery stores, right near the regular butter.
- Non-dairy milk. Feel free to use soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, or any other type of non-dairy milk that you normally drink or cook with. My guide to dairy-free milks can give you some guidance if you need it.
- Vanilla extract.
- Flour. This recipe uses all-purpose wheat flour, also known as white flour. Other flours may work, but I haven’t tried any of them, so I can’t make any promises.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar. Conventional sugar may have been processed using animal bone char, so it’s not always vegan.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Powdered sugar. Make sure this is organic as well!
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Start by preheating your oven, and greasing a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Step 2: Make a flax egg by whisking some water and ground flaxseeds together. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes. You can move on to the next step in the meantime.
Step 3: Now heat up some water, peanut butter, and vegan butter in a small saucepan, just until the peanut butter and vegan butter melt. Take the pot off of heat, then stir in the milk and vanilla extract.
Step 4: Whisk your dry ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Step 5: Time to combine everything! First, add the peanut butter mixture to the bowl with the flax egg. Next, beat in the dry ingredients, adding a bit a time.
Step 6: Pour the batter into your cake pan, then pop it into the oven. It’s done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 7: Place the cake on a wire rack and let it cool completely when it comes out of the oven.
Step 8: To make the frosting, first beat some peanut butter, room temperature vegan butter, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl, then beat in powdered sugar until the frosting is nice and creamy.
Step 9: Once the cake has cooled, you can slather it with that delicious peanut butter frosting!
Step 10: Your vegan peanut butter cake is ready to enjoy! Slice it up and dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan peanut butter cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days, in the fridge for about five days, or in the freezer for about three months.
Variations
- PB&J cake. Skip the frosting. Instead, drop spoonfuls of jam over the cake batter before baking, then lightly swirl them in with a butter knife.
- Switch up the frosting. Love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? Frost your cake with my vegan chocolate frosting or vegan chocolate ganache. Make sure to chill the cake if you use the ganache, unless you don’t mind things getting sloppy!
- Peanut butter chocolate chip cake. Stir some vegan chocolate chips into the batter before pouring it into the baking pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven’t tried making a gluten-free version, but based on my experience with other recipes, I think you could substitute an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
You can, but you might not be happy with the results. The oils in natural peanut butter, which are liquid at room temperature, could result in a greasy cake and runny frosting. Use it at your own risk!
You can, but just like with peanut butter, I only recommend using them if they’re of the creamy (non-runny) variety. Most almond butters are runny and won’t work, but if you know of one that’s semi solid like conventional peanut butter, give it a try. SunButter has a texture similar to conventional peanut butter and should work just fine.
More Easy Vegan Cake Recipes
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Vegan Peanut Butter Cake
My vegan peanut butter cake is rich and flavorful with an amazing texture. Top it off with fluffy peanut butter frosting for a heavenly dessert that’s sure to be a hit. This cake is an absolute must-make for peanut butter lovers!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ¼ cups water, divided
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter (Note 1)
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅔ cup organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Frosting
- 1 cup vegan butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups organic powdered sugar
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
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In a large mixing bowl, stir together ¼ cup of water and the ground flaxseeds. Set this aside for at least five minutes, to allow the mixture to gel.
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While the flax mixture sits, combine the remaining cup of water with the peanut butter and vegan butter in a small saucepan. Place the pot over medium heat and warm the mixture up while stirring. Remove the pot from heat once the butter and peanut butter have melted, then stir in the non-dairy milk and vanilla extract. Set this aside for now.
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Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
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Grab an electric mixer. Add the peanut butter mixture to the bowl with the flax mixture, then begin adding the flour mixture, beating in about a third at a time with the mixer on low speed. Turn up the speed of the mixer to high and continue to mix the batter for another 30 seconds.
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Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, then place the pan into the oven and bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Place the cake on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
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Make the frosting when the cake has cooled. Beat the vegan butter, peanut butter, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer at high speed. Once the ingredients are completely combined, begin beating in the powdered sugar, about a half cup at a time, until the frosting is fluffy and creamy.
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Spread the frosting evenly over the cake.
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Slice the cake, then serve.
Notes
- Stick with conventional peanut butter (the kind you don’t have to stir) for both the cake and the frosting. I don’t recommend using natural or runny peanut butter for this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 660kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 548mg | Potassium: 254mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 1079IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg
