Peanut butter lover’s dream come true. Inspired by Milk Bar’s Birthday Cake, this 3 layer 6 inch peanut butter cake is filled with peanut butter buttercream frosting and chocolate cookie crumbs, and topped with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
When my friend Kellie asked me to make a birthday cake for her boyfriend, I immediately thought of Milk Bar’s famous Birthday Cake. If you guys have read my recipe post for Milk Bar Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies, then you know my obsession with NYC Milk Bar. Since Kellie requested a peanut butter cake, I decided to adapt Christina Tosi’s recipe and make my own simpler version.
The Milk Bar method may be intimidating at first ,and their recipe requires ingredients and tools that most people do not have at home. Due to limited resource and time, I eliminated some ingredients (such as grape seed oil and citric acid) and only let the cake chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours, instead of freezing it for 12 hours. Don’t worry, the result is just as good!!!
Oh and the HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUMBS! It is insanely good even on its own. To be honest, I was going to garnish the top cake layer with more cookie crumbs, but I ended up snacking it while waiting for the cake to chill. Luckily, Reese’s peanut butter cups came to rescue!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- 9 x 13 in baking pan
- 6 in round cake ring
- Acetate sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Mixer
HOW TO CUT 3 CIRCLES FROM 9×13 in BAKING PAN?
ASSEMBLY:
NOTES:
- Don’t have 9×13 in baking pan? – You can use two 8″ round cake pan, or three 6″ round cake pan. Remember to line the cake pan with parchment paper or grease the pan really well, so the cakes come off nicely.
- Don’t have 6″ cake ring? – You can measure the circle out on a piece of paper and then trace/cut it by hand. Do it gently and slowly!
- Can’t find acetate sheet? – Acetate sheet helps hold the height of the cake. It would really help if you can get acetate sheet. But if you can’t find it, I tried using parchment paper to tightly wrap it around the cake after assembly. Then I made sure to chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours without touching it. It worked, but the cake looked messier and not as pretty…
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Make sure you also tag me @onehappybite on Instagram and hashtag it #onehappybite so I can see your creations!
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Milk Bar Inspired Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Chilling Time: 4 hrs
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 5 hrs 10 mins
- Yield: 1 6″ cake 1x
Description
Inspired by Milk Bar’s Birthday Cake, this 3 layers six inch peanut butter cake is filled with peanut butter buttercream frosting and chocolate cookie crumbs, and topped with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup whole milk
Cake Soak
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Cookie Crumble
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
- ¾ cup cake flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp cocoa powder
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (chopped)
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cake
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13 in baking pan with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugars until smooth and pale. Add peanut butter and vanilla extract, mix until well combined. Then add eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
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In a separate bowl, mix together baking powder, all purpose flour, cake flour, and salt.
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Add half of the dry ingredients (step 3) and ¾ cup of milk into the wet ingredients (step 2), mix on low speed. Then add the remaining half of dry ingredients, mix until well combined.
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Pour the cake batter into the baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the test knife comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Cake Soak
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Whisk together milk and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
Chocolate Cookie Crumbs
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Set the oven to 300°F.
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Using a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together sugars, cake four, baking powder, salt, softened butter, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder. The mixture will become dry and crumbly.
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Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the crumbs out evenly. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
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Using a standing mixer with paddle attachment, beat together butter, peanut butter, and 3½ cups of powdered sugar, until smooth and creamy. Add milk and vanilla extract, until smooth and combined.
Assembly
- Put a piece of parchment on to the counter. Invert the cake onto it and gently peel off the parchment from the bottom of the cake. Use the cake ring to cut out 3 circles (2 full circles + 2 half circles) from the cake. Leave the remaining cake scraps for later. If you don’t have a cake ring, you can also measure it out first and cut it by hand.
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Place the cake ring onto your choice of board/plate. Line the inside of the cake ring with 1 sheet of acetate.
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BOTTOM LAYER – Place the 2 half circles at the bottom of the cake ring. Use the cake scraps to fill any extra spaces. Use your hands to press the cake scraps together into even layer. Brush half of the cake soak into the bottom layer. Spread 1/5 of the buttercream frosting over the cake. Add 1/3 of the chocolate cookie crumbs. Then spread another 1/5 of the frosting evenly over the crumbs.
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MIDDLE LAYER – Line the inside of the cake ring with another sheet of acetate, on top of the first sheet (high enough to support the height of the cake). Add another cake circle on top of the frosting. Brush the other half of the cake soak. Spread more buttercream frosting over, add 1/3 of the crumbs, then add another layer of frosting.
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TOP LAYER – Add the last cake round. Cover with the remaining frosting. Garnish with 1/3 of chocolate cookie crumbs and/or chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. (I ended up only using Reese’s for garnish, and ate the 1/3 cookie crumb leftovers…)
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Transfer the cake into the fridge an chill for at least 4 hours for the cake and frosting to set.
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Before serving, gently remove the cake ring and the acetate sheet. Cut, serve, and enjoy!
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: buttercream frosting, cake, chocolate crumble, milk bar, peanut butter
hey! Im making this in the UK and i just wondered what type of brown sugar is required? thanks x
Hi, I’ve tried both light and dark brown sugar and both works for this recipe! Enjoy 🙂
Amazing recipe with very clear instructions. This was my first cake of this type and I will be making it again!
★★★★★
Thank you for your sweet comment. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
This turned out sooo good! I made it for my birthday and it was everything I hoped for. Only change I made was to add mini chocolate chips to the cake layer because I was afraid there wasn’t enough chocolate. The cake layer was great – like a cake-y peanut butter cookie and the frosting was to die for!! Seriously! The only problem was that it was so rich that I could only eat a tiny slice at a sitting. This cake could easily serve more people than stated.
★★★★★
Happy Birthday! It made me happy that you love the cake. Thanks for trying the recipe!