Peanuts lend a unique and lovely taste to cakes especially in the form of peanut butter. Peanut butter is made of roasted peanuts, butter and sugar.
Two top recipes for cakes containing peanuts or peanut butter are as follows:
Tunnel of peanuts cake:
Ingredients: 1 cup (softened) butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup natural peanut butter, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2½ cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1½ cups milk. For peanut Streusel : 1 cup finely chopped unsalted peanuts, 1/3 cups packed brown sugar, 2 tbsp melted butter. For Glaze: ¾ cup icing sugar, 2 tbsp of milk, and 2 tbsp of chopped unsalted peanuts.
Method: Grease 10 cup classic or fancy Bundt or a tube pan. Then sprinkle with flour and set aside. For peanut streusel: Take a small bowl, and mix peanuts, sugar and butter. Set aside. Now take a large bowl, and beat butter along with granulated sugars until it is fluffy. Then beat in peanut butter. Now beat in eggs one by one and then beat in vanilla. In another bowl, blend together baking powder, flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into mixture of butter alternatively with milk using 3 amounts of dry ingredients as well as 2 amounts of milk. Empty half the batter into the prepared pan. Next, create a tunnel of approximately 2 inches wide in batter. Fill peanut streusel into the tunnel. Apply remaining batter over streusel. Tap the pan over the counter & smooth top. Then bake in the middle of 325 degree F oven until done or for about 55 minutes. Cool on rack for 10 minutes. For glaze: In a small bowl, whip icing sugar along with milk. Drizzle over cool cake and scatter peanuts over glaze.
Peanut butter cake:
Ingredients: 200 gm butter (softened), 4 large eggs, 3 tbsp of smooth peanut butter, 200 gm golden caster sugar, 150 gm pot natural yogurt, 200 gm self raising flour. For filling and topping: 50 gm salted and roasted peanuts, 1tbsp icing sugar, 2 tbsp milk, 100gm milk chocolate, 3 tbsp of dulce de leche
Method: Butter 2x 20 cm sandwich tins and arrange them with baking paper. Now heat up the oven to 180 degree C. Beat butter, sugar, eggs and yogurt till creamy and smooth. Add the flour, and then divide this mix between the 2 tins. Now bake it for 30 minutes until golden. Toss the icing sugar and salted peanuts with ½ tsp of water until they are well coated and cover with a non-stick baking sheet. When cakes get ready, you need to cool them for 5 minutes in the tin and then over a cooling rack. Turn the oven up to 200 C, and roast the nuts for 10 minutes and toss them a few times till golden and covered in a glossy caramel. Shift to a slightly buttered plate. Meanwhile make the topping: melt the milk and chocolate in a pan above boiling water or put in the microwave for 1 minute, then stir till melted. Let it cool. Keep one of the cakes on a plate, spread on it 2tbsp peanut butter, and then dot with Dulce De Leche and use a palette knife to spread. Then put the second cake on top like a sandwich. Then spread chocolate topping. And the scatter caramelised peanuts and serve.
If you don’t want to make the cakes at home, you can order cakes online. Online companies provide for next day delivery of cakes throughout UK.
Author: The author Rajeev Kumar is a home maker with a degree in culinary arts. She is associated with expressgiftservice.co.uk and contributes blogs and recipes to the website.