So one disgusting fun fact about us is that we go through at least one of those big two-pound tubs of peanut butter every week. The majority goes into Matt’s remarkably caloric post-workout smoothies that help keep his huge appetite in check, but it also gets plopped in our oatmeal or stuffed between slices of sprouted grain bread.

We’re just big fans of peanut butter and if we ever have a child with a peanut allergy… good luck see ya, kid. I’m kidding oh my God!! We’d just be really sad and resent the child for the rest of its life because peanut butter = bff.

Which is why we lost our entire minds when we saw that the new Weeknight Baking book (from Michelle over at Hummingbird High) has a recipe for a PEANUT BUTTER BROWN SUGAR CAKE. We’re in love with this book and so proud of Michelle for making it a thing. We’ve followed her blog Hummingbird High (& Instagram) since we first started this little blog baby five years ago, and she’s consistently serving up incredible iterations of the holy trinity, flour-sugar-butter.

Weeknight Baking offers recipes that can be made with relative ease on a tight schedule. Some of the recipes (like this cake) can be easily broken down into short steps that you can do over the course of a few days, while others are designed to be done super quickly. I love this concept because baking is so intimidating to a lot of folks because of how time consuming and complex it can seem, and this book kinda removes those barriers.

And it’s written just like Michelle’s blog—honest, real, and relaxed, while still being educational. I can’t recommend it highly enough for bakers of all skill levels, but imagine it would be especially useful for those in the beginning stages of their baking journey (and would also make a great gift!).

OK so the cake. It’s phenomenal. So peanut buttery and delicious and incredible and wow. It’s fantastic. Michelle says it’s #moist enough to eat without icing, and I agree, but we tried our hand at her American Buttercream recipe and tweaked it by adding a bit of tahini for a sesame buttercream situation that is quite frankly amazing. Do you know those little sesame candies in the plastic wrapper? The frosting tastes like that…nutty and kinda caramelly. Bliss.

Recipe for allllll that is below! The instructions are for making this as a layer cake, though she also outlines how to make this as a sheet cake or cupcakes in her book, Weeknight Baking.

Peanut Butter Brown Sugar Layer Cake from Weeknight Baking (with Tahini Buttercream)

for the cake

2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) cake flour
2 cups tightly packed (15 ounces) dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup (9.5 ounces) unsweetened creamy natural peanut butter
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water
1/2 cup (4 ounces) canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

for the frosting

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups (16 ounces) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup tahini

for the cake

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two 8” round cake pans by generously spraying with cooking spray and lining with parchment paper (cut to fit the pans).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the peanut butter, buttermilk, water, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk on low until the mixture is smooth and caramel in color, about 1 minute. Gradually add the dry ingredients, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Michelle reminds us to scrape the bowl extra well here, because the peanut butter sticks! Always scrape your bowl! Whisk on low until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Michelle outlines that this recipe makes 54 ounces of batter, so to get even cakes you want to pour 27 ounces of batter into each pan (kitchen scales are so useful!). Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. When done, the top of the cake should bounce back when gently pressed and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely in the pans on a wire rack before frosting.

for the frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-low until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the milk, vanilla, and salt all at once and beat on low just to incorporate the liquid. Scrape down the bowl once more, then beat on medium-high until the frosting is creamy and smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. With the mixer on low, slowly drizzle in your tahini and mix until fully incorporated. Use to fill and frost your layer cake! You can get some tips on doing a crumb coat and making smooth frosting right here, or you can go ahead and make it swirly and rustic like we did.