This luscious Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake takes keto baking to a whole new level! Tender chocolate cake with a swirl of peanut butter cheesecake, all topped off with sugar-free peanut butter cups. This post is sponsored by ChocZero.
Looking for a super decadent, ooey gooey keto dessert? Well you’ve come to the right place. Because when it comes to keto cakes, I don’t mess around.
Especially when we’re talking about chocolate and peanut butter. It’s one of my all-time favorite flavor combos, and I love finding new ways to enjoy it.
This time, I took my famous Keto Earthquake Cake and swirled in some peanut butter cheesecake. And after baking, I sprinkled the top with chopped keto peanut butter cups.
Did I just make your mouth water?
Fun with ChocZero!
I have so much fun playing with all the wonderful ChocZero goodies. My last order included their decadent hazelnut spread, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and a few bags of their dark chocolate peanut butter cups.
And the idea for this earthquake cake variation popped into my head upon seeing those delicious peanut butter cups. They were just begging to be used in some over-the-top keto dessert.
Do I need to tell you how good this is? It’s gooey, it’s rich, and the peanut butter cups become melty and delicious on top of the warm cake.
Ingredients you need
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- Almond flour: Blanched almond flour produces the best results for keto cakes.
- Sweetener: You need both granular and powdered sweetener for this recipe. I recommend Swerve Sweetener.
- Cocoa powder: Use dutch process cocoa powder for a richer chocolate flavor.
- Cream cheese: Make sure it’s properly softened so you don’t get any clumps in your filling.
- Peanut butter: I like natural creamy peanut butter for this recipe and my new favorite is the no-stir Santa Cruz brand.
- Almond milk: The filling needs to be thinned out a little with liquid. If you don’t want to use almond milk, try using half cream and half water.
- Chocolate chips: I used the dark chocolate chips from ChocZero, but you could also use their delicious peanut butter chips!
- Salted peanuts: Chopped peanuts give the cake a delightful crunch. But you could always do some more chocolate chips.
- Sugar-free peanut butter cups: Add these after the cake is out of the oven, so they don’t melt away completely.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, butter, vanilla, salt
Step by Step Directions
1. Make the cake batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients, and then add the butter, eggs, water, and vanilla. Spread the batter in a 9×13 inch ceramic baking pan.
2. Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and butter together, then beat in the sweetener. Add the vanilla and thin the filling out a little with some almond milk.
3. Swirl them together: Dollop the cheesecake mixture over the cake batter and swirl with a knife.
4. Sprinkle the top: Add the chocolate chips and chopped nuts to the top of the cake.
5. Bake: Bake the cake at 325ºF until the sides are set. The center should still jiggle ever so slightly when the pan is shaken.
6. Add the peanut butter cups: Sprinkle the top with chopped peanut butter cups and let cool before slicing into pieces.
Expert Tips
Baking pans: I recommend glass or ceramic for this particular recipe, as it allows the cheesecake filling to cook through properly. But you can use a metal pan as well. Just watch it carefully as the cake may bake faster.
Don’t overbake: A cake like this can become dry if you bake it too long. Because of the cheesecake filling, the center may still seem soft. Look for the sides to be completely set, and then give the pan a shake. If the center still looks liquid, it needs more time. But if it jiggles just a little bit, it’s done.
Nut-free variation: If you want to make this cake without tree nuts, use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour. You can use it in exactly the same quantity.
More chocolate peanut butter recipes
Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup powdered Swerve
- 1/3 cup almond milk, or half water/half cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, sugar-free, or peanut butter chips
- 1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
- 6 sugar-free peanut butter cups, chopped
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease a 9×13 glass or ceramic baking pan. (If using metal, the cake may bake through faster so watch it carefully).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, melted butter, water, and vanilla extract until well combined. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
Filling
- In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and butter together until smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener until well combined, then beat in the almond milk and vanilla extract.
- Dollop this mixture over the cake mixture by the spoonful, then use a knife to swirl into the cake mixture.
Topping
- Sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips and chopped peanuts. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake edges are set. The center will still be soft and slightly jiggly.
- Sprinkle with the chopped peanut butter cups while the cake is still warm. Let cool before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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This is such a gooey wonderful recipe. I made it for a group of friends. There were other sugar desserts and they couldn’t tell which was keto. Win!
Carolyn, I am making this tonight for a luncheon tomorrow. Do I HAVE to refrigerate it or do you think it will be okay to leave out so it stays gooey?!
It will be fine for a day!
Thanks so much! It was a HIT! People were asking how it could be keto and wanted the recipe.
These are so GOOD! I served them today for non-keto folks who loved them! Will be making again. thanks so much for the recipe!
In your original earthquake cake you used whey protein powder. I noticed it was not included in the peanut butter earthquake cake recipe. Why is that?
I add protein powder to help make cakes rise and be lighter. But some people found the original earthquake cake to be dry. When something rises more, it can dry out more easily if overcooked. So I left it out of this one… I have to go back and re-vamp the original someday and try it with that! It’s nota cake that needs to rise, it’s meant to be dense and moist so I figure it will be actually better without it.
I am so glad!
I made this for a party last Friday and it was a huge hit, thanks for the recipe! I especially liked the inside pieces, nice and gooey when warmed up. I was looking at the original and pumpkin earthquake recipes and noticed they have protein powder, I was wondering why this one doesn’t. I would think it would help it rise more and give the almond flour a better texture, thanks for the info. I am looking forward to trying the other two. Thanks much!
Any other sweeteners ok?
Stevia or Truvia I have…
They might work but you need a powdered sweetener.
Absolutely delicious! Will be a favorite of mine!❤️❤️❤️
I made this yesterday and it is delicious! I used Allulose b/c I hate the cooling effect of Erithrytol. I only use Erithrytol for crisp cookies. But these did not eed to be crispy and crunchy. And…. they came out chewy gooey. But I love them. Better chewy gooey than that horrid cooling effect.
My husband made this for me so we can have something for our 16 year anniversary getaway that won’t kick me out of ketosis!! Can’t wait to have some!! It smells divine!
How can I post a picture?! It’s gorgeous!
That’s so great! You can’t post pictures here but you can share on social media and tag me, if you like!
This is the best Keto cake ever! No one will know it’s Keto, surprise!
Thanks!
I made the peanut butter earthquake cake yesterday. Took it to a small (6 of us) gathering. There was not a bite left to take home. Mine was not as pretty as yours. But it tasted awesome!
Fantastic!
So decadent & yummy!!!
I’ve made all 3 variations of your Earthquake Cake and this one by far is my favorite! It came out very moist and oh so chocolatey. Pure perfection!
I love your Earthquake Cake, but this one? It’s over the top and a family-requested favorite at my house. I didn’t have the peanut butter cups for the top, but they were not missed.
Thanks so much for another winner!
Great to hear!
My new favourite cake, and I have been low carb baking for over a dozen years. This cake is so good, but as I don’t care for peanut butter, I subbed almond butter for the cream cheese mixture, worked wonderfully. Also, put chocolate chunks on top, along with the peanuts, which I do like. Next time, I am going to double the peanuts for more crunch. Well done Carolyn, this is super!
Any ideas what I can put on top since I don’t have the peanut butter cups?
Just more chips.
OMG! This cake was SO good! Definitely the most decadent thing I’ve had since starting low-carb. Thank you Carolyn!
This will be delicious!
Your link for the peanut butter is not for the no-stir variety that you (and I ????) prefer.