My chocolate peanut butter pound cake has soulful swirls of chocolate and peanut butter cake topped with a sweet and nutty peanut butter glaze! This is what soul food dessert dreams are made of, and everyone will want a second slice.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my plantain cake with PB frosting or old-fashioned red velvet cake, too!
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - This chocolate peanut butter pound cake recipe follows the classic pound cake ratio with one pound each of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs, plus marbled batter.
True Peanut Butter and Chocolate Flavor - The chocolatey PB combination is so nostalgic, and this easy peanut butter chocolate swirl pound cake turns out rich, buttery, dense, and not too sweet, so the flavors really shine.
I inherited my affinity for flavored pound cakes from my Grandma Carolyn and have plenty more for you to dive into next: golden pineapple pound cake, strawberry sour cream pound cake, chocolate strawberry vanilla pound cake, and butter pecan pound cake with praline frosting!
This is such a wonderful recipe! I halved it and it still worked perfectly!
-reader review from Frankie
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Butter, Eggs, and Milk should all be at room temperature so that they are malleable enough to combine easily and thoroughly in the batter. If you forget, try this trick to soften butter quickly, and this trick to warm up eggs without cooking them. Both work like a charm! And I recommend using unsalted butter to better control the amount of salt and more reliably yield the traditional pound cake crumb we know and love.
Cocoa Powder, of course! Use unsweetened 100% cocoa powder for the truest, richest chocolatey flavor.
Peanut Butter will add nutty flavor and a nice caramel color to half the cake, but this is one of the rare times I only recommend using smooth or creamy peanut butter--not crunchy. If you want the crunchy peanut butter vibe, mix about half a cup of chopped peanuts in with the dry ingredients.
For the Peanut Butter Glaze
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Peanut Butter - You can substitute the nut butter of your choice, including almond butter, cashew butter, and hazelnut butter for peanut butter, if you like.
Vegan - Use plant-based milk, butter, and eggless products to make this a vegan-friendly cake.
Shape and Size - You can bake this easy recipe in a bundt pan as shown, or use two large loaf pans, or an angel food cake pan (also called a tube pan).
How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Pound Cake from Scratch
- Step 1: Cream the butter, then beat in sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
- Step 2: Meanwhile, whisk the flour and sea salt together.
Pro Tip #1
Fluff or sift the flour well before measuring it out into the cake batter. Flour can get packed easily and you'll very likely wind up with much more flour than you actually need if you just scoop straight from the bag. Here is how to properly measure flour.
- Step 3: Mix together the wet and dry mixtures until just combined.
- Step 4: Divide the batter in half, then mix the melted chocolate and cocoa powder into one half and the peanut butter into the other.
Pro Tip #2
I recommend you finish mixing the batter by hand rather than with a mixer to avoid over-mixing it. Over-mixing cake batter activates the gluten, which can give it a tougher texture.
- Step 5: Swirl the batter together in a bundt pan.
- Step 6: Transfer the cake to the oven to bake. Invert it from the pan after about 10 minutes of cooling.
Pro Tip #3
Add the flavored batters to the pan by alternating spoonfuls, then use a butter knife to swirl them together. To get a beautiful marbled look throughout each slice, fill the pan just halfway then swirl and repeat with the remaining batter.
- Step 7: Mix the peanut butter frosting ingredients together until smooth and glossy.
- Step 8: Pour the glaze over top of the cake, dust with cocoa powder, slice, and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
In addition to using a non-stick pan, the number one tip to keep a bundt cake from sticking to the pan is to grease and flour it. Next, bake the cake on the middle rack so that the bottom is less likely to burn and, therefore, stick. This also helps ensure an even bake.
This cake will keep well at room temperature for up to two days. Beyond that, I recommend storing it covered in the refrigerator for up to five more days.
Yes. To freeze, cool the cake to room temperature, then wrap it in one layer each of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. You can freeze the cake whole or (my preference) in individually-wrapped slices.
How to Serve
Heritage Celebrations: Chocolate and peanuts are West African heritage foods that weave through African American cuisine, so this is a great option for your Juneteenth menu, Kwanzaa meals, or the great Black American cookout.
Everyday Dessert: Finish your Sunday Soul Food dinner with a flourish by serving this cake for dessert. Nobody will be mad at a generous hunk of cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
More Holidays: I actually originally developed this recipe for my brother's birthday cake, and this is a solid bake to celebrate your favorite chocolate lover. Or switch things up on your Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas dessert tables.
More Favorite Pound Cake Recipes
Looking for more recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this chocolate peanut butter marble pound cake soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so pin this recipe on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Pound Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter Chocolate Pound Cake
- 1 pound butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup milk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
For the Peanut Butter Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons milk at room temperature
- cocoa powder optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
- Make the Batter: Use stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment to cream butter until it is smooth, fluffy, and a slightly lighter shade of yellow (about thr minutes). Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar, and beat for another two minutes, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the milk, and vanilla extract, until uniform.1 pound butter, 6 eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In another bowl, whisk together flour and sea salt. Add the wet mixture to flour mixture and stir by hand until batter is uniform and no dry pockets remain.4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Flavor the Batter: Divide batter evenly into two bowls. Mix the melted chocolate and cocoa powder into one bowl until uniform. Mix the peanut butter into the other bowl until uniform.¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, ¼ cup cocoa powder, ⅓ cup peanut butter
- Create the Marble Effect: Fill prepared bundt pan about halfway with batter by adding alternating spoonfuls of chocolate and peanut butter batters. Use a butter knife to swirl the batters together then repeat process with remaining batter until pan is full.
- Bake the Cake: Place pan in oven and bake for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted into multiple parts of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let it sit in pan for about 10 minutes then carefully invert it onto a plate to finish cooling.
- Prepare the Glaze: Use stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat the powdered sugar and butter together for about 30 seconds then add peanut butter and vanilla extract. Mixture will be somewhat coarse and crumbly.1 cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup butter, ½ cup peanut butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add in milk one tablespoon at a time until desired texture is reached then continue mixing for another three minutes or until the frosting is smoth and uniform. It should be glossy in appearance and thick enough that it doesn't run or easily drip off whisk when raised.5 tablespoons milk
- Decorate the Cake: Pour glaze over top of cooled pound cake and allow to fall down the sides. For an additional optional garnish, sift cocoa powder over top of cake.cocoa powder
Nancy carter says
I can't wait to try this recipe!!!! It is for my furbaby Jethro's Birthday 9-8. Jethro will be 13!!!! He is very sick and we are asking for prayers 🙏 😢 please pray for him. In Jesus's name, Amen
Frankie says
This is such a wonderful recipe! I halved it and it still worked perfectly!