Peanut Butter Honey Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Streusel is tender, moist, and buttery, thanks to the buttermilk, butter, and peanut butter. The streusel layer is chock full of peanut butter flavor and is bursting with chocolate chips. Best of all, the cake is made in one bowl in 5 minutes. No one has to know how fast and easy it is to make.
A few weeks ago I went to Big Potluck and was assigned to bring a cake to share. It was, after all, a potluck.
This was my contribution.
I was stumped about what kind of cake to make. I thought and thought about it. And thought some more. I read recipes on blogs, Pinterest, Foodgawker, and more. Cooking for an event where fellow bloggers, cookbook authors, and a Food Network TV show host may eat it was adding just a wee bit of pressure.
I opted to go with peanut butter and chocolate. Shocking, I know. Since my cookbook is about peanut butter, I thought that I may as well represent. The cake isn’t in my book, but I wish it was.
It’s a fast and easy cake to make, and only one bowl is dirtied. There’s no long creaming of ingredients, or separating eggs, or anything fussy or complicated.
The batter comes together in 5 minutes, it bakes for about 25 minutes, so it’s literally a 30 minute cake.
There’s no granulated or brown sugar in the cake layer, and instead it’s sweetened with honey. I love honey and had never made a cake exclusively sweetened with it until now.
It’s a more delicate and mellow sweetness, rendering the cake just sweet enough, and it won’t leave you with a toothache.
The other bonus to this cake is that it doesn’t need to be frosted because of the streusel. I love eating frosting, but I don’t like the act of frosting cakes or cupcakes. I prefer glazes, drizzles, or ganaches that can be poured over without much fuss. Even better is streusel.
It was a miracle I didn’t pick it all off, but wanted to.
The photo shoot was so hard because I wanted to tear into the cake so badly, but refrained. It was worth the wait when I was finally able to eat a piece of my own cake at the potluck.
Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of my own cake. I was too busy with wine.
The cake itself is soft, tender, and springy. It loosely reminds me a yellow cake mix cake, but better. Anything spiked with buttermilk, honey, and peanut butter is destined to be moist and bouncy.
It’s surprisingly lighter than you’d imagine given the list of ingredients. Buttermilk has a way of moisturizing and tenderizing anything it touches, while also keeping things lighter and fluffier.
The streusel topping with brown sugar, peanut butter, and chocolate chips is so tempting. I wanted to pluck those golden crumbs right off the cake and into my mouth.
Chocolate and peanut butter are always a match made in heaven, and those big nuggets add a boost of bold peanut butter and chocolate flavor.
Streusel topping with peanut butter and chocolate in a one-bowl fast and easy cake.
It’s my idea of a good cake and a good time, for sure.
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Peanut Butter Honey Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Streusel
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup honey
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, softened
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Streusel
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- For the Cake – Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and optional salt.
- Add the eggs, honey, buttermilk, butter, 1/3 cup peanut butter, vanilla, and beat with an electric mixer on medium-low for about 1 minute. Stop, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and beat for 1 more minute.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan; set aside.
- For the Streusel – In the same mixing bowl (no need to wash it), combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter, flour, and stir with a spoon until sandy pebbles form.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Sprinkle streusel evenly over cake batter.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Allow cake to cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Lift cake out using foil overhang, slice and serve. Cake is best fresh, but will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Do you have a favorite cake recipe?
What’s your go-to recipe to bring to a potluck?
Sounds like a crowd pleaser for sure! I also love sweetening desserts with honey – it’s a great way to bake without white or brown sugar!
I love pb cake so much. I have been looking for a new and improved recipe, so I can’t wait to try this. I bet it was a huge hit at the potluck!
Yay…can’t wait to try this one!!! It looks amazing! Pinned! :-)
Oh mercy, Averie! This creation looks so amazingly delicious!!! I love that you used honey in this. Yum!!!
I love the ingredients in this cake. The honey and buttermilk must make it pretty moist! And seriously, the chocolate peanut butter streusel? Can that be its own meal? :)
I really wanted it to be it’s own meal :)
Um..this cake looks and sound like a winner! for one it sounds so easy! yes!! But then it is also peanut butter and chocolate!!! Wow!! I want it now!
I am sure everyone at the potluck went crazy for it!
There was soooooo much food there but there were only 2 little squares of cake left so I take it as a good sign!
One bowl & prepped and baked in 30 minutes – now that’s a cake I can get behind! I’m sure everyone loved the cake. And I love that you used honey to sweeten it. I’ve been doing that recently with other recipes, but haven’t yet tried it with a cake. You’ve inspired me!
Yet ANOTHER reason why I wish I had gotten to go to the potluck!! Not only would I have met you, but I would have gotten a slice of this awesomeness!
Peanut butter & honey? The combination makes me want to faint with joy! I also love the streusel and your logic…I’m not much of a cake-icer myself! :)
Averie, this cake sounds amazing! And it’s SO awesome that these only take 1 bowl and 5 minutes. You’re incredible! Will definitely be giving this a try!
Easy-peasy, yes!
Love the PB instead of butter in the streusel–never thought to do that! I would have had a hard time leaving that topping alone too! When it comes to frosting and streusel, I always make a little extra to taste for “quality control purposes” (ok–who am I kidding–you know that is my favorite part!!). PB, buttermilk and honey sounds like a good trio for a cake–honey has a certain richness all it’s own.
You and me both with the streusel being the favorite part :)
I can totally imagine you having a problem with picking a recipe for cake, you made so many goodies :) 30 minutes one sounds good to me. And I love the little plate on 1st picture, so pretty.
Thank you! I found it at a thrift store about a year ago and it was dirty cheap and a lucky find!
You had me at peanutbutter! I am loving this cake! I bet it taste so good with a cup of coffee!
I’m sure it would! I washed it down with some wine at the event I was at :)
Oh my gosh, I love streusel, and never had thought of using peanut butter in it! Genius.
I love peanut butter. I love chocolate. and I LOVE peanut butter and chocolate together. I am so making this! Thank you for another awesome recipe, Averie!
Ok great! Please LMK if you try it and how it goes!
I absolutely loved peanut butter and honey sandwiches as a kid. I loved having them in my lunch box because the honey would sometimes seep into the bread in places, making crystallized patches of deliciousness. This cake sounds just lovely. A cup of sweet English tea would be just perfect with it.
PB & Honey sandwiches…wow, I haven’t had one of those in years (although I make my own honey-roasted PB all the time!) I need one now! :)