My vegan kandy kake is made with a layer of fluffy vanilla cake, covered in creamy peanut butter, and topped with a layer of chocolate. It tastes like like a Tastykake Kandy Kake, but is totally vegan!
I had a few local readers email me, asking if I would share some Philadelphia recipes before this year's SuperBowl, in celebration of the fact that the Eagles would be in the game. That actually seemed like a big challenge, because there wasn't a lot of time to create a recipe.
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Also, to be honest, even though I'm from the Philadelphia area, I stopped eating meat when I was really young, so I haven't tried a lot of famous Philadelphia dishes, with the exception of maybe cheesesteaks and shoofly pie (I already have recipe for vegan cheesesteaks and vegan shoofly pie, by the way!). But you know what Philly food I did love when I was a kid? TastyKakes! And fortunately, I already had a vegan TastyKake recipe developed and ready to share.
Tastykakes are snack cakes sold in the Philadelphia area, and maybe some surrounding areas now as well? I'm not sure! My family actually lived on the west coat for a few years when I was growing up, and we missed TastyKakes so much that we used to get extended family members to ship them to us! Peanut butter Kandy Kakes were our favorite.
Peanut butter Kandy Kakes are basically little vanilla cakes covered in a layer of peanut butter, then a layer of hard chocolate. At some point folks in the area started making homemade Kandy Kakes, in sheet cake form. It's been about thirty years since I had a legit Kandy Kake, so I decided it was time to veganize one of those Kandy Kake sheet cakes. It was so good!
While not exactly typical as game day snack, everyone loves peanut butter and chocolate. If you're a fan of my vegan peanut butter bars or vegan peanut butter pie, definitely give this a try! The recipe also makes a nice big cake, using a ten by fifteen inch pan, just like my vegan Texas sheet cake, so it's great for feeding a crowd!
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Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Non-dairy milk. You can use soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or pretty much any non-dairy milk suitable for drinking. Need help choosing one? Read my guide to non-dairy milks!
- Vegetable oil. You can use any neutral oil you normally like to bake with.
- Vanilla extract.
- Flour. I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose wheat flour. I can't guarantee results with any other variety.
- Sugar. Using organic sugar will ensure the recipe stays vegan. Conventional sugar may have been processed using animal bone char.
- Baking powder.
- Salt.
- Peanut butter. I'm normally a fan of runny, natural peanut butters...but not for this recipe. It's just too runny to keep the chocolate layer locked on top of the cake. Thick, conventional peanut butter works best here.
- Vegan chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life brand chips, which are vegan and available at lots of grocery stores.
- Vegan butter. Most grocery stores carry this. Look for it in the refrigerated section, right near the regular butter.
Equipment You'll Need
In addition to the usual equipment needed for cake making (bowls, mixer, etc.), make sure you have a 10 by 15 inch sheet pan for this recipe, also known as a jelly roll pan.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350° and grease the bottom only of your pan.
Step 2: Stir your wet ingredients together in a small container: non-dairy milk, oil, and vanilla.
Step 3: Whisk your dry ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Step 4: Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients, then beat everything together with an electric mixer.
Step 5: Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan, then pop it into the oven to bake.
Step 6: Take the cake out of the oven and, while still in the pan, let it cool completely on a cooling rack.
Step 7: Warm up the peanut butter so that you can easily spread it on the cake. Do this by microwaving it in short increments, stirring in between.
Step 8: Drop the peanut butter by dollops all over your cooled cake, then smooth it out into an even layer.
Step 9: Stick the entire cake into the fridge to chill for at least an hour, in order to firm up the peanut butter.
Step 10: Place the chocolate chips and vegan butter into a bowl, them microwave them in short increments, stirring in between, until they've fully melted.
Step 11: Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the peanut butter layer. Work as quickly as you can, as the chocolate can firm up fast!
Step 12: Let the cake sit until the chocolate completely sets.
Step 13: Warm up a knife (best done under hot, running water), then carefully cut the cake into squares.
Tip: Cutting the cake is the tricky part. Heat up your knife before making each cut, cut slowly, and be patient!
Step 14: Your vegan Kandy Kake is ready to enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan Kandy Kake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two or three days, or in the fridge for about five days.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't tested a gluten-free version of this recipe. If you'd like to give it a try, I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend would be your best bet.
This actually helps the cake to rise evenly, as the edges will cling to the sides of the pan rather than sinking.
You can, but please use a double boiler to prevent the peanut butter from scorching or the chocolate from seizing.
More Vegan Cakes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Peanut Butter Kandy Kake
Equipment
- 1 10 x 15 inch half sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups organic granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (16 ounce/454 gram) jar creamy peanut butter (Note 1)
- 12 ounces vegan chocolate chips (Note 2)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease the bottom only of a 10 x 15 inch half sheet pan.
- Stir the milk, oil, and vanilla together in a small container, such as a liquid measuring cup.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture, then use an electric mixer at high speed to beat the ingredients together, just until they're fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, the place the pan into the oven and bake the cake for 22 to 24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place the cake pan on a cooling rack and let the cake cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled, place the peanut butter into a medium microwave-safe bowl. Warm the peanut butter up by microwaving it in fifteen second increments and stirring in between. Stop once the peanut butter has softened up but isn't yet runny, after about three zaps.
- Drop the peanut butter over the cake in dollops, then spread it out as evenly as you can.
- Place the cake into the fridge to chill for at least one hour, to set the peanut butter.
- Place the chocolate chips into a medium microwave-safe bowl. Cut the butter into three or four small pieces, then add them to the bowl with the chips. Microwave the butter and chips in 20 second increments, stirring well in between, until the chocolate has completely melted, after about three to four zaps.
- Spread the chocolate over the peanut butter layer on the cake. Work quickly, as the cold peanut butter can cause the chocolate to rapidly solidify.
- Let the cake sit until the chocolate has hardened, which should only take a few minutes if your peanut butter was fully chilled.
- Use a hot knife to carefully cut the cake into squares.
- Serve.
Notes
- I recommend using conventional peanut butter, rather than natural/runny peanut butter for this recipe, which can make the cake very sloppy.
- This will be about two cups of chips. You may need to buy more than one bag. (Enjoy Life, the brand I use, is sold in nine ounce bags.)
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I made this and it is great! I can't keep out of it! When this is gone, I will make another one! I shared it and everyone loved it!
TastyKake! That's a deep memory from childhood. We always bought the Krimpets. I'd love to re-create those... could this cake layer be repurposed with a different frosting do you think? Or is the texture pretty different?
You could definitely put a different type of frosting on the cake! It's a pretty standard vanilla half sheet. I was thinking of doing butterscotch krimpets at some point down the road - they were another old favorite!
Can you say how to make peanut butter at home easily
I don't recommend making your own peanut butter for this one. It will come out too runny and the cake will be a mess! You're better off just grabbing a jar at the store, and make sure to use conventional peanut butter, and not the natural kind that requires stirring.
I can't wait to make this! (I'm ordering a 10x15). I'm from Easton, PA; a hop, skip, and jump from Philly and grew up with kandy kakes...my dad was addicted to them :) Thank you for the recipe; I make many of you sweets and savories.
I hope you love them as much as I do!!