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 frosting (<—- 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 😭
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.
- I 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 certain 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 ½-1 cup (65-125g) of powdered sugar.
How Many Cupcakes/How Much Cake Will this Peanut Butter Frosting Cover?
- If you’re generously 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 (226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (245 g) creamy peanut butter
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ 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.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (245 g) creamy peanut butter
- Gradually (about ⅓ 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.3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar
- Stir in vanilla extract and salt.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low-speed, add milk and stir until well-combined. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.2 Tablespoons milk
- Spread or pipe frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes or cake.
Notes
Natural Peanut Butter
Since first sharing the recipe I have now tested this recipe with natural peanut butter and it worked just fine, though was a bit gritty.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Sarina
Do you think this frosting would be easy enough to colour? I wanted to make it pinky or reddish
Sam
Hi Sarina! I think it would be pretty tough. It would probably look a little dirty. 🙁
Annie
Absolutely delicious and super easy to make! I’ve never made frosting before and this was beyond yummy. My only comment is that the recipe makes a LOT of frosting so I might just scale it back a little next time.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Annie! 🙂
Jeanette Copeland
I made this for my nephew for his birthday. Everyone loved the frosting. My niece couldn’t stay out of it before I iced the cake. Thank you for the recipe.
Sam
Hi Jeanette! I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much. 🙂
LisaR
Just made this today and this frosting is one of the best. So creamy and easy to pipe onto cupcakes. My husband loved this. I piped this frosting onto chocolate cupcakes and topped with heath sprinkles. 5 star
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you loved it, Lisa! I love the addition of heath sprinkles too! Yum! 🙂
Abby
So good! I had leftovers from frosting a dozen cupcakes, and I may or may not have just eaten a giant spoon full before putting the rest away…
Sugar Spun Run
I too have been guilty of doing this! I am happy you enjoyed the frosting, Abby! 🙂
Rose
Hi Christine, I want to try this for a wedding but worried the frosting will melt too much if it’s warm. If I make this as written, do you think it will hold up? What would you think if I used 1/2 shortening, 1/2 butter?
Helen
My frosting resulted in tasting heavily like butter, any way to fix this, followed recipe exactly as given?
Sam
That’s really odd, Helen! The peanut butter should be the main flavor. I’m not quite sure how the butter would overtake the peanut butter. 🙁
siobhan
Hi, would the frosting cover the entire cake or just the top? I want to frost an entire birthday cake and as a complete novice I have no idea on quantities!
Sam
This will completely cover a 2 layer 8 or 9 inch cake, or a 9 x 13. 🙂
Christine
This is by far the best peanut butter frosting I have we ate and made. Love it
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Christine! 🙂
Lorie jones
How much cream cheese could i add to this recipe for flavor and texture without messinit up?
Sam
Hi Lorie! I would probably recommend making my cream cheese frosting and adding peanut butter to that instead. 🙂
Kristsl
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
That sounds like an interesting combination! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much. 🙂
Vickey Smith
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
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Vickey! 🙂
mariah
im really gonna try it im only 12 so im gonna try it bc i love peanut butter
Sam
I hope you love it, Mariah! 🙂
Natalie Snyder
Can this be made in advance and stored in the fridge before topping onto cake?
Sam
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. 🙂
Alyssa
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
That is so awesome! Thanks for updating me. I’m glad he enjoyed it so much. I hope you enjoy everything else too! 🙂
Katie
Can I use the cream cheese instead of unsalted butter?
Sam
Hi Katie! I wouldn’t substitute it, but you could add a little cream cheese to the frosting for that flavor/texture. 🙂