Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake

A couple months back I made this cake for my husband's birthday. My husband is the pickiest eater I know. I always tell him he eats like a seven year old.

Every day my husband eats two PB&J sandwiches. I don't know how he does it. I'd be totally sick of them if I ate them every day. Because he loves PB&J so much I decided to make him this PB&J cake.

This cake is a lot different from most cakes I've made. The cake itself has a more bread-like texture that really helps replicate a classic PB&J sandwich. I used my mother's homemade strawberry rhubarb jam. It went so perfectly with the peanut butter buttercream frosting.

So if you're a die-hard PB&J fan this recipe is a must try!!

Ingredients

For the cake:
Inspired by The Cake Blog

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Peanut Butter Buttercream:

1/2 softened butter
1 cup peanut butter
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbs heavy cream
Peanuts

Directions

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 6" cake pans.
2. Combine flour and baking powder.
3. Cream together peanut butter and butter in electric mixer on medium high with paddle attachment.  Add sugar and mix until smooth.
4. Mix in eggs one at a time and vanilla extract. Scrape down sides as needed.
5. With the mixer on low add in half of the flour mixture.  Pour in milk a little at a time and then add in other half of flour mixture.
6. Divide batter evenly between 3 pans. Bake for approximately 28 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean.
7. Cool for 15 minutes then run a knife around the edges of the cake. Remove the cakes from pans and let completely cool.

For the frosting:

1. Cream butter and peanut butter together in electric mixer with paddle attachment.
2. Add in powdered sugar. Mix until well combined. Add in heavy cream.

Assembly:

1. Once cakes are completely cool level all the layers. Put frosting in a pastry bag.
2. On the first layer of the cake pipe a ring of frosting around the cake to make a dam for the jam. Add in 1/3 of jam.
3. Repeat step two for the second layer and then put second layer on top of first.
4. Add the last layer and start frosting the sides. Add a generous amount of frosting. Then  use a bench scrapper to smooth sides.
5. Lightly frost the top of the cake making sure it's very smooth. Pipe swirls around the edge of the cake making a dam for the jam again. Add rest of jam to top of cake.
7. Garnish the sides of the cake with peanuts.