Peanut Free "Peanut Butter" Cake
This Peanut Free "Peanut Butter" Cake has that peanut butter flavor with no nuts at all! It has layers of soft vanilla cake, surrounded by a silky "peanut butter" frosting. It’s then topped with a chocolate ganache and buttercream balls rolled in mini chocolate chips! Thanks to the magic of wow butter, you can safely enjoy the taste of peanut butter while devouring this fluffy cake! Don't have nut allergies? No problem; simply replace the wow peanut butter with any creamy peanut butter, nut butter or seed butter of your choosing!! Best part is, it’s gluten free, nut free, egg free and can easily be vegan!
Servings: 12 Slices
Calories: 897kcal
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Cake
- 2 ¼ cups multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup light brown sugar , packed
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Peanut Free "Peanut Butter" Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter or vegan baking sticks, room temperature
- 1 cup wow butter , room temperature (or 1 cup creamy peanut butter)
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons water , room temperature
For the Buttercream Balls
- ¾ cup mini chocolate chips
For the Ganache Drip
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan baking stick
Instructions
For the Vanilla Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the 2 ¼ cups multipurpose gluten free flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 ½ cups milk, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
- Slowly add the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. It if gets too thick, switch to a spatula but it should be fairly liquidy.
- Divide the batter evenly into 2 greased and parchment lined 8 inch cake pans and smooth the tops with a butter knife.
- Bake the cakes in the center rack at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes until slightly springy when carefully touched.
- Remove cakes from oven and let the cakes cool almost completely in the pan for 15 mins before trying to remove. Then remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.Once cool, slice both cakes in half horizontally. Now you have 4 thin layers of cake.If your cakes have dome tops, you can take a thin layer off the tops of the cake with a knife, to make a flat surface.
Make the Peanut Free "Peanut Butter" Frosting
- While the cake is baking, make the frosting.In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the 1 cup unsalted butter and 1 cup wow butter (or creamy peanut butter) until smooth.
- Slowly beat in the 5 cups confectioners' sugar and the 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add in the ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of room temperature water...a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water.
- Divide the frosting into 5 equal servings.
Make the Buttercream Balls
- Using a teaspoon, start make 12 balls with ⅕ of the buttercream. If the frosting is too sticky, add more confectioners’ sugar to only this ⅕ of the buttercream, a little at a time, until you’re able to shape the buttercream balls.
- Pour ¾ cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips on a plate. Roll each buttercream ball into the chips covering them completely.
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper, place the balls on the sheet and freeze until ready to use.
Assemble the Cake
- Place one layer of cake on a cake plate/stand. Scoop ⅕ (about 1 cup) of frosting on top of the layer and use an icing spatula to spread it around.
- Place another layer of cake on top; repeat this same process. Do this with 3 layers of cake.
- Once you get to the last layer of cake, place it bottom (or flat) side up so the top of the cake is nice and flat. Use an icing spatula or a butter knife to frost the top and a thin layer on the sides of the cake.You should only use a fifth of the frosting on the top and sides combined. This is a semi-naked cake.Pop the entire cake in the fridge uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
Make the Chocolate Ganache
- When the cake has only 5 min left in the fridge, make the ganache.
- Place ¾ cups chocolate chips and 6 tablespoons butter or vegan baking sticks together in a heat safe bowl.Microwave them together in 10-15 second increments, stirring after each time, until the chocolate chips and butter are fully melted and incorporated. This will take a few min.
- Immediately take the cake out of the fridge. Spoon almost all the liquid ganache on top of the cake.Take an icing spatula and push the ganache around to the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides.Work quickly because the cold cake will quickly stop the ganache from dripping too much.
- Take the buttercream balls out of the freezer and press them into the wet ganache around the edge of the cake. Let the buttercream balls soften before serving. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, non-dairy milk, vegan nut fee butter spread and vegan chocolate chips.
All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 2 ¼ cups packed AP flour (378 grams) and only 1 ¼ cups of milk.
Storing: Once the cake is cut into, it’s best to cut the entire cake into slices and wrap each slice in foil and store in a zip top bag in the fridge. Eat extra slices within 2 days.
When ready to eat, let the slices sit on the counter, in the foil for about an hour or until the cake is room temperature and soft. If you want to microwave a slice, do it in 5 second increments and be careful not to burn your mouth on hot frosting.
Freezing: If not eating all the extra slices within 2 days, take the slices wrapped in foil and place in the zip top bag and freeze them. You can keep the slices frozen for up to 30 days.
When ready to eat, put the slices in the fridge the night before or leave them out on the counter for 2 hours prior to eating or until the cake is room temperature and soft.
Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.
Nutrition
Calories: 897kcal | Carbohydrates: 113g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 225mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 93g | Vitamin A: 722IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 1mg