This Vegan Peanut Butter Cake recipe is super simple and made with basic ingredients. It's light and fluffy and topped with the perfect vegan peanut butter frosting. This cake is jam packed with peanut butter flavor!
I love peanut butter in desserts! I add it to everything from blondies like my Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blondies, to cookies like my Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Cookies and Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. I think it's the sweet and salty element that I cant get enough of.
So, it's the perfect time to add a Vegan Peanut Butter Cake to the list. This cake is light, moist and tender all while being full of peanut butter flavor. And the peanut butter frosting puts it over the top. But best of all, this cake is easy to make and is great for beginners!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This recipe is easy to make, so it's perfect for beginners!
- Its a single layer cake, so no stacking is required.
- This Peanut Butter Cake is vegan, eggless and dairy-free, so anyone can enjoy it.
- And it's made is basic, easy-to-find ingredients.
- It's jam packed with peanut butter in the cake batter and in the frosting.
- But most importantly, it's absolutely delicious.
Ingredient Notes
Peanut Butter: Use natural creamy peanut butter for this vegan peanut butter cake recipe. My top peanut butter choice is Teddie.
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds a warm background flavor to this cake recipe.
Non-Dairy Milk: I used oat milk, but soy milk, or almond milk will also work!
Canola Oil: I like canola oil for baking, but you can use any neutral tasting oil. But don't use coconut oil!
Vegan Butter: I like Soy-Free Earth Balance Sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter best.
Variations
My Vegan Peanut Butter Frosting is light, creamy and fluffy. It's delicious on this cake and my Vegan Banana Cake.
But, if it sounds like too much peanut butter to you, this cake would also be delicious with Vegan Vanilla Frosting or Vegan Chocolate Frosting.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. First, in a large bowl, combine brown sugar, non-dairy milk, peanut butter, canola oil, vanilla and vinegar. Whisk well until the peanut butter is completely broken up and mixed in.
Step 2. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to form the batter.
Step 3. Now, pour the cake batter into a prepared 8x8 inch square baking pan.
Step 4. And bake the peanut butter cake in a 350* oven for 35-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting!
Step 5. To make the peanut butter frosting, first cream vegan butter in a large bowl using a hand mixer until its completely smooth.
Then, add the peanut butter and mix until combined.
Next, add the maple syrup and mix until combined.
Step 6. Then, add the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined.
And finally add the non-dairy milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated and fluffy.
Now, use a spoon or a spatula to frost the cake and serve!
Recipe FAQs
Store this cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I do not recommend freezing the cake once its frosted.
I recommend any natural creamy peanut butter. The super smooth no stir peanut butters have palm oil in them which can reduce the peanut flavor, and we really want that to come through!
Expert Recipe Tips
Whisk the wet ingredients together until the peanut butter is completely broken up and mixed in.
But, when you add the dry ingredients, mix just until the batter forms. Over mixing can cause the cake to be dry.
Allow the Vegan Peanut Butter Cake to cool completely before frosting it. Frosting melts very easily, so if the cake is even a little bit warm, you will have a big mess on your hands!
Looking for More Easy Vegan Recipes?
If you tried this Vegan Peanut Butter Cake recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Peanut Butter Cake
Equipment
- 1 Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- 1 8x8-inch Square Cake Pan
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt ⅛ teaspoon if using fine grain salt
- 1 Cup Brown Sugar, tightly packed
- 1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- ½ Cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter see note!
- ¼ Cup Canola Oil
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 4 tablespoon Vegan Butter, room temperature See note
- ¼ Cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
- 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup see note
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
- 1 ½ teaspoon Non-Dairy Milk
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
To Make the Peanut Butter Cake
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Prepare a 8x8 square pan by coating it with coconut oil or baking spray and by inserting a parchment sling for easy removal. (See above photos).
- Into a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, non-dairy milk, peanut butter, canola oil, vanilla and vinegar. Whisk well to combine, making sure that the peanut butter is completely mixed into the other ingredients.1 Cup Brown Sugar, tightly packed, 1 Cup Non-Dairy Milk, ½ Cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, ¼ Cup Canola Oil, 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract, 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
- Pour batter into prepared 8x8-inch square baking pan and bake in a 350* oven for 34-37 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
To Make the Peanut Butter Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream the vegan butter until no lumps remain.4 tablespoon Vegan Butter, room temperature
- Add the peanut butter and mix until combined, then slowly stream in the maple syrup.¼ Cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on low until incorporated. Then, add the non-dairy milk and vanilla and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about one minute.1 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted, ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 ½ teaspoon Non-Dairy Milk
- Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread the frosting over the cake and serve!
Debbie
Delicious! I made this with gluten free flour, brown sugar, and avocado oil! It turned out great! Good flavor, moist and semi dense. I whisked together all the wet ingredients and the brown sugar and let it set for about 30 minutes to let the sugar dissolve and flavors marry before I then added the dry ingredients and mixed with a fork till moist. I baked it in a 7x11inch glass pan, greased with a little Crisco, at 350 for 36 minutes.
Nidhi
Thanks Megan for this recipe..I tried it with whole wheat flour , it came out nice. Somehow, peanut butter gives it a dry feel but we accompanied with our evening tea and it was a hit. Looking forward to try more of your recipes.
Mikaela Daniel
This cake is DELICIOUS. Made it for hubby for his bday. Thank you!
Mikaela Daniel
LOVED the texture. Not too dense, light crumb, great flavor. Im glad I gave it a shot. Will definitely keep this recipe and make it again.
Megan Calipari
So happy to hear it! Thank you so much for the feedback!
Jen
Can this be made into a layer cake? Would it be stable enough to stack?
Megan Calipari
Hi! This recipe will make enough for 3 6" cake layers. I like to weigh about 8 oz of batter per pan. It will look like not much batter in the pans, but its the perfect amount. I don't think this recipe would be quite enough for a 8" cake though.
Marjey
So delicious!!! My husband was recently diagnosed with GERD, and today is his birthday. I needed a cake that wouldn’t trigger his symptoms and this was the perfect solution!! I added some carob chips to the icing which added a little “chocolate” flavor. My husband and our kids all loved it. Thank you for helping me give him something sweet for his special day!!
Heather
Easy and absolutely delicious! I couldn’t sleep last night and decided to make my boyfriend his birthday cake instead of tossing and turning for hours. Not only was the super easy to make (at 1AM - lol) but it’s absolutely to die for. I did not expect such a nuanced taste for a peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing but the maple syrup adding a nice touch of complexity. I cannot recommend this enough! I’ll be making this again. Can’t wait to have more tomorrow with a cup of coffee or tea. Thank you!