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    Home » Recipes » Top Amish Recipes

    Amish Sour Milk Cake Recipe

    Published: Apr 30, 2021 · Updated: Apr 30, 2021 by Kevin Williams | 21 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    This Amish Sour Milk Cake recipe makes a moist, delicious peanut butter-chocolate cake

    I put this in the category of a "comfort cake."  Chocolatey peanut butter bliss accurately describes this beauty of a recipe which comes to us from the Amish settlement in Arthur, Illinois.

    Amish Sour Milk Cake
    Amish Sour Milk Cake, a moist, delicious peanut butter-chocolate cake

    The key to this Amish sour milk cake recipe is a wonderful flavor of sour milk.   Now, the sour milk I am talking about is the kind where an Amish farmer gets some milk from their cows in the morning and by evening it is starting to sour.  This stuff is rich in flavor and thickens up in a wonderful baking agent. I don't think you'd get the same effect from supermarket "sour milk."   I think that is called "spoiled milk."

    The Amish kind of sour milk is a great replacement for buttermilk, yogurt, etc and adds a wonderful tart taste to baked goods.  To make your own sour milk, do it the safe way and just take 1 cup of supermarket milk and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar.  Let it sit for 5 minutes or so to let the vinegar work its magic and then add.  You'll get the same basic effect as the Amish sour milk. Here is a link about how to make homemade sour milk.

    Jump to:
    • 🍰 Cake Ingredients
    • 🧁 Icing Ingredients
    • 📋 Baking Instructions
    • 🥛 Amish Recipes using Sour Milk
    • 📖 Full Recipe

    🍰 Cake Ingredients

    • 1 /4 cup Soft Margarine
    • 1 /4 cup Peanut Butter
    • 1 1 /2 cup Brown Sugar
    • 2 Eggs
    • 1 / 2 cup Warm Water
    • 1 cup Sour Milk thick
    • 2 cups Flour
    • 1 tsp Salt
    • 1 tsp Baking Soda

    🧁 Icing Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp Peanut Butter
    • 1 cup Chocolate Chips
    • 2 tbsp Butter
    • 1 cup Powdered Sugar

    📋 Baking Instructions

    Cake

    1. Mix together in a large mixing bowl for several minutes.
    2. Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch layer pans or a 9 x 13 pan.
    3. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

    Frosting

    1. Melt butter, peanut butter, and chips over low heat.
    2. Blend in other ingredients until thick and creamy.
    3. Spread on a cool cake.

    🥛 Amish Recipes using Sour Milk

    Sour milk is a traditional ingredient in Amish Cooking. Throughout the years we've curated some amazingly sweet treats using sour milk! Go figure.

    Old-Fashioned Sour Milk Pie

    Milk pie is a classic confection among the Amish, a scratch-made sweet that utilizes the basics of baking: sugar, eggs, molasses, and, of course, milk. 

    Amish Apple Grunt Cake Recipe

    It is not uncommon for Amish homesteads to have a few apple trees, just enough to provide enough fruit for homemade applesauces, canned pie filling, and some Apple Grunt!

    Never Fail Sour Milk Cupcakes Recipe

    The name says it all, this wonderful sour milk cupcake recipe will not fail you! 

    Sour Milk Cookies


    📖 Full Recipe

    Amish Sour Milk Cake

    Amish Sour Milk Cake

    Chocolatey peanut butter bliss accurately describes this beauty of a recipe which comes to us from the Amish settlement in Arthur, Illinois.
    4.5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 40 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Amish

    Ingredients
      

    Cake

    • 1 /4 cup Soft Margarine
    • 1 /4 cup Peanut Butter
    • 1 1 /2 cup Brown Sugar
    • 2 Eggs
    • 1 / 2 cup Warm Water
    • 1 cup Sour Milk thick
    • 2 cups Flour
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda

    Frosting

    • 2 tablespoon Peanut Butter
    • 1 cup Chocolate Chips
    • 2 tablespoon Butter
    • 1 cup Powdered Sugar

    Instructions
     

    Cake

    • Mix together in a large mixing bowl for several minutes.
    • Pour into two greased and floured 9 inch layer pans or a 9 x 13 pan.
    • Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

    Frosting

    • Melt butter, peanut butter, and chips over low heat.
    • Blend in other ingredients until thick and creamy.
    • Spread on a cool cake.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    « Mrs. Graber's Ultimate Hamburger and Rice Comfort Casserole
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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Steve

      March 02, 2016 at 1:13 pm

      I notice that a lot of the Amish recipes call for margarine. Why not butter?

      Reply
      • Kevin

        March 02, 2016 at 1:15 pm

        Steve, that is a really good question....and, if you don't mind, I am going to "kick the can" on this one and answer it in a whole separate post sometime in the next day or two, so stay tuned!

        Reply
        • Donna

          April 30, 2021 at 9:50 pm

          In a pinch, can you use buttermilk instead?

        • Kevin Williams

          April 30, 2021 at 10:51 pm

          Yes, you could use buttermilk in this recipe and it would still turn out great!

    2. jimmie souza

      August 11, 2016 at 5:59 pm

      5 stars
      I made this cake today because I had some milk that had gone sour. When I put it in the oven I went about cleaning up and found the eggs still laying there. It still turned out so moist and delish. I did not even frost. Thanks for the great and easy recipe.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        August 17, 2016 at 6:22 pm

        Thanks, Jimmie, for sharing, that is a good cake!

        Reply
    3. Eileen

      June 11, 2020 at 12:28 pm

      3 stars
      The peanut butter cake recipe has frosting that doesn't turn out the way stated......way too thick. Maybe something was missing? I had to add milk to it.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        June 11, 2020 at 2:19 pm

        Thanks for telling me, Eileen, I have not made that in awhile so I will have to dig deeper to see if the instructions are wrong and correct it, did it turn out OK once you added the milk?

        Reply
    4. Kris

      October 22, 2020 at 12:06 am

      My frosting turned out super thick also and had to "fudge" (no pun intended) around with it. My husband loved it though and I LOVED the cake!! Will definitely be making more sour milk recipes!

      Reply
      • Kevin

        October 22, 2020 at 2:48 pm

        i'd off my apologies for the too- thick frosting, but it sounds like it turned out tasty!

        Reply
        • Amanda

          April 30, 2021 at 9:54 pm

          What is sour milk,and can u make it,or can u buy it?

        • Kevin Williams

          April 30, 2021 at 10:52 pm

          Yes, just take one empty cup and add tablespoon of vinegar to it, then fill the rest with milk. Let it sit for five minutes and then use in the recipe, the vinegar will "sour" the milk.

        • Barbara

          April 30, 2021 at 10:12 pm

          Can I substitute butter milk for the sour milk ?? I have powdered butter milk or make my own. I also have new half & half too.
          This cake sounds good. Want to try it soon. Thanks!!!

        • Kevin Williams

          April 30, 2021 at 10:53 pm

          Yep, buttermilk will work fine!

    5. Joy

      January 17, 2021 at 3:54 pm

      I've been holding on to my REALLY sour half & half. Will it work the same as sour milk? Is the sour milk supposed to be chunky?

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        January 17, 2021 at 4:10 pm

        Sour milk can be chunky, but doesn't have to be to add great flavor, depends on how sour it is! But, yes, use the half and half, the fat content is a little higher, but should make a great cake!

        Reply
    6. Rachel

      April 10, 2021 at 11:28 pm

      5 stars
      I had some milk go sour and happened to find this recipe and it was AMAZING. A subtle peanut butter flavor and very moist and fluffy cake. I used butter instead of margarine. Like other comments have said, the frosting was rather thick so I added a bit of milk to thin it out so I could spread it easily. The frosting hardened on the cake when I put the leftovers in the fridge which we really enjoyed as well. I want to try the cake without peanut butter to see how it turns out but this will definitely be a go-to cake recipe for my family.

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        April 12, 2021 at 8:20 am

        Glad you liked it, Rachel, it is one of my favorite cakes and a great use for milk that sours!

        Reply
    7. JMHome

      March 07, 2022 at 2:15 pm

      5 stars
      Found this recipe while looking for uses of soured milk (was getting thicker by the minute:). Excellent! Used butter. Used part almond butter mixed with the rest of my peanut butter for both cake and frosting. Added cream to frosting and then a bit of water. Whisked the heck out of it. Quite moist and yummy. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        March 08, 2022 at 8:14 am

        Yum, almond-peanut butter mix, great idea!

        Reply
    8. Dawn Gebben

      April 04, 2022 at 6:22 pm

      I also found the frosting way too thick to use. I added 1/4 tsp vanilla, a pinch of salt and enough milk to make it usable.

      Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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