This Muslim Girl Bakes: Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jam Cupcakes.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Happy Friday!

We have woken up to the coldest weather this morning.
It's -1 with a deep frost but with the prettiest sunrise. I love winter sunrises. They're so clear and beautiful.

It's Friday and that means that it's time for a sweet treat. This week, I'm sharing these peanut butter and raspberry jam cupcakes. They're a play on that classic American combination of peanut butter and jelly. For years, I thought that they actually meant jelly as in the wobbly stuff until I realised that jelly was their word for our British jam.

I love peanut butter and jam on toast. The butter is salty and the jam is sweet - it's a match made in my salty sweet heaven.

These cupcakes are really easy to put together but very impressive on the eye. We start with a simple peanut butter one-bowl sponge. It's baked and cooled before being pumped with raspberry jam. I went with seedless because the seeds give me nightmares. Peanut butter buttercream is piped on top and all the cupcakes are sprinkled with a peanut butter crumb. I'm not the biggest fan of crazy-sweet cupcakes but because the salty peanut butter is such a major flavour here, it balances out all the sweetness. Enjoy your weekend!

Cupcakes, previously: banoffee pie cupcakes // cookie dough cupcakes with vanilla buttercream // vanilla rainbow cupcakes with vanilla buttercream

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam:

1. Self-Raising Flour
2. Caster Sugar
3. Salt
4. Bicarbonate of Soda
5. Unsalted Butter
6. Peanut Butter
7. Eggs
8. Milk
9. Raspberry Jam

For the Peanut Butter Buttercream:

1. Unsalted Butter
2. Peanut Butter
3. Icing Sugar
4. Milk

For the Peanut Butter Crumb:

1. Peanut Butter
2. Icing Sugar

Bismillah, let's begin!

The first job is of course, to put on the oven to 170C.

Take a 12-hole cupcake tin and line it with paper cases.

Next, we'll make the peanut butter cupcake sponge which is the easiest thing ever because we throw everything into a bowl and mix.

Pop a sieve over a mixing bowl and sieve in 125g Self-Raising Flour.

Along with 125g Caster Sugar.

Then, 1/4 teaspoon Salt.

And, 1/4 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda.

Sieve them through!

Before throwing in 135g Unsalted Butter, softened.

And, the star of these cupcakes, the peanut butter. I used smooth but you could also use crunchy.

Add in 50g Smooth Peanut Butter, at room temperature.

Finally, crack in 2 large Eggs.

And, using an electric hand mixer, beat everything for a minute until smooth.

Stir in 2-3 tablespoons Milk and the batter is ready.

Time to divide it between the cases!

I like using an ice cream scoop but a tablespoon would work too. Fill each case 3/4 full.

Once filled, bake the cupcakes at 170C for 20 minutes.

You'll know they're done when they are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let them cool in the tin for 5 minutes.

Before removing to wire racks and allowing to cool completely!

While they're cooling, we can make the buttercream.

For the peanut butter buttercream, we start with 150g Unsalted Butter, softened. The temperature of the butter is very important here. It shouldn't be too hard and neither should it be too soft. If I know I'm baking, I'll take a block or two out of the fridge the night before and leave them on the kitchen counter overnight. That way, they are at room temperature the next morning. If you're baking in a hurry, heat the cold butter in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time making sure it doesn't get too soft. Phew! Butter rant over.

Next, add in 60g Peanut Butter, at room temperature. We don't store our peanut butter in the fridge and so it's always soft and ready to spread.

When making buttercream, I like to use my stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. That way, I can leave it beating (paddling?) away for a good 5 minutes. But, you can also use an electric hand mixer.

Beat the butter and peanut butter together for a good 4 minutes until smooth, pale and fluffy.

The key to a really good buttercream is beating everything very well. You can see why the temperature of the ingredients is very important here.

Next, add in 270g Icing Sugar, sifted. I like to add mine in two stages, beating really well (at least another 4 minutes) between each addition.

Until all the icing sugar is in and you have a super smooth and light buttercream on you hands!

To get the buttercream even more light and fluffy, pour in 2 tablespoons Milk and beat in well.

And, our peanut butter buttercream is done! Set aside until needed.

The last thing to do before we can decorate the cupcakes is make a peanut butter crumb. I sprinkle these crumbs over my cupcakes but you can also just use some bashed up peanuts. For the crumb, take 25g Icing Sugar and 25g Peanut Butter, at room temperature.

Rub the two together with your fingers until well combined and crumbly. Set aside until needed.

Once the cupcakes are fully cool, we can decorate!

I start by hollowing out some of the sponge. You can use a spoon or knife but I love using this melon baller.

You can make the hole as big or as little as you want just don't go all the way through.

Once all the cupcakes are done, we can pipe in some jam!

Place about 1/2 jar Seedless Raspberry Jam into a piping bag.

Pipe the jam into each cupcake hole.

A lovely surprise for whoever bites in, the raspberry jam really compliments the peanut flavour.

Once the jam is in, you can pop the lids back onto the cupcake holes. I completely forgot and that's fine too!

Next, spoon your buttercream into a piping bag.

I fitted mine with a swirl nozzle. You can use any but I have this nozzle set!

These are homemade cupcakes so the piping does not have to be perfect! Just be sure you get a good, generous amount on there!

Once the buttercream is on, it's time for the finishing touches.

Starting with a drizzle more of that raspberry jam.

Love that pink colour!

Finally, a good sprinkling of the peanut butter crumb that we made.

And, we're done!

That centre is everything! I love these cupcakes because of the flavour. The peanut butter and raspberry jam combo is a classic. What better way to show it off than with these adorable cupcakes?

Peanut Butter and Raspberry Jam Cupcakes.

Prep Time: About 30 minutes + time for cooling

Bake Time: About 20 minutes.

Serves: Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients

For the Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam

125g Self-Raising Flour

125g Caster Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda

135g Unsalted Butter, softened

50g Smooth Peanut Butter, at room temperature

2 large Eggs, at room temperature

2-3 tablespoons Milk

Seedless Raspberry Jam, as needed

For the Peanut Butter Buttercream

150g Unsalted Butter, softened

60g Peanut Butter, at room temperature

270g Icing Sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons Milk

For the Peanut Butter Crumb:

25g Icing Sugar

25g Peanut Butter, at room temperature

Bake the cupcakes:
Heat the oven to 170C. Line a 12-hole cupcakes tray with cases.

Into a large bowl, sift the self-raising flour, caster sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Add in the butter, peanut butter and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth - about 1 minute. Stir in the milk before dividing the batter between the cupcake cases. Fill each case about 3/4 full.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Let them cool in the tin for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack and cooling completely.

Make the buttercream:
Place the butter and peanut butter in a large bowl. Beat with a paddle attachment or electric hand whisk for 4 minutes until smooth, pale and fluffy. Add the sifted icing sugar in two stages, beating really well (around 3 minutes) after each addition. Add in the milk and beat for 3-4 more minutes until the buttercream is super fluffy, light and well whipped.

Make the peanut butter crumb:
Place the peanut butter and icing sugar into a bowl. Rub together with your fingers until well combined and crumbly.

Assemble the cupcakes:
Use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out some of the cupcake sponge. You don't want to go all the way through though. Place the raspberry jam in a piping bag and pipe into the holes. Place the sponge back onto the cake or leave off, if you prefer.

Pop the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a swirl nozzle. Pipe a generous amount over each cupcake. Sprinkle with the peanut butter crumb and another drizzle of raspberry jam. Serve!

{adapted from cupcake jemma}

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