Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake is the recipe that Maria makes every potluck and every most anticipated family gathering when she wants to create the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely spectacular individual celebration cake that combines the most beloved chocolate-and-peanut-butter flavor combination with the most brilliantly dramatic and the most completely unexpected “earthquake” visual effect — the most gorgeously cracked and the most beautifully erupted individual cake surface that occurs naturally when the most luxuriously rich cream cheese and peanut butter swirl mixture is spooned over the assembled chocolate cake batter and causes the most dramatic individual eruptions.
Cracks, and the most gorgeous gooey individual swirls throughout the baking process as the more dense cream cheese layer sinks into and displaces the most surrounding lighter chocolate cake batter for the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely volcanic individual baked dessert visual that makes every single person at the table immediately say “wow” the moment the pan emerges from the oven. She layers the Reese’s, makes the most silky cream cheese swirl, spoons over the batter, and bakes until the most spectacular eruption.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake is the most easy and deeply extraordinary 55-minute potluck celebration cake made with chocolate cake mix covered in mini Reese’s cups and peanut butter chips then topped with cream cheese powdered sugar vanilla peanut butter and butter swirl dolloped over batter and baked at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful cake recipes and easy celebration favorites from our kitchen every single week.
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Why You Will Love This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake recipe is the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely dramatic individual celebration cake that requires only one box of chocolate cake mix, one package of cream cheese, peanut butter, and a generous handful of Reese’s peanut butter cups — producing the most spectacularly erupted and the most beautifully gooey individual cake surface that looks like the most elaborate and the most time-consuming individual baking project while requiring only 15 minutes of the most effortless assembly.
The cream cheese peanut butter swirl dolloped most generously over the unbaked chocolate cake batter creates the most entirely natural and the most completely dramatic “earthquake” eruption as it sinks, cracks, and the most beautifully displaces the surrounding chocolate batter during baking — no special technique, no artistic skill, and no deliberate cracking required. The earthquake happens all by itself for the most genuinely extraordinary result. Our Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake makes a beautifully equally Reese’s-forward and equally chocolate-peanut-butter companion for a complete and wonderful chocolate peanut butter dessert collection.
Ingredients Needed for This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
For the Cake Layer:
- 1 box (15.25 oz) Chocolate Cake Mix, plus box ingredients (water, oil, eggs)
- 1½ cups Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, halved or quartered
- ½ cup Peanut Butter Chips
For the Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Swirl:
- 8 oz Full-Fat Brick-Style Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup Smooth Peanut Butter (no-stir variety)
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup Unsalted Butter, softened
How to Make This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish most thoroughly.
Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to the package directions. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Scatter the halved or quartered mini Reese’s peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips most evenly over the chocolate batter surface. Do not stir, cara mia.
For the cream cheese peanut butter swirl, beat the room-temperature softened cream cheese, peanut butter, and softened butter together until the most completely smooth. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla extract, beating until the most smooth and the most creamy.
Drop large individual spoonfuls of the cream cheese peanut butter mixture over the Reese’s-scattered chocolate cake batter. Space the dollops the most evenly to ensure the most dramatic and the most beautifully distributed individual eruption pattern across the entire cake surface during baking.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The cake is done when the edges appear the most set and a toothpick inserted away from the cream cheese swirls comes out clean — the cream cheese areas will still appear the most gooey and the most underbaked, which is the most correct and the most beautifully intended individual result.
Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
How to Serve This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
Serve warm from the oven after the 20-minute cooling period for the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely indulgent individual warm earthquake cake experience when the Reese’s peanut butter cups are at their most beautifully melted and the cream cheese swirl is at its most gloriously gooey and the most properly warm individual temperature.
For the most completely extraordinary individual presentation, place a whole Reese’s peanut butter cup or two on each individual served square for the most beautifully garnished and the most completely Reese’s-themed individual potluck dessert display. Our Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake makes a beautifully equally Reese’s-celebration and equally spectacular companion for a complete and wonderful chocolate peanut butter dessert collection.
How to Store This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days. The cake actually tastes the most extraordinarily developed on day two as the cream cheese and peanut butter flavors the most completely meld with the chocolate cake. Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds to restore the most warm and the most gooey individual cream cheese swirl texture.
Tips to Make This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
Do not stir the Reese’s or cream cheese swirl into the chocolate batter at any point during assembly — the individual layering of components without stirring is the most essential technique for the most dramatic and the most properly distributed individual earthquake effect during baking. Stirring prevents the most natural volcanic individual displacement that creates the earthquake appearance.
Use the most generous individual spoonfuls when dolloping the cream cheese peanut butter mixture over the batter — the most large and the most well-spaced individual dollops produce the most dramatically visible and the most beautifully distributed individual eruption craters across the entire cake surface during baking.
Helpful Notes for This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
For the most intensely concentrated chocolate and peanut butter individual flavor, whisk one teaspoon of instant espresso powder into the dry cake mix before preparing the batter — the espresso deepens the most naturally existing chocolate flavor most significantly without producing any detectable coffee taste in the finished cake.
The cream cheese areas of the cake will always appear the most still gooey and the most underbaked compared to the surrounding chocolate cake areas — this is the most specifically correct and the most intentionally achieved individual result rather than a sign of underbaking.
Variation of This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
Maria made a version using dark chocolate cake mix in place of regular chocolate for the most completely extraordinary and the most deeply intensified individual dark chocolate peanut butter earthquake cake. Teresa tried adding half a cup of mini chocolate chips to the cream cheese swirl mixture alongside the powdered sugar for the most completely extraordinary and the most deeply chocolate-studded individual cream cheese peanut butter swirl.
For a Biscoff earthquake cake, substitute the peanut butter with the same quantity of Biscoff spread and the Reese’s with crushed Biscoff cookies for the most completely extraordinary and the most warmly caramelized individual Biscoff cream cheese chocolate earthquake cake. Our Chocolate Ooey Gooey Cake makes a beautifully equally gooey cream cheese and equally chocolate-celebration companion for a complete and wonderful gooey chocolate cake collection.
FAQs About This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
Why is this called an Earthquake Cake?
The most dramatic “earthquake” name refers to the most visually spectacular erupted, cracked, and gooey individual surface that develops naturally during baking as the most dense cream cheese mixture sinks into and displaces the most surrounding lighter chocolate cake batter — creating the most beautifully volcanic individual craters, cracks, and the most gorgeous swirled individual eruptions across the entire cake surface that most closely resemble the most dramatic earthquake-damaged individual ground surface when viewed from above.
Can I use crunchy peanut butter?
Smooth no-stir peanut butter is the most specifically recommended for the most completely smooth and the most uniformly blended individual cream cheese swirl. Crunchy peanut butter produces the most visible individual peanut pieces throughout the swirl that some bakers enjoy for the most additional texture — it works most effectively for those who prefer the most nutty individual textural contrast in each individual cream cheese swirl bite.
How do I know when the cake is done if the cream cheese areas look underbaked?
Test the doneness by inserting a toothpick into an area that appears the most chocolate-cake — away from the most gooey individual cream cheese swirl areas. The toothpick should come out the most clean from the chocolate cake portions. The cream cheese areas will always appear the most underbaked compared to the surrounding chocolate cake — this is the most correct and the most specifically intended individual earthquake cake appearance.
Conclusion
This Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake is the most completely extraordinary and the most genuinely spectacular Reese’s-loaded celebration cake that makes every potluck and every gathering feel genuinely and completely magnificent through the most dramatically erupted cream cheese peanut butter swirl and the most melted Reese’s cups and the most richly chocolate cake batter in every single warm and completely irresistible peanut butter earthquake cake square.
We hope it brings the same deeply joyful Reese’s earthquake cake celebration and the same completely delighted potluck table to your kitchen that it has always brought to ours. Make it, share it, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake The Most Easy Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cream Cheese Swirl Chocolate Mix Celebration Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 15 to 18 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most extraordinary spectacular Chocolate Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake made by preheating oven to 350°F greasing 9×13 baking dish preparing chocolate cake mix per box directions pouring into dish scattering 1 1/2 cups halved mini Reese’s and 1/2 cup peanut butter chips over batter without stirring then beating 8 oz room temperature cream cheese 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter and 1/4 cup softened butter until smooth gradually adding 2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla beating smooth and creamy dropping large spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture most evenly over Reese’s-scattered batter spacing for most dramatic distribution baking 40 to 45 minutes until edges set and toothpick in chocolate areas clean cream cheese areas will appear gooey this is correct cooling 20 minutes before serving. A completely extraordinary Reese’s peanut butter cream cheese earthquake cake recipe.
Ingredients
1 box 15.25 oz Chocolate Cake Mix plus box ingredients
1 1/2 cups Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups halved or quartered
1/2 cup Peanut Butter Chips
8 oz Full-Fat Brick-Style Cream Cheese softened to room temperature
1/2 cup Smooth Peanut Butter no-stir variety
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 cups Powdered Sugar sifted
1/4 cup Unsalted Butter softened
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F 175°C. Grease 9×13 baking dish.
2. Prepare chocolate cake mix per package. Pour into dish.
3. Scatter halved Reese’s and peanut butter chips over batter. Do not stir.
4. Beat room temperature cream cheese, peanut butter, and softened butter until smooth.
5. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat smooth and creamy.
6. Drop large spoonfuls cream cheese mixture evenly over Reese’s-scattered batter spacing well.
7. Bake 40 to 45 minutes until edges set and toothpick in chocolate areas clean.
8. Cream cheese areas will appear gooey. This is correct and intended.
9. Cool 20 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cake, Potluck, Celebration
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 38g
- Sodium: 380mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 7g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
Keywords: chocolate peanut butter earthquake cake, easy Reese’s peanut butter cream cheese swirl chocolate earthquake cake, best chocolate peanut butter cup earthquake cake, Reese’s loaded chocolate earthquake cake
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