Maybe you remember the sweet and sticky texture of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich fondly, or maybe the sting of eating 1,500 of them by the end of high school (the national average) still lingers. Or maybe you're undoing a jam-stained baggy this very moment (not judging!).
No matter the category you fall into, it's time to rethink the classic combo because all month long Crumbs Bake Shop is featuring a peanut butter and jelly cupcake fit for your nostalgic (read: adult) taste buds, in honor of April 2 marking National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day. But why relegate just one day to this decadent school staple? Make Crumbs' peanut butter cupcake filled with strawberry preserves and topped with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, swirled with more strawberry preserves and sprinkled with toasted peanuts. A far cry from your white bread sandwich of yesteryear, right?
PB&J cupcakes
Recipe courtesy of Crumbs Bake Shop
Peanut butter cupcake base:
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pans by placing cupcake liners in muffin tins.
In a mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and peanut butter until light and smooth, about 5 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape down bowl. Continue mixing for one more minute; set aside.
In separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Set aside.
Add flour mixture and egg mixture alternately (in three additions) to butter/ sugar, and beat with paddle only until batter is smooth. Do not overmix.
With scoop, fill cupcake liners with batter until 2/3 full. Bake on middle rack for 22-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes in muffin tin. Then, remove from tin and allow cupcakes to cool completely on wire rack.
Peanut butter cream cheese frosting:
54 oz (3 lbs, 6 oz) powdered sugar, 10x
12 oz cream cheese, softened
1 ½ fl. oz evaporated milk
12 oz (3 sticks) butter, softened
3 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz creamy peanut butter
In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese. With the mixer on low speed, add the evaporated milk until smooth. Next, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Fold in the peanut butter and continue to beat on med-high speed until fully mixed and fluffy.
Cupcake assembly:
Cupcake bases
Peanut butter cream cheese frosting
2 cups chopped roasted peanuts
12 oz strawberry jam (or any of your favorite jam flavors)
Once cupcake bases are completely cooled and frosting is prepared, cupcakes can be filled with jam. First, prepare each cupcake by taking the handle of a wooden spoon and gently push a hole into the center of each cupcake. Next, pour jam into a pastry piping bag and cut a ½” hole in bag tip. Insert tip into cupcake “hole” and squeeze jam into cupcake. Be careful not to over-fill or cupcake will begin to break open. Fill all cupcakes.
Next, frost all cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. Then, roll edges of frosting into bowl of crushed peanuts, and gently tap peanuts into the frosting, so peanuts adhere. To finish the cupcake, either swirl strawberry jam into the top of the cupcake with an offset spatula, or dollup a circle of jam onto the center of the cupcake top.