I’m sure you all know by now that I’m a huge fan (and a big advocate) of snacking cakes. Small pieces of simple cakes that you can snack on throughout the day and week? Yes please. Perhaps this Raspberry Poppy Seed Snacking Cake or this Chocolate Hazelnut Snacking Cake will jog your memory. Well, I’m here to tell you that fellow blogger and cookbook author extraordinaire Yossy Arefi has a new book out called Snacking Cakes. It’s all about the art of snacking…on cake and boy, does she have some great recipes in this book! They’re all simple-to-make and loaded with so much flavor. That’s not a surprise though because her first book Sweeter Off The Vine is still a personal favorite of mine. Today, I’m sharing the recipe for this delicious Salty Caramel Peanut Butter Snacking Cake from the book. It’s a real winner.
To make the cake, in a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute.
**Note: The great thing about this cake is that it’s so simple to make by hand. You really don’t need any special equipment. Just a bowl and a whisk. But if you want to make it in a stand mixer or use a handheld mixer, that’ll work too!**
Stir in the peanut butter until smooth and completely incorporated. Make sure it’s creamy peanut butter and not chunky, as it’ll blend in better into the batter.
**Tip: Stay away from the fresh organic all-natural peanut butter for this. You want the thick processed stuff because it’ll hold up better and produce a better texture to the cake.**
Add the buttermilk, canola or vegetable oil (any neutral oil will work here), vanilla extract and kosher salt. Whisk until smooth and fully emulsified.
Then add the all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda and whisk until well-combined and smooth. Pour the batter into a greased 9-inch round cake pan. Tap it gently on the counter to loosen any air bubbles, and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake until puffed and golden, and a toothpick, inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.
While the cake cools, you can go ahead and make the icing. Melt the butter, brown sugar, cream and water together in a saucepan set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil and cook for 3 more minutes.
Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for 3 minutes, stirring once or twice to cool it down slightly.
Once that mixture has cooled slightly, whisk in the kosher salt and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, thickened slightly and is lump free.
**Tip: If you don’t want to be whisking the lumps away for minutes on end, you should sift the sugar into the icing mixture. Do as I say, not as I do.**
Immediately pour and spread the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle with flaky salt, if using. Allow the icing to set for about 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
**Note: I know it seems like a lot of salt, but the contract to the sweetness from the icing and cake with the salt on top just really balances so nicely together. That’s an optional topping, but I recommend. Maybe even if it’s just a pinch and not as much as I put.**
Any leftovers can be wrapped in plastic or stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also put it in the fridge as it’s actually just as delicious cold as it is at room temperature.
I sliced the cake into eight pieces, but they weren’t as snack-sized as they could’ve been. You can totally slice it into smaller pieces for that authentic snacking cake experience, if you’d prefer.
I highly recommend checking out Snacking Cakes and giving some of the other recipes a try as well as this one, of course. There’s a powdered sugar doughnut cake and an oatmeal chocolate chip cake that have my name on it next. As always, if you have any questions or comments, let me know below. Stay safe out there my friends!
Salty Caramel Peanut Butter Snacking Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Fudgy Caramel Icing:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon water
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- Flaky salt to finish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and dust with flour, set aside.
- To make the cake, in a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Stir in the peanut butter until smooth. Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla and salt. Whisk until smooth and fully emulsified. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda and whisk until well-combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap it gently on the counter to loosen any air bubbles, and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake until puffed and golden, and a toothpick, inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then invert and flip right side up onto a plate to cool completely.
- To make the icing, melt the butter, brown sugar, cream and water together in a saucepan set over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil and cook for 3 more minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for 3 minutes, stirring once or twice to cool it down slightly. Whisk in the kosher salt and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Immediately pour and spread the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle with flaky salt, if using. Allow the icing to set for about 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Store the cake, covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Enjoy!
Notes
Why is it called “fudgy icing” when there’s no chocolate?
I’m not 100% sure, I’m assuming it’s because it has the same consistency as a thick hot fudge sauce? I’ll have to ask her!
Caramel icing is regularly likened to fudge in its consistency in the American South, indicating a hard crust upon cooling and a chewy interior, the results of applying heat based on time, not precise temperature (caramel icing resembles neither soft nor hard caramel in its crystallization and its flavor is derived from the brown sugar, not the actual caramelizing of white sugar—in reality, this is just butterscotch stabilized with the cornstarch found in icing sugar). Perhaps she was inspired by that tradition, maybe even subconsciously.
Fudge doesn’t mean chocolate. Fudge is a confection made from sugar, butter, and cream. Fudge is only chocolate if you choose to make it that flavor. 😃👍🏻
I found this recipe after playing test kitchen on a different recipe for a friend who bought the Snacking Cakes cookbook. Her flavors are inspired but I’m doubting her recipes were tested – either that or there are serious typos her editor missed. This buttercream frosting pic is false advertising for the caramel sauce the published recipe produced (I expected that after reading how little powdered sugar was called for). I improvised by soaking the cake in a bit of sauce and then added another 1/2 C of powdered sugar to the remainder to make a frosting texture that looks like the pic. Flavors are great, but her editor or support team needs to do better by the chef; I want more of her wonderfully creative flavor combos, but need to trust the measures. Cheers!