Peanut Butter and Jam Cupcakes

These little cakes came into being thanks to a mildy humorous story. I was walking back to work, munching on a sandwich and enjoying the sun rays, when I heard the raucous laughter of university students. They walked past and through the relaxing sounds of Neil Young coming out of my headphones, I overheard one of them say very proudly "I havn't had a peanut butter and jam sandwich in such a long time and now I have two!". There he was, marching proudly with not one but two of almost everyone's childhood favourite.

I'm not quite sure why I found this amusing but it made me smile so I thought I'd use it as inspiration for a cupcake recipe. To be honest, I'm always trying to turn almost every idea into a cupcake recipe. This one turned out pretty well I think. The recipe is as follows:


Cupcake recipe:
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's basic vanilla cupcake recipe. 
As seen in my Chai Cupcake Recipe.

125g self-raising flour
125g caster sugar
125g unsalted butter (softened)
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
2 tablespoons milk 

1. It's important that you take out all of the refridgerated ingredients (butter, eggs and milk) ahead of time to allow them to come to room temperature. 
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
3. Put all the ingredients, except the milk, in a large bowl and beat using an electric mixer until you have a smooth batter. 
4. Add the milk and beat for another few seconds.
5. Spoon the batter into a prepared cupcake pan. I used a mini cupcake pan.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes for mini cupcakes or 15-20 minutes for regular sized cupcakes.
7. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes approximately 34 mini cupcakes or 12 regular sized cupcakes.

Jam filling:

If you would like to go through the hassle of making your own jam then you are amazing and it will probably taste amazing too. I chose the cheater's route and opened up a bottle of my favourite store bought strawberry jam. After the cupcakes have cooled completely, take a small knife and cut a little hole out of the top. Try not to pierce the bottom of the cupcake. Fill the hole with the jam. Not too much or it will be too sweet.  A little goes a long way! Replace the cut out piece of cake to conceal the jam.

Peanut butter buttercream:

Adapted from Mi's Chocolate Whoopie Pie Recipe.

125g unsalted butter (softened)

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

2 cups icing sugar (sifted)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon milk

1. Beat the butter and peanut butter with an electric whisk
2. Gradually add the icing sugar and beat after each addition.
3. Add the vanilla and milk. Beat until smooth.

If you're feeling a bit artsy, grab a piping bag and a nozzle of your choice and finish off the cupcakes or just slather the buttercream on with the back of a teaspoon. Either way, they'll taste great! Na xo