This Reese peanut butter chocolate cake brings together two of the worlds greatest flavours. Moist chocolate cake layered with Reese peanut butter ganache and covered in a silky peanut butter Swiss meringue.
This post is sponsored by Hershey’s Canada and I have been compensated both monetarily and with product. However, opinions expressed in this review are still my own.
One of my best friends has been prepping like mad for his very first fitness body competition that actually just happened last week. For (gruelling) months and months and months, he cut out ALL junk food from his life and worked out practically every day. That meant, no chocolate, no chips, no cake, no cookies, no TASTEBUD HAPPINESS. I mean, as much as I wish I could look as great as him, I would never choose abs over chips. His insanity paid off though because HE WON!! He strut his tanned-and-vein-popping muscles on stage and got first place in Men’s Physique Short Class!
Components of this Reese peanut butter chocolate cake
A couple days before the competition, he rounded up an impressive stash of junk food that could give my stash a run for its money. (Did I just personify my pile of junk food?). And to top it all off, he asked me to make him a super decadent peanut butter and chocolate cake for post-competition consumption. He gave me the green light to go full fat mode, so I wasn’t about to let him down! I brainstormed all the ways to maximize fat, PB and chocolate factor. Hours of blissful cake designing later, I came up with this:
- 3 layers of dark chocolate cake
- Reese peanut butter chocolate ganache
- smooth peanut butter swiss meringue
- dark chocolate ganache glaze
- CANDY. AND LOTS OF IT.
Reese Peanut Butter Spread
The Reese peanut butter chocolate ganache MADE this cake. I’ve made a Nutella ganache before so when I received two jars of Reese spread in the mail, I just knew that it would be magic. The spread tastes like it’s essentially made from blended up Reese peanut butter cups, ie. HEAVENLY. Combined with a base of semisweet ganache, it was the most perfectly rich and velvety filling for dark chocolate cake layers.
Well, I didn’t stop there! It’s rare for my client/friends to grant me full permission for full-fat mode so I went ALL OUT. I then smothered the cake layers in peanut butter swiss meringue. I could eat that stuff out of a bowl… and I frequently do. Then I poured on more ganache and piled candy on it. You asked for indulgence? I naaaailed it!
More tall layered cakes:
Gold Hazelnut Praline Ganache Cake
Skyscraper Strawberry Shortcake
Recipe for Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache
- 9 oz semisweet chocolate
- 2 oz white chocolate
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 3/4 jar of Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread
- 1/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
Dark Chocolate Cake Layers
- 1¾ cups plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1½ cups 4½ oz. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp coffee powder
- 1½ cups boiling water
- ¾ cup full-fat sour cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2½ cups plus 2 tbsp.
- 3 large eggs
- 1¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¾ tsp. salt
Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temp, cut into cubes
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2-3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- 4 oz. dark chocolate
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache
- *Prep one day before assembling*
- Chop both types of chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl
- Heat cream until just simmering and pour it immediately over the chocolate
- Let sit for 1-2 mins, then stir gently with a fork until the chocolate and cream are smoothly blended together
- Stir in Reese spread and peanut butter until smooth, mixture will be thick
- Cover and refrigerate overnight
Dark Chocolate Cake Layers
- *Prep one day before assembling*
- Preheat the oven to 350˚ F, spray 3 x 8-inch round cake pans with oil
- In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, espresso powder, and boiling water
- Whisk until smooth; set aside to cool slightly
- Whisk in the sour cream and vanilla and set aside
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth
- Gradually blend in the sugar and whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy
- Blend in the eggs one at a time
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk to blend
- Add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the sour cream mixture, beating each addition just until incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (I like to use ice cream scoops)
- Bake the cake layers for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Allow cake to cool completely, then wrap each cake in two layers of saran wrap and keep on counter (NOT FRIDGE)
Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Keep a pot of boiling water on the stovetop
- Whisk egg whites, sugar and salt in a bowl that you can fit on top of the pot (not IN the pot)
- Place bowl on top of pot over the boiling water and whisk vigorously until sugar is melted
- Transfer egg white mixture into a CLEAN AND OIL FREE mixing bowl
- Whip on low speed until slighty cooled, then increase speed and whip until stiff peaks form
- Gradually add in chunks of butter and whip until butter is incorporated and mixture is creamy in appearance
- Mix in peanut butter and scrape down the bowl to make sure that all peanut butter is incorporated
Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- Chop chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl
- Heat cream until just simmering then pour over chocolate
- Let sit for 1-2 mins, then stir gently with a fork until the chocolate and cream are smoothly blended together
Assembly
- Level off the tops of the cake layers to ensure a flat surface
- Place one cake layer down on a cake board/plate/pedestal
- Spread a VERY thin layer of pb swiss meringue on the surface of the cake
- Pipe a dam of pb swiss meringue on the edge of the cake
- Fill the enclosed area with Reese PB chocolate ganache
- Place the second cake layer on top
- Repeat previous steps until all cake layers are stacked
- Frost cake with pb swiss meringue
- Pour cooled glaze over the surface of the cake, allow to drip down the sides
- Decorate with chocolate and candy
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a comment below and tag @chocolateandconnie on Instagram.
Credit
Dark chocolate cake recipe from Baking Illustrated
Swiss meringue recipe by Martha Stewart
Bravo! That’s amazing! I feel fat just looking at the cake! I totally love the vertical decor on the cake and the sweet, chocolately, peanutty ganache dripping down ??????
Thanks linda!!
Oh my god that looks awesome! I’m sure your friend was absolutely thrilled 🙂 Love all the decorations you topped it with, especially the chocolate shards 🙂
aw thank you june! the shards are my fav aspect too and theyre simpler to make than you think!
Break out the fat pants for this one! Your picture has my mouth watering. I found you through food gawker. Pinned, yummed, and stumbled. Following on pinterest, too! Nice to meet you. 🙂
oh i have my fat pants on ALL THE TIME 😛 Nice to (virtually) meet you as well! Thanks for all the love 🙂
Wow! I love the look of the cake, and would love to remake it myself soon! Just wondering what you used to make the chocolate shards with the little holes in them? I predicted you poured chocolate over bubblewrap haha, please fill us in! 🙂
that is exactly what i did! danggit, way to spill all my secrets out 😛 it’s a super easy process, fail proof and it holds strong even with all the holes
So I’ve been trying to do the shards for so long!! But every time I poke out the chocolate the entire thing keeps snapping!! Any tips??
Hello!
Oh no, that sucks! Is it snapping in a crumbly way or is it snapping off in whole pieces?
If it’s crumbly, that means the chocolate wasn’t tempered properly. Try melting some chocolate slowly at low heat and re-atttempting the shards.
If it’s snapping off in pieces, maybe the chocolate just needs to be thicker! Try pouring more chocolate on the bubble wrap to get a thicker, sturdier shard.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you’re still encountering problems!
Happy baking,
Connie
So, saw this on food gawker and decided ro give it a try! Wow, what a cake!! Very good recipe. First time ever using a frosting dam, so that was fun. And the PB chocolate ganache was delicious. Mine of course looked no where near as nice as yours but still a really great cake! Thanks and keep them coming!
oh im so glad you liked the ganache! i had to redo that recipe over and over again until i got it jussst right. a frosting dam has probably saved my life so many times, especially when i fill cakes with fruit compote. and when it comes to cake, appearance is only 10%, taste is 1000%, hope whoever had your cake loved it!
OHMYGAWD. I need you to be my real life friend and make ME cakes like this! seriously…best cake EVER
Connie, I’m making this keep this weekend for one of our employee’s birthdays. This is a seriously gorgeous cake, and I’m SO excited to make it. Thank you for all the hard work on this recipe and for sharing it. Can’t wait to make it and report back! Thanks again!
hey carrie! i cant wait to see how this turns out for you!!
this blog is my happiness, thank you for recognizing the efforts that i put into it and for dropping by 🙂 hope you stick around!
Hi Connie!
How does the cake need to be stored? Refrigerator?
Thank you,
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you for asking the question! You can just leave it on the counter if you’re going to eat it within 3 days. Any longer than that I would put it in the fridge. The problem with refrigerators is that they can dry out cake. Hope that answers your question!
Cheers,
Connie
That Reese;s ganache sounds amazing! I don’t often bake with peanut butter because I find it to be overpowering, but this cake looks too good to pass up. Beautiful photos too! Did you make that honeycomb-patterned chocolate sheet that you used to garnish the cake, or is that a candy that I can buy?
Hello! Thank you so much for the kind words- I had loads of fun taking the photos! I actually made the honeybomb chocolate and it’s so easy that anyone can do it! Just take a sheet of clean bubble wrap and spread melted chocolate over. Wait for it to set then gently peel the bubble wrap away! Good luck and lemme know how it goes!