Buckeye Cake

Your favorite homemade candy is now available as an entire buckeye cake. This peanut butter cake with chocolate frosting is decorated to look just like a buckeye!

I was compensated for this post by the Ohio Poultry Association and the ADA Mideast, but the recipe and subject matter were of my choosing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Whenever I’ve seen recipes for buckeye-themed cakes, they are always predominantly chocolate. But if you are familiar with the buckeye candy you are well aware that it is a nugget of peanut butter dipped in chocolate, with peanut butter as the majority.

So I took it upon myself to correct this dilemma in the buckeye-themed baking world and made not only a peanut butter cake with chocolate frosting, but I decorated the entire thing to resemble a giant buckeye nut.

Buckeye cake main ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Unsalted butter
• Shortening
• Peanut butter
• Chocolate
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Milk

As always, every baking recipe that I share uses large eggs. If you use a different size it will impact the consistency of the cake. But no worries, if you don’t have large eggs you can use this conversion chart to learn how to substitute.

Once you’ve settled the egg size, make sure to set them out for 30 minutes to let them come to room temperature. This will make it easier to mix them into the batter.

I actually have made peanut butter cake before, but only in either sheet cake form or cupcakes 1/2/3 (and yes I have done the chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting version as well). But this is my first peanut butter layer cake.

Once you bake the two layers and let them cool, you only need to slice the top of one layer to level it because the top we want to be round – better to look like a round buckeye!

After coating it with chocolate frosting I added a dollop of peanut butter frosting to the top to give it the “eye” of the buckeye. Who needs the eye of a tiger when you can have the eye of a buckeye? That should be a song.

This recipe is also featured on the Ohio Poultry Association website OhioEggs.com, where you can also learn more about Ohio Farming. Did you know that Ohio is ranked number 3 in the nation for eggs farming, producing over 10 billion eggs a year. Ohio is also 10th in the nation for milk production, with over 250,000 dairy cows in Ohio producing 628 million gallons of milk a year.

Do you know where your eggs and milk come from?

BUCKEYE CAKE

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Yield: 12 Servings

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

CAKE

• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp milk

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup milk, divided
• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp milk

Directions

1. For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, set aside.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter on high until creamy, 2 minutes. With the machine on, gradually add the sugar and beat, scraping the bowl, until fluffy, 8 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk. Mix until smooth.
4. Pour into prepared pans cake pans and spread evenly. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean; invert and let cool on a rack.
5. For the chocolate frosting: While the cake cools, prepare the frosting. Microwave chocolate with two tablespoons of milk in microwavable bowl on medium-high for 1-2 minutes; stirring halfway through the cooking time. Stir until smooth and set aside.
6. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, butter and vanilla. Gradually add the sugar, one cup at time, beating on low speed. Add remaining two tablespoons of milk and cooled chocolate. Beat until light and fluffy.
7. For the peanut butter frosting: In a medium bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla together until smooth. On low speed, mix in the powdered sugar until just incorporated, followed by the vanilla and milk. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip until light and very fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to reach desired consistency.
8. Place one cake, rounded side up, on a cake stand. Slice off rounded top. Spread cake with 1 cup of chocolate frosting. Top with the remaining cake, round side up - do not slice off top. Spread with the remaining chocolate frosting.
9. Place the peanut butter frosting on top in the center, and spread into a circle, leaving about 1-2 inches at the edge to resemble a buckeye.

Source: Adapted from my Marble Malt Cake with Peanut Butter Malt Frosting and Chocolate Lover’s Cupcakes.

Post updated 6/11/2023, photos above and below are the originals.