A silky smooth but perfectly pipeable peanut butter frosting that’s the perfect complement to any cake or cupcake. Also great for just eating by the spoonful!
Maybe you guys haven’t noticed, but I’ve been working on bulking up my “Frostings” section on the blog.
In the past, I would share cake or cupcake recipes and tag on my preferred complementary frosting, but I’m a big believer in choices. Maybe you’d rather frost your funfetti cake with chocolate frosting (or even peanut butter frosting) instead of buttercream, right? Well I wanted to have a good variety of options for you to choose from.
So far I’ve shared my favorites of the following:
- Cream cheese frostingĀ (<—- possibly my favorite frosting of all-time)
- Chocolate frosting
- Vanilla buttercream frosting
And today I’m adding peanut butter frosting to the list.
This recipe is super easy to make, and on Monday I’ll be sharing a very complementary and very dark chocolate cupcake recipe with you, but of course you can put it on whatever you want. You can even just eat it by the spoonful, I know I did.
And yet it remains a mystery to me why my cardio sessions aren’t paying off š
Anyway, Peanut Butter Frosting requires just 6 ingredients to make. It’s smooth, creamy, and is great for piping on top of cupcakes or decorating a cake.
Tips for Making Peanut Butter Frosting
- While chunky or creamy peanut butter can work in this peanut butter frosting recipe, I don’t recommend using chunky unless you don’t intend to pipe the frosting. The little peanut pieces will clog up your frosting tips in a second.
- IĀ don’t recommend using natural peanut butter (the kind that separates, you know the one that you usually need to stir before using). I haven’t tried it myself but I’m pretty certainĀ that it wouldn’t work too nicely work with this recipe (it would be too oily).
- This peanut butter frosting pipes very nicely as written. However, for a stiffer frosting, you can add an additional 1/2-1 cup (65-125g) of powdered sugar.
How Many Cupcakes/How Much Cake Will this Peanut Butter Frosting Cover?
- If you’reĀ generouslyĀ frosting your cupcakes (as seen in my cupcake photo below), then this frosting will handily cover 12-15 cupcakes. If you’re being a bit more modest, it will cover 24 (I covered 24 cupcakes with peanut butter frosting rosettes using the 1M tip).
- This frosting will also cover a 9×13 sheet cake or a round 2-layer 8″ or 9″ cake. Now I’m just thinking about how I want to make a cake with this frosting and then cover it with ganache… Yum!
Enjoy!
Oh, and do you have any requests for other frosting recipes you’d like to see? I’m currently working on caramel but would love any suggestions that you have!
How to Make Peanut Butter Frosting
Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (226g)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (245g)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (375g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Combine butter and peanut butter in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until creamy and well-combined.
- Gradually (about 1/3 cup at a time), with mixer on low speed add powdered sugar until completely combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so all ingredients are well-combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract and salt.
- With mixer on low-speed, add milk and stir until well-combined. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.
- Spread or pipe frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes or cake.
Christine says
This is by far the best peanut butter frosting I have we ate and made. Love it
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Christine! š
Lorie jones says
How much cream cheese could i add to this recipe for flavor and texture without messinit up?
Sam says
Hi Lorie! I would probably recommend making my cream cheese frosting and adding peanut butter to that instead. š
Kristsl says
I made on old fashion red beet cake and I used this frosting. Everyone was amazed at how light and fluffy it was. I HATE making icing but will make this again it was simple and delicious.
Sam says
That sounds like an interesting combination! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much. š
Vickey Smith says
I used this recipe about a month ago for my bosses going away party and it was a huge hit! The flavor and texture is amazing! Must say this is one of the best peanut butter frostings I’ve come across! Thanks for publishing.
Sam says
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Vickey! š
mariah says
im really gonna try it im only 12 so im gonna try it bc i love peanut butter
Sam says
I hope you love it, Mariah! š
Natalie Snyder says
Can this be made in advance and stored in the fridge before topping onto cake?
Sam says
I think holding it overnight will be fine. Make sure to wrap it tightly and let it come to room temperature, and maybe give it a little stir before using. š
Alyssa says
I commented a few days ago about making a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Update: He loved it! This frosting is delicious! It was super easy to make and didn’t take as much time as i thought it would. So glad that i tried out this recipe. Im going to try another one of your recipes!
Sam says
That is so awesome! Thanks for updating me. I’m glad he enjoyed it so much. I hope you enjoy everything else too! š
Katie says
Can I use the cream cheese instead of unsalted butter?
Sam says
Hi Katie! I wouldn’t substitute it, but you could add a little cream cheese to the frosting for that flavor/texture. š