While meandering through the Fancy Kroger on Saturday and contemplating what I was bringing to my family Easter celebration, I kept finding myself turning back to a display featuring that funky marshmallow creme stuff. It was looking at me. It wanted me to buy it. So, this Chocolate Fluffernutter Cake was born. Grab a big glass of milk and some sprinkles and head in your kitchen, because this baby is rich, springy, and over-the-top peanutbuttery. (Is that a word? Yes?)
Fluffernutter filling: This probably shouldn’t work.
I think we’ve all had a fluffernutter sandwich in our time. If you haven’t, you’ve been deprived and you need to remedy that situation. It’s not hard to make. Just grab some wonderbread, smear on some peanut butter, dollop on some marshmallow fluff, don’t count the calories, and enjoy. If you want to get fancy, add some sliced bananas.
It’s a comforting flavor, and I wanted to capture it in my filling. I stared at the jar of marshmallow fluff. I stared at the peanut butter. What was the worst that could happen? That’s right, I just combined them, added a little sour cream, and smeared it straight on my cake. The filling is indulgent, rich, and just so good. Also, it’s three ingredients and didn’t involve getting my stand mixer dirty, (unlike absolutely everything else in this recipe) so that’s a huge plus.
I love peanut butter, and I love baking with it. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of baking this complicated cake, I highly recommend my peanut butter cheesecake brownies, which are easy and SO SO GOOD.
Someday I will bake without making a big mess. That day is not today.
I wanted to make some sort of springy design for this cake, so I decided to dye a whole bunch of my Italian meringue frosting different pastel colors.
Unfortunately, that also meant that I had to get every bowl in the whole kitchen dirty in the process.😂 It’s ok, that’s what the dishwasher is for. I also am enjoying getting more familiar with my piping tips. I’m not an expert by ANY means, but I do feel like I’m getting better. I went from oh-god-throw-it-away-immediately to this-might-be-photo-worthy-maybe pretty quickly, so if you are a beginner, do not despair. It’s really not that hard. I recommend this set of piping tips, and cruising youtube for tutorials if you are interested in piping flowers and whatnot.
Chocolate Fluffernutter Cake: the elements
I was really happy with the flavor combo for this cake! Its super indulgent and rich; I’m sure Paul Hollywood would smirk and say something along the lines of “American bakers….so much sugar.” But hey. You don’t eat cake for the nutritional value. You eat it for the mental health value.
The moist chocolate sponge is liberally spiked with peanut butter flavor in the form of peanut butter chips. The filling reinforces the flavor profile with that gooey fluffernutter filling and some chopped peanut butter cups. Honestly, I had trouble stopping myself from just eating the fluffernutter filling with a spoon. If I hadn’t been making a decorating video and was left unsupervised in the kitchen, it probably never would’ve made it into the cake and I would have terrible heart burn today.
I knew a full American buttercream would be a mistake on this sugar bomb, so I went with a smooth Italian meringue buttercream. This frosting starts with an airy meringue before butter is added, so the finished product is just a little lighter than an American buttercream. To balance the richness of the cake and fillings, lighter was definitely better for the frosting.
A note about the frosting: a lot of people are intimidated by meringue-based frostings, but they’re really not too hard, and they are deeply satisfying to make. There’s something about seeing that marshmallowy fluff that makes me feel like a baking badass.
Also, this frosting takes a little bravery. When you first start adding the butter to the meringue, it will feel like something has gone terribly terribly wrong. It’ll start to look goopey, curdled, oily, soupy, or all of the above. It will seem like it will never come together and you’ve wasted thirty minutes of whisking. However, just have faith. Strange as it sounds, it is SUPPOSED to curdle. Just keep on whisking, and eventually it will smooth out into a nice buttercream like magic. For something rich like this chocolate fluffernutter cake, a nice light buttercream like this is a must, so it is a skill worth learning.
My first attempt at a fault line.
Fault line cakes are super trendy, and I decided to make a go of it with this guy.
My verdict: cute. Messy. Instagram-worthy. I’ll probably do it again. Hopefully my next one will be a little neater.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to get all of the sprinkles out from under my refrigerator.
Order from me!
Does this cake look good to you, but you don’t want to mess with baking it? I’ll do it for you! (If you are in Indianapolis, that is. I’m not messing with mailing anything, that’s a big no.) I’m trying to build experience, so I’ll even do it for cheap! Email me at kellylikestobake@gmail.com for info and pricing.
Other bakes that you can order:
Brownie Cookie Sandwiches with Raspberry and White Chocolate
Pecan and Orange Millionaire’s Shortbread
Easy Chocolate Fluffernutter Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium16
servings1
hour30
minutes300
kcalMoist chocolate peanut butter cake with creamy fluffernutter filling, chopped peanut butter cups, and smooth Italian meringue buttercream. An optional fault line decoration adds a springy flair!
Ingredients
- For the cake:
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
250 g. all purpose flour
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
40 g. cocoa powder
1/2 c. hot coffee
325 g. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla
5 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 tsp salt
- For the fluffernutter filling
1 cup creamy peanutbutter
1 cup marshmallow fluff
1/3 cup sour cream
- For the Italian meringue buttercream:
225 g egg whites
560 g sugar, divided into 2 equal portions
1 cup water
½ tsp cream of tartar
3 Cups unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
- For assembly and decorations
1 cup chopped peanut butter cups
1/2 cup sprinkles (optional)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare three 8 inch cake pans using the method of your choice. (I prefer cooking spray, then parchment paper, then another layer of cooking spray.)
- Combine the chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a bowl. Heat the coffee in the microwave so that it is almost boiling, and pour over the chocolate mixture. Let it sit for about thirty seconds, and then whisk smooth. Add about half the sugar and whisk until smooth, and then set aside to cool.
- Combine the remaining sugar and the eggs and egg yolks in the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with a whisk. Whisk on medium-high speed until the are light and fluffy and have become paler, about four minutes. Add the chocolate mixture, and whisk until smooth, about thirty seconds.Add the buttermilk, vanilla, and salt, whisk until smooth. Combine your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then fold them in in two batches until just mixed. Fold in the peanut butter chips. Pour the batter into the prepared tins, smooth out the tops, and bake for about 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for ten minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely. You may want to wrap in plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
- While your cake is baking, make your filling. Combine the peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and sour cream in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and homogenous. Set aside.
- Make your buttercream. Combine half of the sugar and the water in a saucepan, and heat until it is bubbly, stirring occasionally. While it is heating, whisk the egg whites in your (very clean) stand mixer. You will have to try to time the temperature of your sugar syrup (you are going for 240 degrees F) and the moment when your meringue is ready. When your whisking egg whites are a little frothy, add the cream of tartar. There is no substitute for the cream of tartar. Whisk it to soft peaks, and then slowly add the other half of the sugar, one teaspoon at a time. It will start to get glossy and shiny. When the sugar and water mixture has reached 240 degrees F, remove it from the heat. Very slowly pour it into the edge of your egg white mixture while whisking constantly on high. Avoid pouring the hot sugar syrup directly on the whisk, it’ll splash and get you and that’s not fun.
- Alright, it’s time to be patient. Keep whisking your eggs on high until they are completely cool. This could take thirty minutes or more. You can’t overwhisk them at this point… there is so much sugar in your merengue that it is very stable and will not fall. When it is COMPLETELY cool (completely!) start adding your butter, one tablespoon at a time. This is a little scary. Your meringue will appear to fall and the mixture will get soupy and weird. As you add more and more butter, it might start to look curdled. Do not fear. Trust the butter, it’s the best food in the world. Just keep whisking it, and eventually it will get smooth and nice. Dye it any color you desire!
- Assemble your cake. Using a cake cutter or a knife, cut an inch off the border of one of your three layers of cake. Stack the cake in this way (see video for more instructions): Full sized cake layer, circle of buttercream, 1/2 the fluffernutter filling, half the chopped peanut butter cups, trimmed cake layer, circle of buttercream, 1/2 the fluffernutterfilling, 1/2 the peanut butter cups, final cake layer. Crumb coat the entire cake, and then chill completely, at least an hour.
- Apply a layer of buttercream to the indented center ring of your cake. Place your cake stand in a large roasting pan or deep baking dish to catch extra sprinkles. Apply sprinkles by the handful to the center ring of the cake. Apply a thick layer of buttercream above and below the sprinkle layer, overlapping a little and creating a rustic and uneven line. Smooth everything out with your straight edge. Optional: brush the edges of the fault line with gold luster dust mixed with a little bit of vodka. Top the cake with buttercream rosettes or flowers if desired. Chill and serve!
Recipe Video
Omg. The sprinkle fault line!!!! This might need to be a part of Soph’s first birthday cake design (*insert heart eyes*)