Buckeye Cake

Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake cake on cake stand.

With layers of chocolate cake and peanut butter cheesecake topped with a delicious peanut butter frosting and chocolate glaze, this cake tastes even better than Buckeye candies! Pure chocolate peanut butter heaven.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 2 15

Servings

Calories 946kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

For the Peanut Butter Cheesecake:

16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1/2 cup milk 2% or whole milk preferred

For the chocolate cake:

1 15.25 ounce chocolate cake mix prepared according to package directions (homemade works too, if you're feeling adventurous) and baked in 2 9 inch round cake pans

For the Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream more as needed

For the chocolate peanut butter glaze

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

For the Peanut Butter Cheesecake:

Bake the cheesecake one day in advance so that it has plenty of time to chill in the fridge before layering with the chocolate cake.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Beat together the cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, and flour until light and smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the milk. Do not overmix as that will create cracks in the cheesecake.
Grease a 9-inch round springform pan very well. There is no crust on this cheesecake, so it is imperative that you grease the pan so that the cheesecake will release from it easily.
Pour batter into the greased pan.
Wrap the bottom edges of your springform pan in foil. This protects the cheesecake from the water bath if you don't have a perfect seal on your pan.
Place the cheesecake pan into a larger roasting dish and place it in the oven. Quickly but carefully pour hot water into the roasting dish to about 1 inch deep.
Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.
Reduce heat to 260 and bake for 50 minutes or until just the center is just slightly jiggly.
Crack open the oven door and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 1 hour. Transfer to a cooling rack on the counter and chill for 1 more hour before covering with foil and refrigerating overnight.

For the chocolate cake:

Prepare the cake mix according to the package or use a recipe for homemade cake.
Bake in 2 9-inch round, well greased cake pans. Cool completely.

For the peanut butter frosting:

Cream together the peanut butter and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the powdered sugar and cream and beat together with your mixer on low so as not to throw powdered sugar all over the place. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed and mix until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
The mixture will likely be fairly thick. Add in a bit more cream (or milk) as needed until it's spreadable. We want a fairly thick frosting so that it's mimicking a traditional buckeye, but it needs to be spreadable so that it doesn't tear the cake.

For the chocolate peanut butter glaze:

In a double boiler or a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. When melted remove from heat and whisk in the cream until it is a smooth, creamy consistency.

To assemble:

Place one layer of chocolate cake on your cake stand and top with 1/4 of the chocolate peanut butter glaze. Spread to the edges.
Very carefully remove the sides of your springform pan and place the entire cheesecake upside down on the chocolate cake layer. The bottom of the springform pan should now be on top of the cheesecake. Carefully slide a knife in between the cheesecake and pan bottom to loosen. If you greased your pan well this should be fairly simple and the pan bottom will easily lift off.
Pour another 1/4 of the chocolate glaze over the cheesecake and spread to the edges.
Top this with the second layer of chocolate cake.
Place the whole cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up.
Cover the top and sides of the cake with the peanut butter frosting. Smooth it out as best you can.
Microwave the chocolate glaze for about 5-10 seconds to soften it back up. Whisk well and then pour over the top center of the cake. Use an offset spatula to spread the glaze to the edges, letting it drip down in some areas.
Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.

Notes

This recipe is a bit intimidating to look at, but I highly recommend reading it through from start to finish before starting the baking process. It's not really a difficult recipe, but there are quite a few steps and helps to be familiar with what to do as you start baking! This is a special occasion treat for us as it does take a decent amount of time, but gosh, it always gets rave reviews and impresses literally everyone.

If the cheesecake cracks a bit as it cools, it's not a big deal. It'll be layered between cake and no one will know. To help prevent cracking, don't overmix the cheesecake and bake with a water bath + follow cooling instructions.

The trickiest part of the whole thing is flipping the cheesecake and removing it from the pan. Please grease your pan well and use a non-stick springform pan. A traditional cake pan will not release the cheesecake properly.

The frosting is thick and stiff and not the easiest to spread, but we love the texture of it like this. We were going for a peanut butter ball/buckeye vibe and that's what this gives. You can absolutely add more cream (or a splash of milk) to thin it out to a softer/easier to spread consistency. If it ends up too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it gets too sweet, add a pinch of salt. Frosting is hard to mess up and is usually fairly easy to save.

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