Easy Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Pound Cake began its life as a somewhat boring (but good) easy vanilla pound cake and blossomed into this decadent, moist, chocolaty, peanut buttery pound cake you can proudly serve Prince William and Duchess Kate. (Yes, they will come to my home for dinner one day).
I thought about naming this cake “On a Whim Cake” since that is how its birth was conceived – on a whim. I grabbed all the ingredients for making an easy vanilla pound cake but, as I placed them on the kitchen counter, I spied the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups all wrapped up in their metallic red, green and gold foil.
THAT is the moment the proverbial thought-bubble of inspiration popped open above my head.
The transformation that happened by adding peanut butter cups, peanut butter and chocolate pudding to the basic recipe is similar to what happened when cinnamon & cream of tartar were added to a basic sugar cookie recipe. The Snickerdoodle, a much-loved cookie was created. Easy Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Pound Cake has already become a new favorite in my family, and hopefully, this recipe will go viral and the entire world will take notice. A food blogger can dream, can’t she?
Whomever it is you dream of sharing a meal with in your home, please know this cake will be the perfect dessert to serve.
Oh No! I just had an unsettling thought. What if Prince William or Duchess Kate has a peanut allergy? No problem; I can always serve them Red Velvet Cake or Frozen Mint Chocolate Dessert. Whew!
Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Pound Cake
Ingredients
- *Read through entire ingredient list before starting.
- For the Cake:
- 1 package Yellow Cake Mix or Chocolate Cake Mix
- 1 3.4 oz. package chocolate instant pudding
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup water
- 1- cup milk
- 1- teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter I use Jif Creamy
- ½ bag Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
- 8 ounces Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures – cut into fourths do NOT use Peanut Butter Cup Baking Cups
- -------------------------------
- For the Peanut Butter Cup Frosting:
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cup miniatures
- -------------------------------
- For the Garnish:
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
- Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures - chopped
Instructions
- For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease & flour 10-inch tube or Bundt pan.
- Mix together cake mix, pudding & flour in a large mixer bowl.
- Add eggs, water, milk, peanut butter, vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds on low speed then 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Fold in peanut butter chips & chopped peanut butter cup.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool cake on cooling rack 15 minutes.
- Invert cake onto a cooling rack and let completely cool (upright).
- ------------------------------
- For the Peanut Butter Cup Frosting:
- In a small saucepan, melt peanut butter and chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures over low heat until melted and smooth. Stir often.
- Pour warm icing over completely cooled cake while letting it drizzle down the sides.
- Garnish with extra Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips and chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures.
- Serve after frosting is cooled and set.
- *See notes for freezing.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*This cake can be frozen: Tightly wrap cake in plastic wrap & aluminum foil then place in a freezer container or bag. Cake will keep up to 1 month.
Becky (The Cookie Rookie)
This looks SO incredible!!!!!!! I need this bad.Susie Gall
Thanks, Bec! I have some in the freezer:-)Becky (The Cookie Rookie)
that's music to my ears/stomach!!!Linda Springate
Absoultely beautiful and yummy....this will get made. Love it!!!Susie Gall
Thanks so much, Linda! For that even more intense chocolate flavor I know you love, use a chocolate cake mix instead of the yellow cake mix. You and Jen could make this when you get together. I think/hope you will love it. Thanks for coming by today. Love ya!!Susie Gall
I forgot...You could make this for Baby George when the Royals bring him by to visit!!!peter @feedyoursoultoo
OMG. This would not last a day in my house!Susie Gall
Thank you Peter. I ate 2 pieces, then decided I best freeze the rest to have when my family comes home for Christmas. It is delicious and NOT calorie-free:-) Thanks for taking the time to come by Simply Sated.Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom
just saw this on Pinterest and had to click!! I love chocolate + peanut butter. . and this peanut butter cup frosting is to die for!!! certainly fit for Prince William and Duchess Kate. :) love this "on a whim" cake!!Susie Gall
Thank you for your sweet comments and for stopping by, Alice. I love chocolate & peanut butter, too!! Check back to see my post about Prince William & Duchess Kate coming for dinner. :-)Nicole Neverman
Susie, this cake is absolutely stunning!! I just want to dig right in!Susie Gall
Thanks Nicole and thanks for stopping by.Janette@culinaryginger
I couldn't believe the first word of your post was 'easy'. It looks like it took days to make, stunning cake.Susie Gall
Oh, Janette. This is one of the easiest cakes - ever - just the kind I love! Thank you for taking time to comment and thanks for being so sweet.Michele @ Flavor Mosaic
My husband would go crazy over this cake. Plus your photos are stunning.Susie Gall
Thank you, MIchele. My husband (who doesn't have too much of a sweet tooth) loves this cake. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Have a great week!Holly
This looks wonderful! My two favorites chocolate and peanut butter! Definitely want to try this! Thanks Susie!Susie Gall
Thank you, Holly. This cake is easy-peasy and delicious - and it freezes beautifully, so I hope you do try it. Thanks for stopping by - I really appreciate it your support.Dan from Platter Talk
What you call easy and boring is what I call masterfully done and absolutely divine in appearance. Incredible job, once again. Thank you for sharing this!Susie Gall
Thank you, Dan. Your sweet comments bring a smile to my face.Patricia @ Grab a Plate
Well a bit of a coincidence -- I'm waiting for LeBron James to pop over for dessert ;) This. Looks. AMAZING!Susie Gall
Ha-Ha!! We should have a dinner party and invite everyone with whom we would love to dine. (Wow, that sounded fancy schmancy, didn't it?) Have a great holiday, Patricia, and thanks so much for stopping by.Abigail's Maw
Love your blog and recipesSusie Gall
Thank you so much Abigail and thanks a million for stopping by Simply Sated. Please come back soon and often.Winifred
Very good post! We will be linking to this great post on our site.Keep up the good writing.Susie Gall
Thank you, Winifred. So sweet of you to visit Simply Sated and to share my post. Please visit again soon.5minutes
I'm not sure I'd call this a pound cake. In my mind, a pound cake is extremely dense and uses some variation of the old "pound of flour, pound of sugar, pound of eggs, pound of butter" standard. This cake has no butter (save of the peanut variety) and relies on sugar from outside sources, so I can't tell if it adds up right.Having said that... that's just me being nitpicky. This cake is a revelation of awesomeness from on high. The fact that it's not a pound cake make it far easier to handle the deep richness, and the flavors are well-balanced without being overbearing (unless you're like me and bite into too many PB chips at once). Kudos.Susie Gall
Hello 5minutes. I would have to concur this cake isn't the true definition of a pound cake and suppose I should have named it a Bundt cake. I use the terms interchangeably, but probably shouldn't. I really appreciate you testing my cake and am so glad you liked it. Your compliments put a huge smile on my face. I don't know if you are a food blogger, but you have a lovely way describing food. Thanks so much for stopping by Simply Sated today. I hope you had time to look around, and I hope you come back soon.