Bake It in a Cake

One of my favorite sandwiches is a peanut butter, jelly, and marshmallow creme sandwich on white bread. This cupcake is a variation on that, with a subtly flavored peanut butter cupcake filled with strawberry jam and topped with marshmallow buttercream that is so marshmallowy, it uses a whole jar of marshmallow cream. Don’t forget to brush your teeth afterward.

For the cake you’ll need:

1 stick unsalted butter, room tempurature
1/3 c. chunky peanut butter (or smooth, if you’d prefer)
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. baking powder
2 1/2 c. all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 1/4 c. whole milk 
strawberry jam (or raspberry, or whatever is your favorite) 

For the buttercream you’ll need:

1 stick unsalted butter, room tempurature
1 c. powdered sugar
1 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

To make the cake, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, salt, and baking powder. Beat until well combined. Then pour in half the flour and half the milk and mix on med-high speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then, with the beater on low, add the rest of the flour and milk. Beat on medium until well combined (careful not to over mix).

Fill paper-lined cupcake tins just over a half of the way full. Plop a heaping teaspoon full of strawberry jam in the center of the batter. Then cover the jam with a heaping tablespoon of batter, being sure it covers all sides of the jam (but does not reach the top of the tin—you don’t want the cake to overflow while baking).

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, until the cake is set and golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, beat together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Add the marshmallow cream, a scoop at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. It makes enough generously frost 12 cupcakes. (More if you skimp a little, which I suppose is okay, if you’re the skimping type.)

I sprinkled mine with some crushed, lightly salted peanuts.

(Created by Megan Seling for bakeitinacake.com.)