Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake
Print Pin VideoThis ultra-moist peanut butter and jelly cake is a fun, nostalgic twist on a classic combo. It features soft, tender peanut butter cake layers with creamy peanut butter frosting and a sweet, yet perfectly tart jelly filling. So good!
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Cake
- 1⅔ cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- 3 tbsps (24 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsps baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ⅓ cup (80 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ⅓ cup (75 g) unflavored vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- ½ cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (150 g) light soft brown sugar
- ⅔ cups (150 g) smooth unsweetened peanut butter - use a creamy, processed one (see note 5 if using a sweetened version like Skippy)
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1½ tsps vanilla extract/essence
- 1 cup (225 g) buttermilk - room temperature
Jelly Filling
- 1 cup (110 g) frozen raspberries
- ¾ tbsp (6 g) cornstarch
- 1 tbsp (15 g) lemon juice - must be fresh
- 3 tbsps (38 g) white granulated sugar
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners' sugar
- 2 tsps vanilla extract/essence
- ½ cup (120 g) heavy cream - room temperature
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (250 g) smooth unsweetened peanut butter - use a creamy version
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) conventional (see note 1 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease and/or line two 8-inch cake tins. I use my homemade cake release to grease my tins.
- In a bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add in butter, vegetable oil, white granulated sugar, soft brown sugar and peanut butter. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer is fine - see note 2), cream together on a medium speed for 3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add eggs one at a time on low speed, mixing well between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
- Add in vanilla and buttermilk, and mix on a medium speed until well combined. You should have a smooth, creamy batter. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Add in the pre-sifted dry ingredients from earlier and using a spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3).
- Distribute the batter evenly between the two 8-inch cake tins, and drop the cake tins lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Once baked, allow the cakes to cool in the cake tins for about 15-20 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before assembling.
Jelly Filling
- Place a saucepan over a low-medium heat. Add all the ingredients to the saucepan and stir until mixed well.
- Let the mixture slowly heat up and stir now and then to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once the raspberries have disintegrated and you have a liquid mixture, continue to cook for a few minutes to allow it to thicken up.
- Once done, remove from the heat and place it in a heatproof bowl or container. Allow it to come to room temperature before using.
Peanut Butter Frosting
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer if using one), add in butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, cream, peanut butter and salt.
- Mix on the lowest speed until the ingredients are combined, and then turn up the speed to medium-high and mix for a full 10 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through. If using a stand mixer then use the paddle attachment.
- The frosting should be silky smooth and it's now ready to use! See note 4 if your frosting isn't light and smooth, or too soft.
Assembly (see video for visual demonstration)
- Begin by trimming the tops of the cake layers with a serrated knife so that they're nice and flat.
- Place your first cake layer onto your cake stand, and spread out a generous amount of the frosting on top.
- Place some of the frosting into a piping bag with a large 1M piping tip, and pipe a border/dam around the edges of the cake layer to hold in the jelly filling. Fill the middle with half of the jelly filling.
- Place the next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. If you have a cake scraper, you can use it to smooth out the sides.
- For the top, pipe a decorative border around the top edges (I like to use a 1M piping tip - see video for demonstration) and then fill the middle with the remaining jelly filling. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Note 1. In this recipe, I use a conventional oven with no fan function. The fan-forced function cooks cakes/cupcakes faster, so if using a fan function (also known as convection mode) then you will need to reduce the temperature to 160°C (320°F).
Note 2. If using a stand mixer, then use the paddle attachment for the initial mixing, but continue to do the last step by hand as stated in the recipe.
Note 3. Only fold until you can't see any more streaks of flour and the batter is uniform. By gently folding in the ingredients, it prevents too much gluten from forming, thus producing a softer cake.
Note 4. If you find that your frosting is a bit firm and has a lot of air bubbles, then it means that either the butter or cream was too cold. To fix this, gently heat the buttercream in the microwave for 5-second bursts (don't heat it for too long otherwise the buttercream will melt), mixing in between each burst until the frosting is softer in consistency and you can easily mix it, and then re-whip it for a few minutes. If your frosting is too soft, simply pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes, and then re-whip it. You can also add more powdered sugar if you don't mind a sweeter frosting.
Note 5. For this recipe, you want to use a processed creamy peanut butter that doesn't require mixing (i.e. doesn't have a lot of oil sitting at the top). You also preferably want to use unsweetened peanut butter. If you use a sweetened peanut butter (like Skippy or Jif), your cake will be a bit sweeter, however this cake isn't overly sweet, so it may not be an issue for most people. However, if you do prefer a less sweet cake and only have a sweetened peanut butter on hand, then you can reduce the soft brown sugar in the cake batter by about 2 tbsp.
Nutrition
Calories: 922kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 61g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 529mg | Potassium: 337mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 1176IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
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