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Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

A delicious vanilla cupcake filled with strawberry jam, topped with peanut butter Swiss meringue buttercream and a sprinkle of roasted salted peanuts. This cupcake has a delicate sweet and salty balance and smooth peanut butter flavour which will bring back all the delights of childhood sandwiches.

Servings 18 cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, light beaten
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 3/4 cup warm water
  • 2 cups plain flour, sifted
  • 1 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarb soda
  • 1 cup strawberry jam, approx. Use good quality jam

Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups castor sugar
  • 300 grams butter, chopped
  • 2/3 cups smooth peanut butter Don't use the pure/healthy peanut butter, you want the original creamy one.
  • 1/2 cup strawberry jam, extra
  • 1/2 cup,approx salted peanuts, roasted and roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180C

  2. Line two muffin trays with 18 cupcake liners.

  3. Put peanuts in baking tray and lightly roasting oven for ten minutes or until slightly browned. Chop roughly and set aside to cool.

  4. In a medium bowl, hand whisk together eggs, oil, sour cream, vanilla and water. Set aside.

  5. In another bowl, sift together flour, sugar, bicarb soda and baking powder.

  6. Carefully pour wet mix into dry mixture. Use a hand whisk to combine well.

  7. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full. Bake in a moderate oven for 18 minutes or until firm to touch. Leave to cool.

  8. When cool, use an apple corer to scoop out the middle of each cupcake. Put jam in a piping bag and fill each cupcake with jam. Top with Swiss meringue buttercream and chopped salted and roasted peanuts.

Peanut butter Swiss meringue buttercream

  1. Put egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add castor sugar.

  2. Sit bowl on top of a saucepan with an inch of water, like a double boiler. Hand whisk mixture until it goes slushy and milky. Whisk every few minutes until sugar has dissolved. Check by rubbing mixture between your fingers. Make sure sugar is fully dissolved.

  3. Remove bowl and place in stand mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on high till stiff peaks form. Change to paddle attachment and put mixer onto low.

  4. Slowly add butter two cubes at a time. This will take about ten minutes. Mixture will deflate, then turn soupy, then curdle like scrambled eggs. This is all normal. Keep mixing. Eventually it will come together.

  5. When the mixture becomes silky smooth, keep mixer on low. Add peanut butter. Mix again for 30 seconds until combined. Carefully fold strawberry jam into buttercream. Do not mix. Out into piping bag and frost cupcakes as desired.