Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake
Seriously over-the-top in peanut butter richness and flavor, this peanut butter Texas sheet cake is unreal. And it feeds a huge crowd!
Seriously over-the-top in peanut butter richness and flavor, this cake is unreal. For all you peanut butter lovers out there – this cake will make all your dreams come true.
If my name were, say, Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake, and we were playing that game, four truths and a lie, this is what I would tell you about myself (you decide which are truths and which is the lie):
1) I am not for the peanut-butter-faint-of-heart. My intensely dense peanut butter self is made only for those who love peanut butter beyond belief.
2) The combination of my tender, almost-fudgy cake and thick, decadent frosting, is best complimented by some seriously creamy, light ice cream. Either that or a tall glass of milk. It’s a wondrous combination.
3) I am calorie free.
4) Classic Texas Sheet Cake ain’t got nothin’ on me. My ultra-rich peanut butter self is bound to please your palate.
And just in case my little game threw you off, #3 is the lie. Shocker, I know.
One Year Ago: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Two Years Ago: Coconut and Cashew Granola
Three Years Ago: No-Bake Spiderweb Cheesecake
Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups (424 g) sugar
- 2 cups (284 g) flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (227 g) sour cream, light or regular
- ⅔ cup (170 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup (227 g) butter
- 1 cup water
Frosting:
- ½ cup (113 g) butter
- ⅔ cups (170 g) creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 2 ½ cups (285 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For the cake, in a medium bowl combine the sugar and flour. In a large mixing bowl mix eggs, baking soda, and sour cream well. Set aside. In a small saucepan combine peanut butter, butter, and water. Bring to a boil. Stir the boiled peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture. Add to the sour cream mixture. Mix well. Pour into a lightly greased 11X17 inch sheet/jellyroll pan.
- Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- For the frosting, while the cake is baking, combine the butter, peanut butter, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Stir in the vanilla. The frosting will be thick. Mix well. Pour and spread over cake while both are still warm.
- Let the cake and frosting cool completely. Cut into pieces and serve.
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Sprinkled with Flour
81 Comments on “Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake”
This recipe is fantastic and is in my permanent recipe rotation. I can’t understand why somebody would give this less than five stars unless they didn’t make the recipe properly.
I made the peanut butter sheet cake and it was terrible, blan taste and it shrank around edges ! Will not make it again , I waisted butter sour cream and all my ingredients!
I tried this at a friend’s house a few weeks ago and because it was so amazing, I made it yesterday for Easter. Holy moly, thank you for this. So so good! I figured it would be really rich and my mouth would be all sticky… not at all! So perfect.
I was looking for a quick recipe to make that wasn’t one I’ve tried before. The recipe turned out delicious. I only had chunky peanut butter, so used that and then decided to go all in and sprinkled the top with chopped peanuts. It turned out great and looked good, too.
The icing on the sheet cake was a little runny what did I do wrong other wise it’s delicious
How long do I need to whip the cake? Seems like the cake is not fully baked like goofy. Help me. Love to try again.
It just needs to be mixed until evenly combined.
REALLY GOOD!
Had zero problems with frosting. Was perfect as is
Can you freeze this cake? Does it freeze well?
I haven’t tried freezing but I suspect it would work pretty well.
Tried several recipes and could never get the frosting to work. This was perfect! Only made 1/2 as it’s just me and my husband and we both loved it! Thank you!
I love Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake and would like to make this the day before my daughter’s graduation party. Should I refrigerate it until I serve it the next day?
Yes, I would refrigerate overnight
Can you use buttermilk instead of sour cream like the chocolate Texas sheet cake? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!!
Would you recommend cake flour for this peanut butter cake?
I use all-purpose but you could try it with cake flour
Helpful Hint: I absolutely love this recipe but have messed the frosting up countless times. Just in case anyone else has had problems with frosting that separates into an oily mess: DO NOT take the frosting off of the heat while adding the powdered sugar and whisk vigorously while doing so. Your frosting will come together perfectly. This cake & frosting are a delicious combo!
To make the frosting come out right EVERY TIME… NO FAIL… Heat a 1/4 cup milk and drop one cup full of powdered sugar in at a time stir and dissolve, until you have about half the bag dissolved.. the peanut butter and butter and 6 table spoons of milk.. i heat between 5 and 6 on the burner.. bring to boil and continue stirring one min adding in the dissolved milk sugar mixture. Have the rest of the sugar ( I use all but about a cup and half of the bag) In a large mixing bowl and pour the heated mixture over it and use a HAND MIXER to Blend till it gets thick.. pour over cake and its just like peanut butter fudge. No refrigeration needed to set it !! This lets you add a little more peanut butter if you want as well… it always works!
Just made this, so simple and delicious!
Very delicious-i found a chocolate peanut butter frosting and made it hot and used it on the cake-very rich…yummy
I’m not a big fan of peanut butter but I absolutely love, love, love this cake. It’s readily gobbled up by my grandkids and at potlucks, and of course by yours truly! Thanks for an awesome recipe.
Is the flour self rising or all purpose?
All purpose flour.
How many servings?
It just depends how big or little you cut your pieces. It makes an 11×17 inch sheet pan.
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve made this cake, it’s a firm staple in my dessert repertoire. I love a good sheet cake because they’re quick and simple to bake and frost, easy to transport, easy to cut up and serve and always gobbled right up. Not to mention that this one is so very delicious! Everyone loves it whenever I make it and it has become one of my go-to desserts to bring for the many family gatherings we have. Thank you!!
So happy you love it, Heather! A good reminder I need to make this again soon!
Soooo good. Will definitely keep this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Moist rich easy to make big hit with family I added a cup of chocolate chips to the frosting made my own touch
Just took it out of the over and have the frosting ready, cant wait to try it!!
Could I halve this recipe and use a 9×13 inch pan perhaps? And could I use chunky peanut butter instead of creamy?
Viktoriya – Yes, it can be cut in half and yes you can use chunky peanut butter.
Ah, Thank you! I will use that size next time. In the recipe above, it says 15×10 jellyroll pan, just FYI, so you may want to change it. This is such a yummmmmmmy recipe:)
Tessa – hmmm, now I’m a bit confused. It’s been a while since I’ve made this but I’m pretty sure I put the correct size pan in the instructions when I made it. Sorry for the confusion! Either way, though, I think you could make it in an 11X17 and be fine (the white texas sheet cake recipe I have that uses the 11X17 pan size has similar ingredient amounts).
The recipe still says 15×10. But 11×17 is the correct pan to use?
Thank you for bringing this to my attention Dana. I updated the recipe. Yes, use an 11X17 cookie sheet pan.
Mel, is your jelly roll pan 15x10x2? I just made this and it cooked nicely, but the cake filled up the whole pan with no room for icing! I did get a layer of icing on there, but a lot of the icing dripped off and I had to serve some on the side. I think it’s a 15x10x1 pan. Is your jelly roll pan 2 inches high? This has happened to me before with a traditional Texas Sheet Cake recipe, and I’m seriously struggling to figure out my problem!
Hi Tessa – jelly roll pans can be so confusing, I agree! The pan I use for this is actually the 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheets. Do you have one of those?
What a great and easy cake! Everyone loved it!
Just made this. Soooo good! Thanks for recipe!!!
I would not call myself a peanut butter lover. But…..I love this recipe, and so do all my neighbors. I’ve got them all hooked! Thanks for passing it along!
I made this a couple weeks ago and let me just
say, It. Is. Awesome. Peanut butter lovers
beware this is not for the faint of heart!
Kristen – I think it’s best to use traditional creamy peanut butter. If I remember right, that’s what the original recipe recommended.
Hi Mel,
Does the type of peanut butter matter? I buy an organic kind and just want to make sure this will be okay to use….
Thank you
My husband and I have been sugar free for three months, but are cheating this weekend. I gave him the option of ANY dessert for Easter and this is the one he chose! 🙂 LOVE this cake!! Thanks!
best cake on earth. it’s already half eaten within an hour!
Hi Patti – because I’m not familiar or haven’t made the specific recipe you are talking about, I can’t be completely sure what went wrong. It sounds like the Smart Balance might be part of the problem. For the cake in this post, the cake and frosting should both be warm while frosting. Hope that helps!
I made a cake similar to this but the frosting separated and didn’t look creamy. I did not use real butter and used Smart Balance 50/50 instead. Do you think that may have caused the separation? Also, my cake took longer to cook so my frosting had to sit for a bit. Should the cake and the frosting cool a little but remain warm before frosting? I like your recipe better and will try it but hope to get your input before I do. Thanks in advance for responding.
Angela – I’m not sure, to be honest. You could try baking it in a 9X13-inch pan and increasing the baking time by a few minutes. That would be the best alternative, I think.
So, if I wanted to make this a layer cake, instead of a sheet cake, how many layers do you think it would be? 3 or 4? I don’t have a sheet cake pan 🙂
Made this last night and it was soo good. Definitely making it again!
Made this for the in-law Christmas gathering last weekend. It followed the homemade bbq buns (your French bread rolls) that got rave reviews (& caused my head to swell). No deflation of the head when this peanut butter cake was served – scored again!! You rock!!
I don’t think this dessert will ever be made in my house. I will however, enjoy eating it in your house one day!!
PS I tried that Skillet Mac and Cheese recipe and it was A-MAZING!! Kraft who?? 😉
I want to try the opposite combination as Michele above does, chocolate cake with the pb frosting! Plus your recipe as is of course!
Liz – I actually did a post a few weeks ago on School Lunch Solutions – here’s the link in case you are interested:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/08/school-lunch-solutions-2.html
I haven’t hopped on the Biscoff bandwagon yet (no excuse; I have 2 jars in my pantry) but I bet you could sub in Biscoff for the PB and get another yummy variation. Either way, tasty stuff!
this looks interesting, mel! the cake is thin, so the amount of frosting is more along the proper proportions for my tastes! 🙂
I make Texas Sheet Cake all the time and had heard about the white version but never the peanut butter version!! YUMMY!!!! I am going to try it with the peanut butter cake and the chocolate frosting from the chocolate version. Then it will combine two of my most favorite flavors. Thanks for posting!!
Melanie…stop it! This looks so good! I might just have to make two desserts for tomorrow…cuz this is calling my name! Your little game made me laugh…I just wish that number 3 wasn’t true!
Looks amazing!!!
Can I make a request? How about a series on school lunches? My oldest just started Kindgarten and I’m always on the hunt for healthy and yummy lunch ideas.
What a wonderful idea! Can’t believe I never thought of a peanut butter version before! 🙂
Oh Yum! This one I will definitely be trying. It made my mouth water just reading about it.
Oh my heavens I almost licked my computer screen! I will be making this tonight!
My boys L-O-V-E peanut butter!! I am definitely going to need to try this! I will be the greatest wife/mommy ever! 🙂 Thanks!
YES PLEASE!
Oh Grannies!!!! I just gasped out loud when I saw this – my husband thought I had hurt myself – LOL!!! I will likely make this TODAY & then sing the Hallelujah Chorus!!
Recently I asked my husband & parents what food they would choose if they could only eat one thing for the rest of their lives – without a doubt, my choice would be PEANUT BUTTER!!!!! With.out.a.doubt.
Ohhh, Sunday evening dinner isn’t going to come soon enough for making this yummy dessert. The only thing that might be missing is some chocolate!
Over-the-top peanut butter anything is calling my name! This looks and sounds fabulous.
So if I made this AND make the classic I could have a chocolate PB combo (served double decker 🙂 – which would make me one VERY happy mama!
Oh my! I am a peanut butter fan and Texas sheet cakes are about my favorite in the world. If you could combine all the features of a Texas sheet cake with other favorite flavors, what a wonderful world it would be. 🙂 Have you ever tried making a white Texas sheet cake? I’ve got one posted on my blog (http://www.fransfavs.com/2011/06/white-texas-sheet-cake/). It is fabulous–or, as I like to say, frantastic! I’ve only recently discovered your blog and enjoy it very much. You have a beautiful family! I’m just south of you in Chicago and have a badger daughter in Madison, whom I am going to visit tomorrow. Her twin sister is coming up from U of I for Halloween festivities which are a really big deal at UW-Madison. I’ve been requested to bring some witch finger cookies! In the meantime, I will be putting your PB Texas sheet cake high on my list to make and will let you know when I post it with a link to you. Happy Halloween!
Oh Yumm-O! I have a serious PB addiction – not good for the waist line. I think me and this cake could become BFF’s!! Gonna make it soon 🙂
I have to make this cake this weekend. My hubby will love it!
Probably going to have to make this TODAY. Or at least in the next couple of days. 🙂 I <3 peanut butter!
I want this immediately.
just pinned this! looks SO, SO yummy!
So glad you liked it! This is one of my husbands favorite things for me to make.:)
Okay, you’re killing me! Here I sit eating granola (an adaptation of your recipe) and looking at this fantastic recipe. YUMMY!
Really Mel? I think that you’re reading my mind and caving into my preggo cravings. 🙂
I have never had Texas sheet cake, but I love peanut butter so I’m sure I would love it! I bet it’s great with a tall glass of cold milk!
Love this! YUM!