Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Poundcakes

These peanut butter chocolate chip pound cakes get their dense, tender crumb from a combination of creamy peanut butter and buttermilk working together in the batter. The buttermilk reacts with baking soda to give just enough lift without losing that signature pound cake heft.

You’ll cream the butter and peanut butter with brown sugar until pale and fluffy, which builds the structure. Adding eggs one at a time keeps the emulsion stable so the batter stays smooth. Mix the dry ingredients in on low speed just until combined. Overmixing develops gluten and turns the crumb tough.

The mini chocolate chips get folded in last and distribute evenly through these small loaves. Because the batter is thick, the chips stay suspended instead of sinking to the bottom.

Pro Tips

• Use creamy peanut butter, not natural or chunky. Natural peanut butter has too much oil separation and throws off the texture.
• Let butter and peanut butter come to room temperature before creaming. Cold fats won’t incorporate air properly.
• Test with a toothpick at 35 minutes. The loaves should spring back when lightly pressed in the center.
• Cool in the pans for exactly 5 minutes before turning out. Too long and they steam and get gummy on the bottom.

Variations

• Use dark chocolate chips and add a pinch of espresso powder to deepen the chocolate flavor.
• Fold in chopped roasted peanuts for extra crunch.
• Drizzle cooled loaves with melted chocolate for a bakery-style finish.