Are you the kind of person who, every once in a while, might be known to eat a spoonful fo peanut butter directly off the spoon? Yeah, me too. If you’re in this group, you are probably going to love this super easy peanut butter frosting recipe. It’s HIGHLY addictive. Yes, the all caps was necessary.
This peanut butter frosting is essentially a cream cheese frosting recipe that married a cup full of creamy peanut butter. A true power couple, if you ask me.
I first made a version of this when I made Deb’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake for a friend’s birthday a few years ago. I was hosting a party when I made that and all of friends loved it, including one friend who happened to be planning her wedding at the time. She asked me if I’d make her wedding cake, and she wanted it to have peanut butter frosting. I was extremely nervous (as I’d never made a wedding cake before) but also thrilled to be a part of her big day. I’ll share more about that cake later, promise.
Since then, I have slightly changed/tweaked this recipe. It’s just a little more simple now — mainly from using a little more peanut butter and a little less cream cheese. But I still highly recommend Deb’s original recipe as the entire combo she lays out is fire.
One thing I did try as I was practicing this recipe was the order in which you add the ingredients. You’ll see that the peanut butter gets folded in last, which is actually important. I tried in one version to see if the cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter could all be creamed together in the beginning, but the final frosting turned out much more grainy in texture, so I’m not recommending that.
Also, I can’t say “folded” now without thinking about that Schitt’s Creek episode where they are making enchiladas and they keep asking how you fold in the cheese. Ha! Anyone remember seeing that episode? I died laughing at that one.
The recipe I’m sharing below will make enough frosting for standard double layer cake. It might look like more in some of the photos above because as I was prepping for the wedding cake I ended up needing to triple this recipe. Having that amount of creamy, delicious peanut butter frosting sitting in your refrigerator is a very, very dangerous situation to find yourself in. Enjoy! xo. Emma
Easy Peanut Butter Frosting
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- To soften the cream cheese and butter, just leave it sitting out (in the package or covered) on your countertop for a couple hours. During colder months, I sometimes will leave them out overnight to use the next day.
- In a stand mixer (or an electric handheld mixer), combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract. Beat with the whisk or paddle attachment until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Now add the powdered sugar, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed until everything is combined. Lastly, mix in the peanut butter. You only need to mix until combined; you can even fold the peanut butter in by hand with the spatula at this point if you like.
This will make enough frosting for a standard two layer cake or plenty for a larger, rectangular sheet cake. If you are making a larger cake, you may need to double the recipe.
