Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cake
Submitted by minitonas
Chocolate peanut butter crunch cake with melted chocolate-PB swirls streaked through a peanut butter crumb cake, topped with a crunchy streusel.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
20 minCOOK
50 minREADY
110 minThis chocolate peanut butter cake layers three textures into one pan: a tender peanut butter crumb cake, ribbons of melted chocolate-peanut butter swirl, and a crunchy streusel topping scattered across the surface. Every forkful hits different.
The base batter and the streusel topping come from the same crumb mixture, which is clever. You make one batch of peanut butter crumbs, reserve three-quarters of a cup for the top, then add wet ingredients to the rest to form the cake batter. Same flavor, two completely different textures.
Streaking the chocolate-peanut butter mixture through the batter in two layers creates a marbled effect. Don’t swirl it too much. A few gentle passes with a knife give you distinct ribbons. Over-mixing turns the whole cake a muddy brown.
Pro Tips
- Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together over low heat and stir constantly. Peanut butter scorches fast and takes the chocolate with it.
- Press the reserved crumbs gently onto the top layer of batter. If they’re just sitting on top, they fall off when you invert the cake.
- Tent with foil if the crumb topping darkens too fast. Fifty minutes is a long bake and the brown sugar in the crumbs can burn.
- Cool in the pan for a full 15 minutes. The chocolate swirl needs time to set or it smears everywhere during unmolding.
Variations
- Add a handful of chopped peanuts to the streusel topping for extra crunch.
- Use dark chocolate chips instead of semisweet for a deeper, more bittersweet swirl.
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a truly indulgent dessert.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Prepare a 8 inchsquare baking pan with cooking spray and flour.
To prepare chocolate peanut butter swirl, melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often until smooth.
Remove from the heat; let cool while preparing the crumbs and batter.
To prepare crumbs, combine the flour, brown sugar, margarine, and peanut butter in a mixing bowl until the mixture forms crumbs.
Remove ¾ cup (tightly packed) of the mixture and set aside.
To prepare cake, add egg whites, milk, vanilla, baking powder, and baking soda to the remaining crumbs in the mixing bowl until thoroughly moistened.
Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan; gently streak half of the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the top.
Repeat with the remaining batter and chocolate peanut butter mixture.
Scatter the reserved crumbs over the top, pressing them in gently so they adhere to the batter.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until crumbs and top of the cake are firm.
Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil, if the cake is getting too dark during baking, loosely cover it with a piece of aluminum foil.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Loosen around the sides of the pan, then carefully invert onto the rack and turn right-side-up.
Cool completely before serving.
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