Peanut Butter and Jam Cake
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 12, 2013
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours cooling
Yield
Serves 10 to 12 (Makes 1 cake)
Ingredients
Cake
1 cup whole milk, room temperature6 large egg whites, room temperature1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour 1¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softenedFrosting
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened1 cup creamy peanut butter 3 tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups (8 ounces/227 grams) confectioners' sugar 1 ¼ cups seedless raspberry jam 1 cup dry-roasted peanuts, choppedInstructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch square baking pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Whisk milk, egg whites, and vanilla together in bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add all but ½ cup milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining ½ cup milk mixture, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds (batter may look curdled). Give batter final stir by hand.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Run thin knife around edges of pans and remove cakes from pan, discarding parchment. Let cakes cool completely on lightly greased rack, about 2 hours.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, peanut butter, cream, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low, slowly add sugar, and beat until incorporated and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Line edges of cake platter with 4 strips of parchment paper to keep platter clean. Using long serrated knife, cut each layer into 2 even layers. Spread each bottom layer with ½ cup jam and replace top. Place 1 filled cake on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting evenly over top, right to edge of cake, and place second filled cake on top. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Press peanuts onto sides of cake.
- Microwave remaining ¼ cup jam in bowl until melted and smooth, about 20 seconds. Transfer to pastry bag or small zipper-lock bag with 1 corner cut off. Pipe jam in straight lines over cake and lightly drag knife through lines to create marbled appearance. Carefully remove parchment strips before serving.
for the cake
for the frosting
Time
1½ hours, plus 2 hours coolingYield
Serves 10 to 12 (Makes 1 cake)Ingredients
Cake
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour
1¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
Frosting
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ounces/227 grams) confectioners' sugar
1 ¼ cups seedless raspberry jam
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
Ingredients
Cake
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour
1¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
Frosting
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ounces/227 grams) confectioners' sugar
1 ¼ cups seedless raspberry jam
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
Ingredients
Cake
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups (9 ounces/255 grams) cake flour
1¾ cups (12¼ ounces/347 grams) sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
Frosting
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (8 ounces/227 grams) confectioners' sugar
1 ¼ cups seedless raspberry jam
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
Why This Recipe Works
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a lunchbox staple for kids all across America, but there's no denying that adults love them equally. Maybe it's nostalgia, or maybe it's the irresistible combination of salty and sweet that's so appealing. No matter the reason, we wanted to turn this classic favorite into a playful dessert for all by trading the white bread for fluffy cake and the peanut butter for rich, creamy frosting. We baked our white cake layers in square cake pans rather than round ones for a sandwich-inspired look and then cut each layer in half to make four layers. We filled sets of two layers each with a bright raspberry jam. In between the two jam “sandwiches” we spread a thick layer of supercreamy peanut butter frosting that really put the PB in PB and J. To finish, we coated the whole cake in more peanut butter frosting (after all, peanut butter is the best part, right?) and decorated the top with more jam. Covering the sides with chopped peanuts provided a nice crunch. This cake is so good, you'll want to skip lunch.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch square baking pans, line with parchment paper, grease parchment, and flour pans. Whisk milk, egg whites, and vanilla together in bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, until only pea-size pieces remain, about 1 minute. Add all but ½ cup milk mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low, add remaining ½ cup milk mixture, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds (batter may look curdled). Give batter final stir by hand.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Let cakes cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Run thin knife around edges of pans and remove cakes from pan, discarding parchment. Let cakes cool completely on lightly greased rack, about 2 hours.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, peanut butter, cream, and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low, slowly add sugar, and beat until incorporated and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and whip until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Line edges of cake platter with 4 strips of parchment paper to keep platter clean. Using long serrated knife, cut each layer into 2 even layers. Spread each bottom layer with ½ cup jam and replace top. Place 1 filled cake on platter. Spread 1 cup frosting evenly over top, right to edge of cake, and place second filled cake on top. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Press peanuts onto sides of cake.
- Microwave remaining ¼ cup jam in bowl until melted and smooth, about 20 seconds. Transfer to pastry bag or small zipper-lock bag with 1 corner cut off. Pipe jam in straight lines over cake and lightly drag knife through lines to create marbled appearance. Carefully remove parchment strips before serving.
for the cake
for the frosting
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