And yes, this truly is the creamiest peanut butter frosting you’ll ever taste.
This peanut butter frosting delivers BIG flavor. The base of the recipe is just a little bit of butter and a massive amount of peanut butter. Heavy cream adds to its creamy texture. And unlike most frostings, it’s not loaded with confectioners’ sugar. There’s only 1 cup, so don’t expect a cloyingly sweet frosting. All you taste is peanut butter. Pure peanut butter with a creamier, silkier texture.
Despite the creamy texture, this peanut butter frosting pipes beautifully onto cakes and cupcakes. It won’t keep any super intricate piped designs, but a simple swirl from the Wilton 1M piping tip stays intact!
You’ll LOVE this stuff and find any excuse to whip it up.
Need some pairing inspiration? Try this peanut butter frosting with:
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PinDescription
This is the creamiest peanut butter frosting and tastes unbelievable on chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cake, or fudge brownies!
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons (75g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (250g) creamy peanut butter*
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick.
- Cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Peanut Butter: Use a commercial brand peanut butter such Skippy or Jif. Avoid natural, oily, or homemade peanut butters as the consistency will cause this frosting to separate and curdle.
- Quantity: This recipe is enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes or one 9×13 quarter sheet cake. Follow this peanut butter frosting recipe for any cake larger than that. Just as rich and creamy!
Oh this frosting looks gorgeous !
It does
This frosting. Oh my goodness. So amazing. I made it following the recipe to the T, and frosted regular chocolate cupcakes with it. It was so good! Everyone loved how fluffy the frosting was. It reminds me of the fluffy PB filling in rocky mountain chocolate factory’s PB bars. Soooo unbelievable. Thank you so much for sharing!
Can I use whole milk instead of the heavy cream?
Absolutely. But keep in mind that the peanut butter frosting will not be as creamy without the thickness of heavy cream.
If it separates, what’s could be the cause? And how can I save it?
I find a little more confectioners’ sugar and a few more minutes of beating helps bring it back together.
I was planning on using this recipe to frost a chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake. Do you think that it would freeze well and still have a good consistency?
Yes, it should be great!
I had to add another cup of confectioner’s sugar and a little more cream to get the right consistency.
I made this recipe with Trader Joes creamy peanut butter with a little more confection sugar (1/3cup) it was perfect….I just whipped it a little longer to form the perfect peaks. Very creamy and smooth Frosting. Thank you!
You are welcome! I love Trader Joe’s peanut butter – glad it worked here!
Hi Sally! Love this blog! Does this frosting sometimes separate during the beating and then come back together? My first batch separated badly after about 1.5 minutes and I’m wondering if I gave up on it too soon. If this is unusual, what do you think may have caused this? Temperature? It was a very hot day. Or use of milk instead of heavy cream? Sorry for the long question and thank you for your help and for sharing your delicious recipes!
Hi Mandy! It sounds like the butter was too warm. You want it cool to touch. Continue beating– it should come together.
I read the whole recipe beforehand but, I was using the heavy cream it called for not milk and used the appropriate peanut butter (in the back of my mind I knew it mattered).
Can I use this recipe to bake a 6 inch, by 3inch deep cake? and also be able to frost this cake?
It depends how many layers. This is enough frosting to frost a 2 layer 9-inch cake, so if your 6 inch cake isn’t too tall, this amount of peanut butter frosting should be fine.
Hi Sally, I tried to make this frosting but it split and ended up grainy. I tried adding more sugar and mixing it for longer but it could not be salvaged. I’m just wondering if it was the cream I used. I used thickened cream (the Australian version of heavy cream) which I used for all of your frostings but I’m wondering if it could of been the gelatin in the cream that reacted with the peanut butter causing it to split? Do you think this could of been the issue? And would you suggest using pure cream that can be whipped next time? Thanks
Hi Natasha! It’s usually the liquid or the butter. The butter may have been too soft and warm or the cream could have been too thick or cold. If you decide to try this frosting again, my recommendation is to use milk instead. Sorry you had trouble!
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Do you recommend full fat or is any milk fine?
Any milk is OK 🙂
After making the icing and frosting my cake, must I refrigerate the iced cake (because frosting contains heavy cream)?
1-2 days at room temperature would be OK. After that, I recommend the refrigerator.
Didn’t have heavy cream so I used vanilla nut liquid creamer minus the vanilla and the frosting was DEVINE!!! Absolutely did it for me with the very peanut butter flavor but not too sweet. Try it, you’ll like it!!
That sounds so good!
This peanut butter frosting has a great consistency. I used it to mix into the chocolate peanut butter cake balls I made. Turned out well!
What can I use instead of heavy cream to make it non dairy ?
Some nondairy readers substitute canned coconut milk for heavy cream in frosting recipes. The butter would also have to be replaced to make the frosting nondairy, but I’m sure you realized that. Let me know how it turns out!
Can Planter’s Peanut Butter work?
As long as it’s smooth and creamy and not oily!
This icing separated and became an oily grainy mess. I tried adding more cream and then more icing sugar but it just seemed to get worse and worse. Almost like the peanut proteins separated from the oil that was in the peanut butter? I used kraft light peanut butter I wonder if it being light was the problem? Next time I have better quality regular peanut butter on hand I will give it another try.
Hi Sally, I would love make this Peanut Butter frosting however, I don’t have a mixer (either Kitchen-aid or handheld. I wonder if I I could do this by hand or use a food processor or blender? Thank U so much and Happy Valentine’s Day❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Hi Poune! Happy Valentine’s Day to you too! It would be difficult to cream it all together by hand, but you can certainly try. I haven’t tried the blender before, but that could work as well.
Thank U so much Sally, I will give it a try
This frosting is an absolute game changer! Amazing!
This worked perfectly on the brownies! Everybody loved, this is a keeper. Thank you!
Can I use Swerve Confectioners (sugar replacement), Ghee (clarified butter) & Publix Heavy “Whipping” Cream for this recipe?
I’m not familiar with that type of sugar and I have never tried making frosting with ghee. Publix heavy cream is fine!
Thank you so much for the quick reply! I’m assuming they’ll work since they’re considered a “substitute”…I sure hope so.
If I refrigerate it, do I need to rewhip for it to fluff again? Prepping for birthday party Sunday.
You can give it a stir if it looks like it’s separated before you use it.
Your next cookbook should be called “Sally’s PEANUT BUTTER Addiction.”
This was delicious in my sons birthday cake! Now I am making vegan chocolate cupcakes for Easter and wonder if this could be adapted to frost them with. Any suggestions would be welcome!
★★★★★
Hello Sally, I made your homemade chocolate cupcakes with this peanut butter frosting. Wow! I had company over for dinner and made the cupcakes and frosting. Very good! I had no problems with anything. I highly recommend this recipe. Another winner! Thank you. Right this moment I making the cream cheese pound cake. I just popped it in oven. I going to make strawberry shortcake this evening. Only husband and I. I will leave some cake out, and will freeze the rest. Thanks again
★★★★★
All AWESOME recipes! So glad you enjoy this peanut butter frosting. It’s definitely our favorite!
So delicious. I made a half batch of the recipe and added two tablespoons of peanut butter powder to make it a bit stiffer. It came out perfect and wonderfully creamy. It made just enough to frost 6-7 cupcakes. Sally, thanks for all of your great recipes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Great tip with the powdered peanut butter!
This frosting is AMAZING. I love how it’s not that sweet, so it’s basically just the creamiest, fluffiest frosting ever. I made it to put on a chocolate cake, but I think I’d rather just eat it by the spoonful…
★★★★★
Creamiest fluffliest peanut butter, I meant to say. :]