Cupcake Jemma: PB & J Cupcakes

I couldn’t resist trying this American classic turned cupcake — peanut butter meets raspberry jam in one fluffy bite. Jemma’s original makes 24, but I halved it for 12 (because, let’s be honest — I didn’t need two dozen).

These cupcakes are rich, buttery, and so satisfying with their jammy centre and peanut butter buttercream.

 

Ingredients:

For the Cupcake Batter:

• 125g self-raising flour
• 125g caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 135g unsalted butter, soft
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 50g peanut butter
• 1 tbsp whole milk
• 1 jar of seedless raspberry jam
• 1 pinch of salt

For the Peanut Crumb:

• 50g peanut butter
• 50g icing sugar

For the Buttercream Icing:

• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 60g peanut butter
• 270g icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp whole milk

Method: 

For the Cupcake Batter:

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a cupcake tray 12 paper liners.
2. Sift the dry ingredients and 1 pinch of sea salt into a large mixer bowl.
3. Add the butter, eggs and peanut butter to the same bowl and mix for 60 seconds.
4. Add the milk and beat for another 20 seconds.
5. Stop, scrape down the bowl and beat for a final 20 seconds.
6. Spoon the mixture into the liners and bake for 20 minutes.

For the Peanut Crumb:

1. Place the peanut butter and icing sugar into a food processor and pulse until it becomes a crumb-like consistency.
2. Set to one side in a bowl.

For the Buttercream Icing:

1. Put the butter and peanut butter into a mixer bowl and mix for 10 minutes - it should become pale and whip-like.
2. Add half the sifted icing sugar and beat for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add the last half and beat for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add the milk and beat for 3-5 minutes or until well combined.

Scoop out the middle of each cupcake and spoon in some jam. Pipe the peanut butter buttercream on top, then drizzle with a little extra jam and sprinkle over the peanut crumb for the perfect finish.