You're going to love this Peanut Butter Angel Food Cake! A twist on a classic angel food cake, this beauty is a chocolate + peanut butter lover's dream!
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This Peanut Butter Angel Food Cake is light, fluffy, and drenched in peanut butter chocolate ganache! With its fluffy texture and rich chocolate ganache, this cake strikes the perfect balance between decadent and delicate.
If you enjoy this recipe, check out my posts for Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins, Blueberry Angel Food Cake, and Chocolate Ganache Cake!
Ingredients
This is everything you need to make this recipe! Measurements for each of the ingredients are included in the recipe card, below.
Peanut Butter Angel Food Cake Ingredients
- Peanut Butter Powder - For flavor! Powdered peanut butter is made from roasted peanuts that have been pressed to remove their oils, then ground into a powder. All the peanut butter flavor without the fat--which is perfect for this application, as any fat would deflate your egg whites!
- Sugar - For sweetness and keeps the cake moist.
- Cake Flour - Gives the cake structure. Cake flour is a must for this recipe! The texture of the cake won't be right (or could collapse completely) if you use another type of flour. Also be sure to sift your flour well before using!
- Cream of Tartar - To help the egg whites whip up as fluffy as possible.
- Salt - To balance and enhance the flavors in the cake.
- Egg Whites - Provide the only leavening in the cake! If you need some ideas to use up all those leftover yolks, check out my post on Ways to Use Egg Yolks!
- Vanilla Extract - For flavor.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Ingredients
- Dark Chocolate - For (amazing) flavor. You can choose whatever kind of chocolate you like, but dark chocolate is decadent without making the cake too sweet. I used 60% cacao. I suggest using a chopped chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips, as chocolate chips have stabilizers and your ganache might not turn out as smooth/pourable. Again, using high quality chocolate is important here!
- Heavy (Whipping) Cream - For richness, creaminess, and a pourable consistency.
- Peanut Butter - For flavor. I'm an advocate for natural & organic as much as possible, but these options may have too much oil to be successful in this recipe.
Instructions
Here's how to make this angel food cake, step by step! More detailed instructions are included in the recipe card, below.
Making Peanut Butter Angel Food Cake
- Sift flour, peanut butter powder, and ½ cup sugar into a bowl.
- Combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in a mixer bowl and beat to firm peaks.
- Gradually add remaining sugar to egg white mixture and beat until thick and shiny.
- Add vanilla extract. Beat one more minute.
- Sift ¼ of flour mixture into mixer bowl and carefully fold in, being cautious not to deflate the egg white mixture. Once fully combined, repeat with the remaining flour mixture in three more additions.
- Pour batter into an *ungreased* pan, then bake until top of cake springs back when touched. Invert pan and allow to cool completely.
Making Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache
- Place finely-chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
- In a saucepan, heat heavy cream and peanut butter until hot.
- Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate. Let sit five minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Pour ganache over cooled cake.
Top Tips for Making Angel Food Cake
If you've never made an angel food cake before, don't let it intimidate you! There are just a few rules that you need to follow in order to have it turn out.
1) You need to use cake flour. The texture of the cake won't be right (or could collapse completely) if you use another type of flour. Make sure the flour is well sifted before using it, so that you can avoid lumps.
2) You must make sure that you whip the egg whites sufficiently. Using fresh, *room temperature* egg whites will get you the best results!
3) You need to be veeeery gentle when folding in the dry ingredients.
4) Do NOT grease the pan! Greasing the pan for an angel food cake will make it more difficult for the cake to rise in the pan, and your cake will likely collapse!
5) The cake needs to cool upside down. Angel food cakes are so light, they must be cooled upside down to prevent collapse after baking! Angel food cake pans have small feet on them that allow you to invert the pan. If you do not have feet on your pan, invert the cake pan on a wire rack to cool.
FAQs
Yes! Wrapped well (and without the ganache!), angel food cake will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Angel food cake doesn't contain butter or oil like other cakes, so it will dry out quickly. Because of this, it's best to freeze the cake soon after it has completely cooled. Even better, if you don't need the cake to remain whole, sliced will keep better than a whole cake. Just slice the cake, wrap the slices, and place the slices in an airtight container.
To thaw, just place the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours (thawing will take less time if you've cut the cake into slices). Once the cake has been thawed, I don't suggest refreezing it.
Fresh egg whites are best for angel food cake! Since the egg whites are the only leavening in the cake, you want to make sure you get the best rise you can out of them. Boxed or previously frozen egg whites will not whip up to the same volume as fresh egg whites, and your cake will be shorter.
Check out my post Recipes Using Egg Yolks! The post has not only recipes to use them up, but also information on storing them to use later!
Other Recipes You May Like
Peanut Butter Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
Angel Food Cake:
- 1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
- 1 ⅓ cups cake flour
- ½ cup peanut butter powder (see note)
- 1 ½ cups egg whites (from about 10 eggs)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache:
- 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 7 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Sift flour, ½ cup sugar, and peanut butter powder into a medium bowl.
- Combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in a mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat mixture on medium-high until firm peaks form.
- Reduce mixer to medium and gradually add remaining sugar (1 ¼ cups). Beat on high speed until thick and shiny.
- Add vanilla extract. Beat on high speed one more minute.
- Sift ¼ of flour mixture into mixer bowl and carefully fold in, being cautious not to deflate the egg white mixture. Once fully combined, repeat with the remaining flour mixture in three more additions. Ensure that the mixture is completely combined, with no dry ingredients unmixed or white streaks.
- Pour batter into an *ungreased* 10-inch tube pan, preferably an angel food cake pan with small feet (see notes). Smooth top of the batter.
- Bake 30-35 minutes, or until top of cake springs back when touched. Invert pan on counter or cooling rack (see note), and allow to cool completely. Run a thin knife around the cake to remove it from the pan.
Ganache
- Place finely-chopped bittersweet chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl.
- In a small saucepan, heat heavy cream and peanut butter until hot, but not boiling. You will start to see small bubbles around the edge of the pan when it's about ready.
- Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate, making sure all the chocolate is covered. Let sit five minutes. Whisk until smooth. If not all chocolate is melted, you can place the ganache in the microwave on 15-second bursts until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
- Pour ganache over cooled cake, allowing the ganache to drip down the sides.Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate.
Anonymous
It’s probably good but didn’t make it