Peanut Butter Sheet Cake

Fellow peanut butter addicts lovers rejoice!  I bring you the ambrosia of the peanut butter gods... in the form of frosted sheet cake. Oh, it is over the top good.  Peanut buttery, rich and sweet.  And of course, simple to make.  Did I mention that it travels and keeps well?  I mean honestly, what more could anyone ask for in life?  Other than free housecleaning services and a personal chef, of course.

Eating this cake is a situation where you serve yourself a giant piece and go find a quiet spot in the house to enjoy it with your eyes closed.  Can you tell I'm a fan?

I'm sure many of you have heard of this cake and hopefully, many of you have tried some variation of it.  I grew up eating it.  I feel like we had it a lot in my family.  It was pretty much the answer to every event - a birthday, a death, someone was hungry... pretty much whenever anything happened this cake would show up.  Over the years I have tweaked the recipe to make it my own and it does not disappoint. 

The preparation for this cake is very similar to cookie dough with the exception of alternating the addition of your dry ingredients with milk.  You just cream your butter and peanut butter, add in your brown sugar and vanilla and whip that up.  Then come the eggs.  Once that's smooth, you alternate adding in your dry ingredients and milk until everything is combined.  You spread the batter out on a sheet pan, bake it for about 35 minutes and then you have cake. It really is that easy.

Once your cake comes out of the oven, set it aside to cool while you make the frosting.  By the time you're done, the cake will be cool enough to frost.

For the frosting you want to melt your butter, peanut butter, and milk over medium heat and stir until creamy.  Then toss in a box of powdered sugar and your vanilla, whisk until combined, and you have your peanut butter fudge frosting.
Please pardon my under-stove lighting.  I'm not cooking in a cave, I promise. 

Now, plop all your frosting on your sheet cake and spread out, working pretty quickly.  This sets up fast. 
Just look at it.  It's a thing of beauty.  

And there it is.  Peanut Butter Sheet Cake.  Moist, flavorful, and topped with a fudge frosting. The perfect potluck dessert, birthday cake, snack cake, afternoon treat... the list goes on and on.  

Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
Adapted from Southern Living

For the cake:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup milk (2% or whole)
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat butter and peanut butter at medium speed with an electric hand or stand mixer until blended.  Add in sugar one cup at a time, beating after each addition.  Add in eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add to butter mixture alternately with the milk, about a third at a time. Mix on low speed after each addition until blended.  Pour batter into greased and floured jelly roll pan (mine is 15 1/4 x 10 1/4) and bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  When the cake is done, set on a wire rack to cool in the pan while you prepare the frosting.  

For the frosting, melt the butter, milk, and peanut butter in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly combined and smooth.  Turn off heat and add in the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.  Spread on warm cake, working pretty quickly.  Allow to cool for another 30 minutes at least before cutting.  Store in an air tight container (I have a lid for my jelly roll pan) or cover well with plastic wrap.  Cake will stay moist for days, if it lasts that long!