Peanut Butter and Jelly Poke Cake

Calling all peanut butter enthusiasts!

More specifically peanut butter and jelly enthusiasts – THIS is the cake for you. An easy one layer peanut butter cake soaked in jam or jelly, topped with creamy peanut butter frosting and finished with strawberry jam swirls.

It’s America’s favourite sandwich now in cake form, which, in my books, beats a sandwich any day. Soft, tender peanut butter cake (that is NOT dry) with a pb frosting you will want to dive head first into. Yes please!

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m on a mission to bring BACK the one layer cake. I love layer cakes but sometimes life doesn’t leave you with the time or you only need to feed 4 or 6 people and a one layer cake is MORE than enough.

So not only are one layer cakes practical AND beautiful, they also offer the perfect cake to frosting ratio. And this Peanut Butter and Jelly Poke Cake is all about that perfect marriage of peanut butter cake and peanut butter frosting.

The best part? Taking the cake out of the oven, poking holes all over the top and watching the jam seep down into every hole and crevice for that all important pb and jelly flavour.

Have you made a poke cake before? They are so versatile and fun to make.  And you can use all kinds of fillings to ‘fill’ the cake. I’ve shared a few with you already, one using salted caramel sauce and the other a peanut butter  ganache. I’ve seen other recipes filling the cake with condensed milk or even pudding mix.

This Peanut Butter and Jelly Poke Cake uses jam to fill the holes and also decorate the top, so you have that perfect blend of sweet and salty in every bite of every slice. JUST like the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The only rule is you have to eat your cake with a cold glass of milk – agreed?

I hope your 2017 is off to a winning start! I’m soaking up my last few days of freedom before its back to the daily grind. I’ve been using the extra time to brainstorm new ideas and get some recipe testing done and just generally make a huge mess in my kitchen. Something  I seem to be very good at.

I hope you enjoy this Peanut Butter and Jelly Poke Cake. If you’d like to try more poke cakes, check out my Chocolate Caramel Rolo Poke Cake or my Peanut Butter Chocolate Poke Cake with Chocolate Crumbs.

Let’s Bake

Peanut Butter and Jelly Poke Cake

Yield Serves 10 1x

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

Prep: 60 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 1 hour 30 minutes

Peanut Butter and Jelly Poke Cake soaked in jam, topped with creamy peanut butter frosting and finished with strawberry jam swirls.

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Ingredients

Peanut butter cake

• 115 grams (1 stick or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 135 grams (3/4 cup) brown sugar
• 125 grams (1/2 cup) smooth peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 140 grams (1 cup) plain flour or all purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) strawberry jam

Frosting

• 1/3 cup (75 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (120 grams) smooth peanut butter
• 2 and 1/2 cups (310 grams) icing sugar or powdered sugar
• 3–4 tablespoons milk
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) strawberry jam

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Instructions

1. Peanut butter cake
   Grease and line a round 8 inch baking tin with baking or parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and peanut butter. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add your vanilla and mix briefly.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat again until combined. Sift in flour and baking powder and start to gently fold using a wooden spoon or a plastic spatula. Add milk and fold until the ingredients are just combined – you don’t want to over mix the batter.
4. Spoon out your batter into your prepared cake pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
5. Next, gently remove your cake from the cake tin and transfer very carefully to a wire rack. Poke the top with holes all over, using a skewer or chop stick – anything pointy will do.
6. Warm your jam in the microwave for about 20 seconds and then pour over the top of the cake, spread it over with a butter knife, allowing it to soak into all the holes. Leave to cool completely.
7. Frosting
   In a large mixing bowl, add butter and peanut butter. Beat with an electric mixer until combined. Add the icing sugar, one cup at a time. Add a tablespoon or two of milk to help loosen up the mixture.
8. Continue to add a tablespoon of milk as needed. The icing should be nice and creamy.
9. Frost the top of the cake, then dollop the extra jam and gently swirl using a butter knife.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1 slice of cake Calories: 591

Nutrition information is a guide only.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: CakeCuisine: American

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Jessica Holmes

Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.