For the July Daring Baker’s Challenge, Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to bake a cake. But not just any cake; she asked us to add in a special surprise for our eyes as well as our taste buds!
I was really confused what to do with this challenge since creative looks and decorating are not really my strongest sides. I am more into flavor than looks, so I was uneasy about this cake. After a lot of brainstorming and reading a set my mind on a Peanut Butter and Jelly Surprise cake. There are four main components here: a moist chocolate cake, snow-white cake, raspberry jelly and peanut butter buttercream.
The result? I love the taste and the combination of the different textures, but I am not crazy about the visual part. I really struggled with the white roll layer and the result is that it is not quite leveled, which makes the cake look a little crooked.
But the taste was really, really amazing. The chocolate layer is dense and moist, the white cake is really light, and the combination of peanut butter and jelly is an absolute winner every time. I will definitely try this surprise cake again, only paying more attention while assembling it. Thank you Ruth, for another very daring challenge!
Chocolate Cake adapted from Moje Wypieki.
White Cake adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours.
- For the Chocolate cake:
- 240 gr. (2 cups) all purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 90 gr. (1 cup) cocoa powder
- 8 gr. (2 teaspoons) baking soda
- 300 gr. (1 ½ cups) light brown sugar
- 240 gr. (~1 cup) full fat mayonnaise
- 240 ml. (1 cup) whole milk
- For the White Vanilla Cake:
- 210 gr. (1¾ cups) all purpose flour
- 10 gr. (2 ½ teaspoons) baking powder
- 200 ml. (3/4 cups) whole milk, at room temperature
- 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 90 gr. (3/4 stick) butter, at room temperature
- 200 gr. (1 cup) sugar
- 400 gr. (14 oz.) of your favorite raspberry jam for the filling
- For the Peanut Butter Buttercream
- 4 large egg whites
- 270 gr. (1⅓ cups) sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 240 gr. (2 sticks + 1 tablespoon) butter, at room temperature
- 340 gr. (12 oz.) smooth peanut butter
- Prepare the Chocolate Cake. Prepare two 24 cm./9 inch cake pans, butter and flour and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 170°C/350F°. In a large bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda and give them a good whisk. In another bowl mix the mayonnaise, milk and sugar and beat with the whisk attachment of your mixer until smooth. Add the dry ingredients in three additions to the batter, and beat after each addition until smooth. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for five minutes in the pan, take the cakes out of the pans and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
- Prepare the White Vanilla Cake. Butter and flour a large sheet pan (45/35 cm., 18/14 inches) and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 170°C/350F°. In a large bowl whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a different bowl mix the milk, the egg whites and the vanilla extract, and beat them lightly. In another bowl, place the butter and sugar and beat them together until light and fluffy, using the whisk attachment of your mixer. Add the dry ingredients to the butter in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture. When everything is mixed, beat the batter for a minute. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for ten minutes in the pan. Take another sheet pan and line it with a clean kitchen towel. Dust the towel generously with powder sugar. Gently turn the cake over the cloth and remove the parchment paper. Carefully roll the towel and cake into a tight roll, starting from the shorter side of the cake. Let it cool completely.
- Prepare the Peanut Butter Buttercream. Place the egg whites, sugar and salt in a large bowl and place it over a bowl of simmering water. Whisk constantly until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture feels very warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and whip with the whisk attachment of your mixer, on high speed until soft peaks and the bowl is completely cooled. Add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, and beat after each addition. Whip the cream until it comes together, then start adding the peanut butter, a few tablespoons at a time. Whisk until incorporated and fluffy.
- Assemble the cake. Take the two chocolate cakes and even the surfaces with a long serrated knife. Reserve the scrapes. Place one chocolate cake over a cake stand, with the top facing down, and spread a thick layer of buttercream.
- Gently unroll the white cake and cut the shorter side into 5 7 cm.(3 inch) strips. Spread the raspberry jam over the cake and start rolling the first strip into a tight roll. When you reach the end move the roll to the start of the next strip and continue rolling. Continue with the other strips until you have one large roll. Measure the roll, it should be approximately 24 cm. in diameter. If it is more remove some of the last strip. Carefully center the roll over the chocolate cake and buttercream. Top with more buttercream and the other chocolate cake, top facing down. Cover the cake from all sides with the remaining buttercream and decorate with the chocolate scrapes. Let set in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
Yum, that combination sounds so good
And the visuals look great to me!
I am very happy that you think so, Agos! Thank you!
PB&J of any form sounds great to me!! Looks great to me too! Vertical layering for cakes are hard as it is!!
Thank you! I struggled with the vertical layers, but the cake was very good!
I love that you made it a peanut butter and jelly surprise! SO fun and yummy!!
It truly is a perfect combination! Thank you for stopping by!
Excellent combination, and I like how it looks when cut !
Thank you! It really was harder than I thought! Hopefully next time will be better!
Gorgeous cake! Beautiful decoration and yummy surprise inside!
Hi Yulia, I just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award. You may or may not have heard of it before. I hadn’t until another blogger nominated me. Basically, it is a way for us bloggers to get to know each other better by answering some questions and then passing the torch. You can see it on my blog and it is all over Google. Oh, and great cake!
Wow, Tori! Thank you so much for nominating me! I am so excited!