Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Icing
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Transform an ordinary yellow cake with this delicious sweet and nutty old-fashioned peanut butter icing recipe. It’s a must-make for peanut butter fans!
Today, I’m sharing a recipe with a big old root system behind it: yellow cake with old-fashioned peanut butter icing. The cake we’re going to use is just a boxed mix because spoiler: it’s not the cake that is important here, it’s the icing. This is my grandmother’s old-fashioned peanut butter icing recipe to be exact and it will forever remind me of my great aunt, Red.
Now, most old-fashioned icing recipes are of the boiled icing variety. If this technique scares you, don’t worry, I’ve included lots of tips for success below to make sure you nail it every time. Trust me, when you get it right and give it a taste, you’ll want to make it again and again. Who can resist a thick layer of sweet yet nutty peanut butter icing on their favorite cake? Certainly not me! The best part of boiled icing is that you pour the hot icing onto the cooled cake and it hardens like fudge… YUM!
To make my peanut butter frosting, you’ll need creamy peanut butter (of course), as well as icing essentials like granulated sugar, vanilla, milk, shortening, and butter. So grab those ingredients and get ready, because I just know you’re going to love this old-fashioned peanut butter icing recipe as much as I do! And if you don’t love peanut butter check out Boiled Chocolate Icing
Recipe Ingredients
- Sugar
- Shortening (I use coconut oil these days)
- Peanut butter
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Unsalted butter
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How To Make Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Icing
In a large saucepot, combine sugar, milk, shortening, margarine, and salt.
Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
Once it reaches a boil, let it boil for two to three minutes without stirring.
Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vanilla and peanut butter.
Beat until icing is smooth and starts to lose its shine.
Immediately pour it onto the baked and cooled cake.
Allow it to cool before serving.
Look at that nice layer of peanut butter fudge icing!
Can you see why yellow cake with old-fashioned peanut butter icing is such a special cake?
This is a sight to behold.
Guess what? It seems like it was a gift from above, but as a precious reminder of my past and its connection to the future, this is my daughter’s favorite cake.
Now excuse me while I dig into this delicious slice of yellow cake!
Storage
Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Recipe Notes
Here are my tips for success when it comes to boiled peanut butter icing:
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- The boiling of the icing is the most critical step. Make sure it comes to a rolling boil and then stay right there, timing it. I suggest adding one minute to be on the safe side but don’t go over this as the icing will scorch.
- You absolutely must have your cake done and ready the moment the icing is done.
- Once your icing is finished, remove it from the heat and use a wire whisk to quickly stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until the icing thickens a bit and starts to lose some of its shine. It should still be pourable.
- Don’t try to spread the icing once you’ve poured it. Instead, pour it evenly over the cake so that no spreading is needed.
- Most importantly, unless you lived through the Great Depression, I strongly encourage you not to use this on anything other than a sheet cake. Only those who have the crown of wisdom that comes through age and hardship can ice a layer cake with this.
- If you want more peanut butter flavor, sprinkle the cake with roasted peanuts or crushed nuts.
- Natural peanut butter doesn’t work as well as regular peanut butter in this recipe.
- For creamier icing, you can substitute the milk for buttermilk.
Recipe FAQs
What other cakes work well with old-fashioned peanut butter icing?
You can use any kind of boxed cake mixes, such as vanilla cake, angel food cake, golden cake, white cake, or even chocolate cake (which will suit Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup fans). But if you’re looking for a homemade cake recipe, Aunt Sue’s easy pound cake would be perfect with this peanut butter icing.
Check out these other irresistible icing recipes:
Italian Cream Cake with Pecan Cream Cheese Icing
7-Minute Frosting (Foolproof Recipe)
Vegan Sweet Potato Cake With Maple Cashew Icing
Cappuccino Cake With Cappuccino Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix made according to package directions and cooled
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 7 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Prepare cake mix in a 9x13 baking dish as directed on the package. Allow it to cool.1 Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
- In a large saucepot, combine sugar, milk, shortening, butter, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.1.5 cups sugar, 7 tablespoons whole milk, 2 tablespoons shortening, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Once it reaches a boil, let it boil for two to three minutes without stirring.
- Remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla and peanut butter. Beat until icing is smooth and starts to lose its shine. Immediately pour it onto the cake and allow it to cool before serving.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Nutrition
This post was originally published in July of 2008. I updated the photos in August 2019.
i love both peanut butter and cheeze as the filling of my morning sandwhich.,`;
I always put chocolate frosting on yellow cake – yum!!! But for sure I’m going to have to try this one. My husband used to like peanut butter frosting on white cake, but I just made a powdered sugar frosting and stirred in some peanut butter. That’s good, too, but this sounds so much better!! I’m fighting cancer again right now and with all the prednisone I have to take after each chemo, my blood sugar goes crazy – also have diabetes – so will have to wait till next week to try this. I’ve made many of your recipes and they’ve all gone to my favorites or been printed out for my loose leaf notebook. And I feel like we’re good friends now! BY THE WAY, I have a red casserole with a lid that I’d love to send you if you want it. Just let me know and it will be in the mail to you ASAP. The third time is the charm, you know! This one is kind of a squarish shape, no designs on it, all red.
I am going to try this with Blackberry Jam filling. I think it will be so good. PB and Jam Cake. What’s not to like?
I just had to try this cake when my sister-in-law came to spend a couple of days with us. Everyone thought it was pretty good when I made it Friday evening. Then, we had to go work at the farm and didn’t get back home until Sunday evening. Hubby had to have another piece and could not stop raving about the cake. He said that the peanut butter flavor had permeated the entire cake. We have decided that when I make this again (and I will be making it again!), I’ll do it a couple of days in advance and just let it sit and “marinate”!
Thanks for the recipe!
Denise
Dallas, TX
Thank you for this recipe! My grandmother passed away and this was one of her signature “sunday specialties”. I had all of the ingredients written down in hopes to continue the tradition one day, but she passed away before I was able to ask her about the details. Thank you!
Just got around to trying this frosting on a Duncan Hines Butter Recipe yellow cake. OMG! After eating half the cake(in less than 24 hours), it had to leave the house. My Dad really enjoyed helping me out. Keep the receipes and the good ole southern humor coming.
well Christy, I just finished frosting the cake. My son is at the dentist, and Im such a BAD momma…. I couldnt just wait and let HIM lick the bowl…. I feel like a total slob! LOL! its DELISH! cant wait for it to cool down so I can chow on a full piece of cake and have it slap those calories onto my butt!!! awesome recipe, loved the story …