Vegan Peanut Butter Cake – Easy Single-layer!

This vegan peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting is a dream come true for peanut butter lovers! A fluffy, moist single-layer cake topped with creamy, decadent peanut butter frosting – it’s simple, easy to make, delicious, and 100% plant-based. Perfect for any occasion like a home party, birthday party, or festive events like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Or just because you deserve a treat!

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If you’re a peanut butter lover, this vegan peanut butter cake is about to become your new obsession. It’s everything you’ve been craving and more. A tender, single-layer cake topped with a cloud of creamy peanut butter frosting that is so good, you’ll be tempted to skip the cake and eat it straight from the bowl (no judgment, I’ve been there too).

What makes this cake extra special? It’s not just the dreamy frosting or the fact that it’s 100% vegan. It’s how simple it is to make. No fancy techniques, no hard-to-find ingredients, just a handful of pantry staples, a whole lot of love, and a big tub of peanut butter. Honestly, you’d better have a big jar of peanut butter because this cake is so good you will be making it over and over. I literally went through a whole kilo of peanut butter to perfect this recipe and every time I made it, it disappeared fast!

Must Read: The Ultimate Guide to Perfect Cakes – A complete guide to baking your perfect vegan cakes with an easy and delicious vanilla cake recipe!

Main ingredients and substitutions

Here’s what you’ll need to make this dreamy vegan peanut butter cake.

*Use room temperature ingredients unless otherwise instructed.

Plain flour: The base of the cake is plain flour. It provides structure and a fluffy texture in cakes. If you need a gluten-free option, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.

Caster sugar: Adds sweetness and helps create a tender crumb. You can use the same amount of granulated sugar as well. For a less refined option, you can use brown sugar, coconut sugar or date sugar, though it may slightly darken the cake and the texture might be slightly more moist because of the molasses content.

Vegetable oil: Vegetable oil is key to this recipe, it keeps the cake moist and rich. Any neutral oil like sunflower, canola, etc. would work too. Melted coconut oil should be fine to replace too though it can change the texture slightly when the cake is cooled or stored in the fridge.

Vegan Greek yoghurt: I added some vegan Greek yoghurt to add moisture. If you don’t have this, just a normal plant-based yoghurt or unsweetened applesauce should work too.

Soy milk: My go to plant milk for baking is as always, soy milk. It adds moisture and helps bind the ingredients. Almond, oat, or any other plant-based milk can be used as a substitute, no problem!

Peanut butter: Use smooth all natural peanut butter for the best taste. It adds a rich peanutty flavour to the cake. If you don’t have natural peanut butter, feel free to use any peanut butter you have on hand like Skippy, it may add a bit more saltiness to the cake but shouldn’t affect the taste too much!

Cornflour: Cornflour helps bind the cake and gives it a soft texture. If you don’t have cornflour, you can use arrowroot powder, tapioca flour, or potato flour.

Other ingredients: Apple cider vinegar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract.

Note: Substitution may change the final taste and texture of this recipe.

*I use bone char-free sugars for all of my recipes. I cover the topic in my article Vegan Baking 101. Go to the “Is sugar vegan?” section to learn more!

Recommended equipment for this recipe

20cm (8in) square cake tin: I used a 20cm (8in) square cake tin, this is the perfect size for this single-layer cake. If you don’t have a square tin, a round one will work too.

Parchment paper: Use parchment paper to line the tin for easy removal. I have a strip-shaped parchment paper so I don’t need to cut a strip every time I bake cakes!

Mixing bowls: Prepare medium to large mixing bowls, one for dry ingredients and one for wet.

Wooden spoon or silicon spatula: I always use a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula to gently mix the cake batter instead of an electric mixer. This is very important to achieve a light and fluffy texture.

Cake strips: I just purchased cake strips recently and I am beyond impressed with them! Soak these in water and wrap them around the cake tin to promote even baking and prevent domed tops.

How to make vegan peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting

Step 1: Preheat and Prep

Start by preheating your oven to 180°C (350°F). Line your square cake tin with parchment paper to prevent sticking. This ensures your cake will come out easily after baking. No one likes to have their cake stuck to the bottom and sides, right?

Also prepare your vegan buttermilk! It’s super easy, just combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and let it sit for a bit. Voila! 

Step 2: Combine the Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl, add the vegetable oil, vegan Greek yoghurt, vegan buttermilk, peanut butter, and vanilla extract and mix with a whisk until smooth. The peanut butter might take a little effort to fully incorporate, but keep whisking until everything is well combined. Also ensure that the peanut butter is smooth before mixing so that you don’t end up with lumps of peanut butter in the batter!

Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients and make batter

In another bowl, whisk together the plain flour, caster sugar, cornflour, baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt. Whisking ensures the ingredients are evenly distributed, which helps the cake bake uniformly.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and gently fold with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix! Mixing gently is key, it keeps the cake light and fluffy. A few small lumps are totally fine!

Step 3: Bake

Pour the batter into your prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. So, this is the first recipe post I have made since this recent purchase of mine – I bought these cake strips and they have been my favourite ever since! You can find the link to it in the recipe card at the end of this post. So what is it? It’s a strip of cloth you can wet and wrap around the cake tin.

The strip helps your cake rise evenly, creating no domed top that you always end up cutting off to make it level. No more to that! It has worked amazingly for my cakes and I recommend you get them if you haven’t got them already, huge game changer!

And back to the cake! Take the cake out of the oven and let the cake cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting. Make this vegan peanut butter frosting while the cake is cooling down!

Step 4: Frost and Decorate

Once the cake is completely cool, spread vegan peanut butter frosting evenly over the top. For a fancy touch, drizzle with vegan chocolate sauce and sprinkle with crunchy salted peanuts, that’s what I did in the pictures but you can skip it if you want, though it’s highly recommended. You can also use a piping bag to create cute decorative swirls to impress your friends. Enjoy!

Serving tips and ideas

• Drizzle with this vegan chocolate sauce to make the cake even more decadent and delicious!
• Or, caramel drizzle would be so good with the peanut flavour too.
• If you want it to be lighter, you can swap the peanut butter frosting with simple plant-based whipped cream with a bit of added sugar.

Expert tips and tricks

Don’t overmix the batter

As I always say, overmixing can make the cake tough, rubbery, and dense. Folding the batter until just combined with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula is key. Trust me on this!

Use smooth peanut butter

When I say smooth, it’s both smooth type peanut butter and also ensure that the smooth peanut butter is actually smooth before mixing. All natural peanut butter tends to have the oil separated on top, so mix the peanut butter completely in the tub or jar so that it’s all smooth again. This ensures the batter is evenly mixed through and also ensures the frosting is creamy and easy to spread.

Use a digital scale to weigh ingredients

Always use a digital scale rather than measuring cups when you are baking. It’s so much more accurate and measuring correctly is very important to achieve the best result.

Recipe variations

• Fold in chocolate chips into the batter to make a chocolate chip peanut butter cake! Who can say no to this?
• One word, peanut butter and jelly. Okay two words but you get what I mean! Spread strawberry or raspberry jam between the cake and frosting to make a peanut butter and jelly cake. Mmmmwah! 
• Feeling cosy and spicy? Add some cosy spiciness by adding some cinnamon to the dry mixture.
• Try using vegan caramel buttercream frosting instead of peanut butter frosting to make a peanut butter caramel cake! Sooooo good.

How to store

• Room temperature: Store your cake in an airtight container and consume within 1 day at room temperature. Keep it in a cool, dry spot away from direct sunlight to prevent the frosting from softening. If you live in a particularly hot climate, do not leave the cake on the kitchen counter, store in the fridge instead.

• Refrigerator: For longer storage, place the cake in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving to bring back its soft texture.

• Freezer: To freeze, wrap the whole cake or individual slices carefully in clingfilm, then store in a freezer-safe airtight container for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving. You can freeze frosted or unfrosted.

*Although you can store this recipe in the fridge or freezer, it’s always best to consume it fresh and as soon as possible.

Q and A

You will LOVE this vegan peanut butter cake recipe because it is:

• peanut butter lovers’ dream
• easy to make
• perfect for parties
• moist and fluffy

Want more recipes like this?

Try my other delicious dessert recipes you might enjoy!

• Easy vanilla cake
• Caramel cake
• Oreo cake
• Brownie cake
• Ginger cake
• Coconut cake
• Matcha cake
• Peanut butter mug cake
• Chocolate chip cake

Visit the dessert page and recipe page for more delicious recipes!