Peanut Butter Crunch Cake

This is the cake that disappears from potlucks before you can blink: yellow cake mix turbocharged with chunky peanut butter and brown sugar, then studded with chocolate and peanut butter chips.

You’re mixing the cake base, reserving half a cup of the crumbly peanut butter mixture for the topping, then stirring chips into the batter before it hits the pan. The reserved crumble gets mixed with chopped peanuts and scattered over the top, where it bakes into a crunchy, candy-like crust.

Right out of the oven, you press more peanut butter chips into the hot cake so they soften and melt into glossy pools. The result is rich, nutty, and just sweet enough to satisfy every peanut butter lover in your life.

Chef’s Tips

• Use a cake mix with pudding in the mix for extra moisture. Regular cake mix will work but won’t be quite as tender.
• Press the peanut butter chips into the hot cake gently but firmly so they stick and soften without sinking all the way through.
• Let the cake cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting, or the chips will be too melty and the slices won’t hold their shape.

Variations

• Swap half the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips if you want a different flavor combo with the peanut butter.
• Use smooth peanut butter instead of chunky for a more uniform texture throughout the cake.
• Top with a drizzle of melted chocolate or peanut butter for extra decadence at serving time.