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Chocolate cake with peanut butter swiss meringue buttercream frosting.
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4.50 from 14 votes

Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Chocolate Cake

Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Chocolate Cake is a homemade chocolate layer cake with the most delicious frosting you've EVER tasted! Topped with chocolate ganache and peanut butter cups, chocolate peanut butter lover's dream!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 20 servings
Calories 577kcal

Ingredients

For the cake

For the frosting

For the ganache

For decoration

  • ½ cup Reeses peanut butter cups
  • ¼ cup Chopped peanuts

Instructions

For the cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line 3 (6-inch round) cake pans with parchment paper. Grease again. (I used non-stick cooking spray). Set aside.
  • Measure out dry ingredients (cake flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt) into a bowl and whisk together until combined. Set aside.
  • Combine cooled coffee and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Turn mixer to low and add the eggs, one at a time. Turn mixer back up to medium and beat for 30 seconds.
  • Turn mixer down to low and alternate adding your dry ingredients and liquid ingredients. Once all of these ingredients are combined, turn mixer up to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
  • Pour into prepared pans and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Let cool completely. Remove cakes from pans. Level tops with a cake leveler or cut the domed part off with a large, serrated bread knife (cutting horizontally). You just want your cakes to be flat on top.

For the frosting

  • Start by placing the egg whites and sugar in a large metal bowl. I used the bowl that came with my KitchenAid mixer. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together. Place over a pot of boiling water while beating the mixture like crazy. Do NOT stop beating. You don't want scrambled eggs. Continue beating for 1.5 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately beat with an electric mixer (using a whisk attachment) on medium for a few minutes so it can thicken slightly, then turn up to high for 20 minutes. (I like to cover the mixer with a dish towel to prevent splatters.) Turn mixer down to low and gradually add butter. Turn mixer up to medium and beat for a few minutes. Turn mixer down and add vanilla. Mix again. Now add the peanut butter. Beat on medium for a few minutes. If the mixture is soupy, place in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then take out, let it rest for a bit (it will be hard at first) and beat again on medium high to high for a few mintues or until it's light and fluffy.
  • Next, fill and frost your 3-layer cake with a crumb coat (thin layer of buttercream) and refrigerate for an hour before applying your "second coat" of frosting.
  • Frost chilled cake with another layer of frosting and smooth it with a bench scraper while the cake is on a turn table. See my video (above) for more details on frosting. Put the cake back in the fridge and let it chill for two hours. (Note: You will also need to put the remaining frosting back into the fridge as well. Then beat it again when you take it out after the two hours.) Make your chocolate ganache by placing chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for one minute. Stir. Heat for 20 seconds more. Stir in olive oil until smooth. Pour into a plastic squeeze bottle or a ziptop plastic bag with the corner cut. Drizzle chocolate on the edges then squeeze onto top of cake and smooth with a spatula.
  • Pipe the top and sides using a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip from Wilton. Add Reeses peanut butter cups and chopped peanuts. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 577kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 410mg | Potassium: 260mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 852IU | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg