Reese's Cake
My Reese's cake features moist chocolate cake with rich peanut frosting and a silky smooth ganache. This decadent dessert tastes like Reese's in cake form!
I love chocolate and peanut butter together. I originally made this cake for my Mom's birthday as she's a chocolate peanut butter fanatic. Besides birthdays it's great for potlucks, reunions, and anytime you're craving a sweet treat.
I've shared recipes like this before such as peanut butter cupcakes, and peanut butter blossom bars This Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake might top them all, though! Just like my cosmic brownies it is even topped with chocolate ganache. It uses my secret box cake mix hack for bakery flavor in minutes. Serve with a tall icy cold glass of milk or generous scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips
For the Cake
- Chocolate Cake Mix: I'm partial to Betty Crocker's chocolate fudge, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Milk: Use whole milk instead of the water called for on the box for the moistest cake.
- Eggs: Use room temperature eggs; they'll incorporate more smoothly.
Use Butter Instead of Oil
It adds a wonderful flavor and richness that oil just can't provide.
For the Peanut Butter Buttercream
- Butter: Quickly soften butter by cutting it into smaller pieces.
- Peanut Butter: I used Jif. Use regular, not natural peanut butter, which can cause your buttercream to split.
- Heavy Cream: You can also use milk if that's what you have on hand.
How to Make a Reese's Cake
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cake pans with baking spray.
- Make Cake: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Bake in round cake pans for 25-30 minutes.
- Prep Cake: Cut domes off of cake so they are flat.
- For the Frosting: Cream butter, peanut butter, salt and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and heavy cream until you reach your desired consistency.
- Assemble: Place cake layer on plate. Evenly spread with frosting. Repeat with remaining cake layers. Frost sides and top of cake as well.
- For the Ganache: Heat heavy whipping cream. Pour over chocolate chips. Whisk until smooth. Add to the top of the cake and allow some to drip over the side. Pour the remaining ganache into the center of the cake.
- Finishing touches: Pipe the remaining buttercream on top. Add shaved chocolate and Reese's cups if desired.
FAQ
How Can I Get Flat Layer Cakes?
To ensure to cake won't fall or slide apart, cut off cake domes with a cake leveler or sharp bread knife. You can also buy cake strips at craft store or online to prevent this problem altogether.
️Krystle's Tips️
- Weigh Batter: Use a food scale to get perfectly even layers with no guesswork.
- NonStick: Line your cake pans with parchment paper for easy removal every time.
- How To Tell When Cake Is Done: Insert a toothpick near the center. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, it's done.
- Do a Crumb Coat: Use around 1 cup of frosting and thinly frost the outside of the cake. Scrape off any extra with a bench scraper. Discard or save this for graham crackers as we don't want that frosting going back on our cake.
- Use a Cake Board: This will make it so much easier to move or transport from counter to table.
How To Get SUper SMooth Frosting
Frost with an offset spatula and revolving cake stand. Spin and smooth until you have a nice even layer.
More Decadent Cakes To Try
📖 Recipe
Ultimate Reese's Cake
Reese's Cake: Moist chocolate cake with rich peanut peanut frosting and a silky smooth ganache. If you like Reese's you'll love this cake!
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Servings: 12
Calories: 1223kcal
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Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 Boxes Milk Chocolate Cake Mix
- 2 ½ Cups Whole Milk
- 2 Cups Butter Softened
- 6 Eggs
For the Peanut Butter Buttercream
- 2 Cups Butter Softened
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons Heavy Cream
- ½ Cup Peanut Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Pinch Salt
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 1 Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- ½ Cup Heavy Cream
Garnish
- 1 Hershey Bar
- Reese's Cups
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Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 3 9 inch round cake pans with Pam baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine all cake ingredients together until fully combined.
- Divide batter between the 3 baking pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Once cooled, remove cakes from cake pan and cut the top domes off so they are flat.
For the Peanut Butter Buttercream
- In a large bowl, cream butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter ,vanilla and salt. Stir in powdered sugar a little at a time. Add heavy cream until you reach your desired consistency.
For the Ganache
- In a small saucepan, heat heavy whipping cream until steaming. While heavy whipping cream is heating up, place chocolate chips into a heat-proof bowl.
- Once the heavy whipping cream is heated, pour over the chocolate chips.Allow to sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth.
- Pour ganache into a squeeze bottle.
Assemble
- Place the first cake layer onto a serving plate. Scoop 1 cup of frosting onto the first layer and spread it out. Repeat steps with remaining cake layers. Frost top and sides too.Scoop remaining frosting into a piping bag with a star tip ,and set aside
- Using the squeeze bottle, to create a drizzle effect around the top of the cake. Squeeze some ganache over the side allow the chocolate ganache to drip down.Pour remaining ganache onto the center of the top of the cake and smooth evenly to coat the top.
- Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow ganache to harden.Pipe dollops of frosting onto the top cake.
- Take the potato peeler and run it along the edge of the chocolate bar like you're peeling an apple to create shavings.Place the Reese Peanut Butter Cups in between the frosting dollops.
Notes
Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips
-
- Chocolate Cake Mix: I'm partial to Betty Crocker's chocolate fudge, but feel free to use your favorite.
- Milk: Use whole milk instead of the water called for on the box for the moistest cake.
- Eggs: Use room temperature eggs; they'll incorporate more smoothly.
- Butter: Use butter instead of the oil called for on the box. It adds a wonderful flavor and richness that oil just can't provide.
- Peanut Butter: I used Jif. Use regular, not natural peanut butter, which can cause your buttercream to split.
- Heavy Cream: You can also use milk if that's what you have on hand.
- Weigh Batter: Use a food scale to get perfectly even layers with no guesswork.
- NonStick: Line your cake pans with parchment paper for easy removal every time.
- Get Flat Layers: To ensure to cake won't fall or slide apart, cut off cake domes with a cake leveler or sharp bread knife.
- How To Tell When Cake Is Done: Insert a toothpick near the center. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, it's done.
- Do a Crumb Coat: Use around 1 cup of frosting and thinly frost the outside of the cake. Scrape off any extra with a bench scraper. Discard or save this for graham crackers as we don't want that frosting going back on our cake.
- Super Smooth Frosting: Frost with an offset spatula and revolving cake stand. Spin and smooth until you have a nice even layer.
Nutrition
Calories: 1223kcal | Carbohydrates: 95g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 92g | Saturated Fat: 50g | Cholesterol: 267mg | Sodium: 1243mg | Potassium: 515mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 66g | Vitamin A: 2280IU | Calcium: 218mg | Iron: 4.8mg
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I can't wait to make this cake! I'm a Reese's fanatic so I know I'll love it!
A while ago i was thinking what if they made a reese's cake, and look what i have found. It looks awesome and inviting i hope that the taste would respond the same.
Yesterday was my boyfriends and I 1 year anniversary. We both love Reese's, so it only made sense that I made a Reese's cake. Girl, when I tell you this cake topped the charts, WOW. One of our kids saw it and thought it was our wedding cake. I made a few adjustments for my pan size, but it was still amazing. This was my first time making buttercream and it was a lot easier than I thought thanks to your easy recipe. Definitely gonna be checking out more stuff from you. Thank you so much for putting smiles on our faces and tastebuds.
Hi Quinetta, yayyy so glad you all enjoyed! 🙂
this sounds amazing so i think i'll try it for thanksgiving! one question.... what kind of peanut butter do you use? i usually have natural peanut butter on hand. do i need a brand like skippy or jiff or will the natural work?
Hi Sue,
I wouldn't use natural peanut butter as it tends to separate.
I always use Jif when baking.
I made this last year from my son's birthday. It was SUCH a huge hit he has requested it again for this weekend, as he turns 28 !
Your directions are very clear, and the result was excellent.
My son doesn't ask for much, thank you for making him so happy !
Yay this warms my heart so much. Thanks for letting me know Darcy. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend. HUGS
Want to make this for my daughters bday, quick question, Salted or unsalted butter?
What brand of creamy peanut butter does everyone use?
Thank you,
Kris
Hi Kris,
Great questions! I usually bake with unsalted butter, but I really don't think it makes too big of a difference. I'm a loyal Jif fan for eating and baking.
If I split this in half for just a small 2 layer will that work? Can you recommend how to cut this down? Shelter in place means no guests for the birthday boy and there is 7 of us. We don't need that much cake...ok, I DON'T need that much cake. Lol!
Hi Crystal,
Unfortunately, I haven't tried cutting this recipe down, and I don't want to speculate with groceries as high as they are.
This cake was amazing! I made it for my grandson's baseball fundraiser and it brought in a little over $100 in the raffle and since the recipe made 3 9" and 1 8" round layers, I kept the 8" layer for home and made 1 and a half times the buttercream. Omgoodness was this cake good! I used a devils food and a chocolate fudge cake mix...Omgoodness, my husband loved it! Thank you so much for sharing!❤
Hi Elaine,
So amazing that you used it for a fundraiser. So glad it was able to raise $$, and that you all enjoyed. Thanks for sharing! Hope to see you around the site again soon!
What chocolate cake mix do you use?
Thanks
I am partial to Duncan Hine's Triple Chocolate one, but any one should work fine!
Duncan Hines is my Favorite Cake Mixes
Hi Camdyce,
So yummy! 🙂
Not on my diet but who cares.
This might be the best comment I've ever gotten. Thanks Pearl!
I am excited to make this cake! I was wondering, how long would you bake if you were making mini or regular size cupcakes? These would be the perfect ending for any party! Thanks!
Hi Jennifer!
We have only tested the recipe as written. If you try another size pan, please report back. We do have a different recipe for Reese's cupcakes you may like as well: https://www.bakingbeauty.net/chocolate-peanut-butter-cupcakes/
You really need better direction on what order to add the ingredients while mixing the batter. The first time I tried making this I added every thing to the bowl like the directions said I attempted to mix in my stand mixer but ended up with the butter never incorporating and had to dump all the batter. My 2nd attempt went better but it was trial and error trying to figure out what and how much of the ingredients to mix in at a time. Loved the finished product tho!
Hi Susan! Thanks so much for your comment and suggestion. I always make my recipes that use cake mix like this, and have never had an issue. Was your butter softened?
Butter was definitely soft. I let it soften for over 24hrs before I attempted to use it. I put it in my stand mixer and then added all the eggs and milk and cake mix but when I tried to mix it the butter never incorporated and it was a clumpy mess. When I tried it a 2nd time I just put the butter in first and got that going in the stand mixer and added the eggs one at a time and then alternated adding the cake mix and milk and had a much better result
Glad to hear it worked better the second time! Thanks for making my recipes Susan! <3
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I use unsalted butter. If you use unsalted butter just skip the extra salt the recipe calls for.
I absolutely love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate in this cake. It's so tasty! I only wish I could decorate it as well as you have.
You're so sweet thanks Susan!
How do I add more stars to this recipe rating?!? This cake is amazing!! Peanut Butter and Chocolate are my favorite so this cake is now my favorite! Good to know that this can be frozen but I highly doubt any of it will make it to the freezer - it will all be in my belly!