Vegan Peanut Butter Cake
This easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cake recipe is a dream dessert for all peanut butter lovers! Old fashioned peanut butter cake is made dairy-free and egg-free and you won’t even miss it! You’ll love this light and fluffy homemade cake made with minimal ingredients.
Lately, I’ve been into making fun, easy vegan desserts. The latest on my list is this vegan peanut butter wacky cake. If you remember, I recently shared this Wacky Cake recipe and it’s been a huge hit!
The Best Peanut Butter Wacky Cake
Finding a recipe that is both easy and delicious is not always achievable. I like to add affordable and irresistible to the list, too! It’s one reason I love cakes like this one or my simple vegan oatmeal cake recipe.
This peanut butter cake recipe has an added benefit — it uses one round pan. That means you can enjoy a slice or two with your friends or family, and not worry that you’ll have so much cake around that you’ll overeat it.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Flour — I use all-purpose flour, but you can substitute whole wheat pastry flour (which is different than whole wheat flour).
- Sugar — Granulated sugar works. You can substitute coconut sugar for granulated sugar for a healthy peanut butter cake.
- Peanut butter powder — I used PB2 powder to make this recipe.
- Frosting — Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top or see below for some frosting ideas.
How to Make Peanut Butter Cake From Scratch
- Stir together the dry ingredients, from the flour to the salt.
- Combine and stir the wet ingredients, from the oil to the vanilla.
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into a prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before inverting it onto a serving plate.
- Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar or top with Peanut Butter Frosting.
This easy peanut butter cake recipe is based on the famous “wacky cake” that originated in the Depression-era when ingredients were in short supply. Creative cooks took what ingredients were available and made do. Interestingly enough, dairy products were one of those scarce ingredients.
That’s why I refer to this as an old-school peanut butter cake. Of course, this recipe uses peanut butter powder, but it’s still pretty old school!
Peanut Butter Frosting
Here’s how to make a simple peanut butter frosting:
- Add peanut butter to a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat for about 20 seconds, until spreadable.
- Stir in powdered sugar and peanut butter powder.
- Add vanilla-flavored plant-based milk and stir to combine. Continue milk until you get a spreadable consistency.
Here’s more on making vegan peanut butter frosting.
More Frosting Options
Marly’s Tips
- Be sure to preheat your oven before baking because once you mix the batter, you’ll want to bake it right away.
- Double this recipe to make layered peanut butter cakes. Add some Vegan Chocolate Frosting in the middle of the layers. It’s like a nutter butter cake…perfection!
- Be sure to coat your pan with vegetable cooking spray. Alternatively, you can place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan (Use scissors to cut it to fit the bottom of your pan) and then spray the top with vegetable cooking spray.
- Drizzle the top with vegan ganache for a different look and flavor.
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Leslie
Soooo good! My grand-daughter is allergic to eggs and milk so this is a winner. Thanks for sharing it!
More Peanut Butter Desserts
If you love this vegan peanut butter cake, here are some more favorite peanut butter desserts to enjoy:
That’s it for this moist Peanut Butter Cake recipe. You can see why it’s a tasty go-to dessert recipe!
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Peanut Butter Wacky Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup peanut butter powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Powdered sugar of Peanut Butter Frosting (see belofor topping
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray a round or square 8-inch cake pan with vegetable spray. You can also place a piece of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan and spray the sides with vegetable oil.
- Combine in a large mixing bowl the flour, sugar, peanut butter powder, salt and baking soda. Stir to combine.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the vegetable oil, water, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
- Pour the water mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar or top with Peanut Butter Frosting*
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Video
Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Here are some of the best peanut butter cake recipes to try:
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes by Healthy Happy Life
- Peanut Butter Banana Blondies with Peanut Butter Frosting by yours truly! 🙂
Whatever simple peanut butter cake you’re nibbling on, enjoy!
This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated to include new photos and new text in 2021.
Hi! I was wondering if this can be used to make a layer cake. Is the cake stable enough?
Hi Elise. Yes! I have used this to make a layer cake and it worked great for me.
Can i use regular distilled white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar
Hi Maria. That will work. You can also substitute lemon juice.
Hi, Did you try to freeze these ones with the frosting?
I have frozen this cake with the frosting and it worked just great. I hope that answers your question!
Hi Marly
I’d like to make the Vegan Peanut Butter Cake but the recipe doesn’t say what size baking pan to use. Can you advise please?
Pauline
Hi Pauline. Thanks for your comment. You can use either an 8 or a 9-inch pan, either round or square.
Soooo good! My grand-daughter is allergic to eggs and milk so this is a winner. Thanks for sharing it!
It’s great to hear from you, Leslie. And I’m glad you and your family loved this cake!