This Supreme Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cake is just that—supremely perfect. Rich and moist chocolate cake layers alternate with creamy peanut butter cheesecake layers. This cake also boasts a peanut butter cookie dough layer, peanut butter cream cheese frosting, and chocolate frosting!
Though national Peanut Butter Day was earlier this month, I know the cake is worth the wait.
While doing online searches of cheesecake, I continually came across “Cheesecake Factory” cheesecakes. Me, being a country bumpkin, have yet to be exposed to such places. The images of the cheesecakes were certainly enticing. There was one image, filled with chocolate and peanut butter goodness, that perked me up. What the actual layers were, I did not know. Researching “copycat” recipes lead to a handful of semi-homemade concoctions using instant pudding, whipped topping, and cake mixes. So I went on my gut instincts and guessed the mysterious layers between the cake and cheesecake layers.
Why should you be more interested by this rendition of a chocolate peanut butter cheesecake cake? The Supreme Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cake gets its ‘supreme’ title because each and every layer has the best moisture, texture, flavor.
The chocolate cake is the ultra moist decadent cake. Its moisture comes from equal parts flour and sugar. You may think a 1:1 ratio of flour and sugar would yield dense and brownie-like mess, but it makes for a desired crumb that tastes wet, sloppy, and evil but keeps itself in check with ample structure.
Peanut butter cheesecake is dense and creamy without being dry. Adding 5 to 6 tablespoons of Greek yogurt peanut butter cookie dough keeps its doughy-semi-wet texture, even in the refrigerator. Finally the peanut butter cream cheese frosting is velvety but also pipe-able, which makes it perfect for decorating!
For the Supreme Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cake, you can go crazier with the decorations, however I think chocolate-peanut butter colors and multiple layers speak for themselves!
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- For the Peanut Butter Cheesecake:
- 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 larges eggs, room temperature
- 30 mini peanut butter cups, halved and quartered
- For the Chocolate Cake Layers:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup brewed coffee
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- For the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Filling:
- ½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup firm packed light brown sugar
- 1-12 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 to 6 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 10 mini peanut butter cups, roughly chopped
- For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
- ½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 to 6 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 4 to 5 tablespoons milk
- For the Fudge Frosting:
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- pinch of fine salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 3 tablespoons milk
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease 2 9-inch cake pans with bake spray, line pans with parchment paper and spray paper with baking spray as well, set aside.
- Beat cream cheese on a medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, corn starch, sour cream, peanut butter, and vanilla. Beating to combine. Don’t raise mixer to a high speed, you don’t want this batter to be aerated. It is crucial to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl down. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Pour some of the batter into each pan, spread out with an off-set spatula. Evenly distribute the chopped mini peanut butter cups on top. Pour remaining batter into each pan and top with the rest of the peanut butter cups. Tap the pans against the counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake cheesecakes for 40 to 50 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still jiggles slightly. rotating halfway. Don’t worry about the cheesecakes cracking, it’ll be covered up. Turn off the oven and let cheesecakes rest in the oven for 30 minutes, this will minimize cracking. Don’t worry if there are cracks, any imperfections will be hidden by frosting. Let cheesecakes chill overnight in cake pans.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease 2 9-inch cake pans with baking spray, set aside.
- In a stand mixer bowl sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, set aside. Fit mixer with a paddle attachment and add oil coffee and milk into the bowl. Once mostly incorporated, about 30 seconds, raise speed to medium and beating for 1 minute.
- Scrape sides and bottom of bowl down, add eggs and vanilla, and beat for 2 minutes.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, tap pans against counter to remove any air bubbles.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, a toothpick inserted should come out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Let cakes cool in pans for 15 minutes before inverting cakes on to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, wrap cake layers in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, this will create ultra moist cakes.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar together until combined and smooth, about 1 to 1 ½ minutes. With the mixer’s speed on low, drizzle in the condensed milk followed by the vanilla, peanut butter, and salt. Raise speed to medium, beating until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl down as needed. On the lowest speed slowly add the flour. Add Greek yogurt, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough has the texture of thick brownie batter. Beat in chopped peanut butter cups. Refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter on a medium-high speed until smooth and lump free. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in peanut butter and vanilla, mixing until well incorporated. With the mixer’s speed on low, add powdered sugar alternately with milk. Raise speed to medium-high, beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble.
- Sift cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth (because it’s such little butter, be sure not to scratch the inside of the mixing bowl), about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla. Scrape down sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn speed to low and slowly add the sifted dry ingredients. If the mixture is looking too thick, add milk a tablespoon at a time. You want a smooth, not runny, consistency and a deep fudgey color.
- Put a bit of frosting on a cake board. Secure the first Chocolate Cake layer followed by a hearty layer of Peanut Butter Cookie Dough. Gently add the cheesecake layer on and slather with layer of Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Top with the second cake layer, cookie dough, and cheesecake. Apply a thin layer of peanut butter frosting on top of the top and sides of the cake. Chill for a solid 30 minutes. Do a thick coating of Chocolate Fudge Frosting. Decorate with the remaining Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.