Introduction
If you love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chocolate cake, and gooey cream cheese desserts, get ready for a treat that defies all baking rules — the Reese’s Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake.
This cake is called an earthquake for a reason: it bubbles, cracks, and shifts while baking, creating irresistible swirls of peanut butter, chocolate, and molten cream cheese that look beautifully imperfect. Every bite is an indulgent combination of textures — moist chocolate cake, creamy peanut butter filling, pockets of molten chocolate, and crunchy Reese’s candies.
It’s the ultimate comfort dessert, the kind that disappears at family gatherings, potlucks, or birthday parties before you even get a second slice. Best of all? It’s incredibly easy to make — no mixer, no complex layering, and it uses mostly pantry staples.
Why You’ll Love This Cake
A peanut butter and chocolate lover’s fantasy
Beautifully messy — the cracked, swirled look is part of its charm
Super moist and gooey — thanks to cream cheese and butter filling
Simple ingredients — easy to find, easy to assemble
Perfect for sharing — makes a large, rich cake that serves a crowd
What Is an Earthquake Cake?
An earthquake cake is a type of dessert that “cracks” and “erupts” while baking. As it cooks, the cream cheese and butter mixture sinks into the chocolate cake batter, creating creamy rivers of sweetness and uneven surfaces — resembling the aftermath of an earthquake. The result is a gooey, self-saucing cake that doesn’t need frosting because it’s already full of rich, melty goodness inside.
This Reese’s version takes the traditional Earthquake Cake and transforms it into a peanut butter paradise. It features Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Reese’s Pieces, and peanut butter chips layered with chocolate cake and a luscious cream cheese mixture that oozes through the center.
Preparation Time
Stage Time
Preparation 20 minutes
Baking 45–50 minutes
Cooling 30 minutes
Total Time ~1 hour 40 minutes
Yield 12–16 servings
Ingredients
For the Cake Base
1 box devil’s food chocolate cake mix (about 15.25 oz / 430 g)
1 cup whole milk (or water, per cake mix instructions)
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
(Alternatively, you can use your favorite homemade chocolate cake batter — just ensure it’s pourable.)
For the Cream Cheese Mixture
1 package (8 oz / 225 g) cream cheese, softened
½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted
3 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ cup creamy peanut butter
For the Peanut Butter-Chocolate Add-Ins
1 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, roughly chopped
¾ cup Reese’s Pieces candies
½ cup peanut butter chips
½ cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
Optional: a pinch of sea salt flakes for topping
Step-by-Step Instructions
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