The NEW chicken noodle soup...
CakeWalk is a weekly column by Mary Ann Porch dedicated to every baker who has ever struggled to achieve the right consistency with their icing, unsuccessfully searched for the perfect cupcake topper or just wants to learn something new. Because with a few helpful tips, cupcakes are a cakewalk.
This week, I came down with the flu, which is why this CakeWalk column is two days late. When I wasn’t sleeping on the couch, I was sleeping in bed. The idea of looking at a laptop screen was comparable to gouging my own eyes out.
But today, I began to feel better. The sore throat and stuffy nose were replaced with an embarrassingly loud cough. Because of said cough, going outdoors was not an option. When it came to eating, I had to scrounge what I had in the house, which came down to five items: peanut butter, bread, jelly, pasta, and saltines. I decided the first three items were my best choice.
After indulging myself in two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches today, I got to thinking about how this particular flavor combination makes me feel. The familiarity of these ingredients always makes me feel…well…safe.
You can't really go wrong with two classic ingredients such as peanut butter and jelly (Photo courtesy of 52 Cupcakes)
Lucky for us peanut butter and jelly fans, the flavor can be recreated in several different forms: ice cream, gelato, whatever Tasti D-lite qualifies as, and obviously, cupcakes. At the Brooklyn Kitchen’s Cupcake Cook Off this year, there were several peanut butter and jelly entries, and if I recall correctly, one of them took home the grand prize.
This particular PB&J cupcake got everything right (except for its size – it was way too big). The density of the cake was perfect. The jelly center was delicious. The peanut butter frosting was the best I’ve ever tasted. It was truly like eating a PB&J sandwich, just minus the technicality of it not being an actual sandwich.
While doing a little bit of online research for this blog post, I came across what might be my new favorite blog, solely based on the name – Noble Pig. There I found a terrific recipe for PB&J cupcakes. Not only is this recipe fairly simple, if you judge how these babies are going to look when you’re done, it’s going to be hard not to eat the entire batch in one sitting. Granted, the Noble Pig features some amazing food photography, but I think the taste is still going to hold true.
The peanut butter and jelly cupcake recipe from the Noble Pig promises to be one for the ages (Photo courtesy of Noble Pig)
Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Jelly
Adapted from Martha Stewart
For the cupcakes:
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter, not natural
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
In a medium bowl combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
In another bowl, combine natural peanut butter and sour cream. These will be your wet ingredients. Set aside.
Cream butter and granulated sugar until white and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each . Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in three additions on low speed, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry. Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Do not over mix.
Either line standard muffin tins with paper liners or spray muffin tins with cooking spray. Divide batter among muffin cups filling each 2/3 full. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on wire racks.
While cooling, make the frosting.
Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed until combined. Add salt, peanut butter, heavy cream and vanilla extract; beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
And of course I can't end a post about peanut butter and jelly without including this...
Mary Ann is the founder of the New York City chapter of CupcakeCamp NYC, an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and eat cupcakes in an open environment. She is also the founder of Puff and Choux, a blog dedicated to the pastry and dessert arts. When she's not blogging to her heart's content, she's the Social Media Marketing Manager at Ask.com. You can contact her at mary_ann_porch@hotmail.com with any questions, ideas or just to chit chat. You can also follow her on Twitter at @MaryAPorch and at @Askdotcom.
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