Chocolate Snack Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

This chocolate snack cake with peanut butter frosting is the perfect quick & easy indulgent recipe! Made with a simple fudgy cake recipe based off of this dark chocolate malt snack cake and slathered with a thick layer of luscious pb frosting, this cake is sure to be your new favorite. 

For more easy chocolate cake recipes, try Fudgy Chocolate Espresso Bundt Cake, Dairy Free Chocolate Cake, and Mini Flourless Chocolate Cake. 

Ingredient Notes

Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions. 

• Cocoa Powder: This recipe calls for a combination of dutch process and black cocoa powder, however if you do not have black cocoa powder, you can use just 42g of dutch process.
• Chocolate: I recommend using bittersweet chocolate. My favorite brand is Guittard!
• Coffee: You'll need freshly brewed coffee to bloom the chocolate and cocoa powders, but alternatively you can use boiling water.
• Flour: You'll need slightly more than one cup of flour.
• Sugars: You'll need both granulated sugar and brown sugar for the cake, and powdered sugar for the frosting. 
• Espresso Powder: This helps to optimize the chocolate flavor, but you can omit it.
• Leavener: You'll add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to give the cake the perfect amount of rise. 
• Fat: You'll need a neutral oil, such as light tasting olive oil, for the cake, and butter for the frosting. 
• Dairy: You'll need whole milk and plain greek yogurt for the cake, and a splash of heavy cream for the frosting. 
• Eggs: You'll need two eggs at room temperature for the cake. 
• Peanut Butter: I recommend only using a thick, creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. 

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this chocolate snack cake with peanut butter frosting recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make batter and bake. Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, then combine together until smooth. Pour the batter into your pan and bake for about 20 minutes.

STEP 2: Cool down. Allow cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Expert Baking Tips

• Use any neutral oil, such as light tasting olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
• I recommend only using a thick, creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. 
• Store this cake in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to three days.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x