Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Perfect balance of sweet and nutty.
Texture: Ultra rich, smooth, and creamy but thick enough to frost on a cake.
Ease: Super simple and easy. Why would you ever purchase premade frosting?!
Pros: Fun flavor twist that goes with so many cakes or cupcakes.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? I’ve made this many times.
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I originally published this Peanut Butter Icing with my Banana Chocolate Chip Cake recipe.
So many of you have made that recipe recently and told me that your favorite part was the peanut butter frosting!!
Since that’s a pretty old cake recipe I knew I had to resurface this peanut butter buttercream so it could have its moment in the spotlight. It truly deserves it.
This recipe basically takes peanut butter – which is already amazing and perfect – and makes it even richer yet lighter with the perfect amount of sweetness. It goes perfectly with chocolate cake or cupcakes. Or banana cake or banana bread. You could even slather it over brownies or cookies!
Really, this frosting knows no bounds. And if you make it you’ll see just how addictively delicious it is!
How to Make Buttercream Ahead of Time:
Transfer the frosting to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip in the stand mixer until light and fluffy again. Add a tablespoon or 2 of powdered sugar if it needs to thicken up.
How Much Frosting Does This Make?
This makes enough frosting for a two layer cake or 24 cupcakes OR 12 cupcakes with a generous amount of frosting (think a tall piped swirl). Not sure how much frosting you’ll need? Check out this handy frosting guide from Wilton.
More Buttercream Frosting Recipes & Tips
-
- How to Make the Best Buttercream (over a million views on this video!)
- 6 Tips for Perfect Buttercream (are you using the *right* powdered sugar?)
- Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream (my all-time favorite)
- Best Cream Cheese Frosting (with a secret ingredient)
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (270 grams) creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 1/2 cups (313 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar and continue beating until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about another 3 minutes.
STORAGE:
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip in the stand mixer until light and fluffy again. Add a tablespoon or 2 of powdered sugar if it needs to thicken.
Recipe Notes
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Amazing!! Will never use a different recipe ever again, so creamy and I just used 1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar, love this!
I made this with crunchy peanut butter and used 1 stick of butter and 2 cups of powdered sugar. It was delicious! And super easy to make.
I tried to give 5 stars but it would only let me give4.
Hi Kathi! So happy you enjoyed this frosting! I was able to adjust your rating, so it reflects the 5 stars as you wished 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Delicious! Used it as the filling for a peanut butter cake, with chocolate frosting. My imitation of a peanut butter cup!
Sounds delicious, Emilee!! So happy you enjoyed this frosting recipe!
OMG! This was so delicious! (About 1/2 cup of it didn’t make it onto the cake. LOL ) I will never need another peanut butter frosting recipe. This is the best!!!
So happy you loved this frosting, Chrissy!! 🙂
Could you add chocolate and make it a chocolate peanut butter frosting. It sounds amazing as is but am looking for a chocolate peanut butter frosting and after reading all the great things about this recipe would love to use this but tweak it a bit.
Hi Jacqui! We haven’t tried that, but you’re more than welcome to experiment! Let us know how it goes if you give it a try 🙂
I made a pan of brownies for a neighborhood get together. But they needed something more than just the brownie. And no cocoa powder in the house. Searched Pinterest and found this. It was just the right topping. Everyone loved the peanut butter flavor. Many had more than one! Definitely will add this to my frosting choices from now on!!!
Ooo that sounds amazing! So glad you found our recipe and that everyone loved it! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
Would this work with some colouring added to it? Thinking of making it orange to cover my Reece’s pieces cake… thanks :)!
Hi Sally! We haven’t tried that, but it should work well, especially orange! Let us know what you think of this recipe when you give it a try 🙂
This frosting is so good that my mom, who doesn’t like frosting or peanut butter, loved it and said it was the best part of the cupcakes!!
Wow, that’s incredible! I agree though, I can eat this straight from the bowl 🙂 So happy she loved it!
Used a few PB buttercream recipes and this one is by far the best – I half the recipe so I have plenty of icing for the middle of the cake (I don’t tend to Ice the top). It is very hard to not eat this buttercream out the bowl!! Thank you
So happy you love this recipe, Anna! I tend to make an entire batch, half for whatever I’m baking, and half for eating haha! It’s delicious with graham crackers 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
This is seriously so good! One of the best peanut butter frostings I’ve ever made. Usually I have to add more peanut butter, but this was perfect as is! Will now be my go-to recipe! Thanks Tessa!
So glad to hear that, Holly! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Y’all. SO GOOD! I added a bit of extra vanilla for a richer flavor and sprinkled crumbled Reese’s cups on top of my cake. It was to die for! Boxed cake mix topped with this?!? Amazing!
Yummy!! Sounds absolutely delicious!
This was 100% AMAZING tasting frosting. My whole famiy has been begging me to make it again. Topped chocolate ship cupcakes. Our new favorite by FAR!
Yummy! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed this frosting!