Peanut butter and jelly cake is a sweet twist on the nostalgic childhood classic sandwich. The one layer peanut butter cake is super moist and has a pb jam swirl instead of frosting. Made from scratch using oil, creamy peanut butter and your favorite jam. You can call it an afternoon snack cake, dessert or the best birthday cake. With 15 minutes of prep time and no decorating needed, you'll love how quick and easy it is to make!
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Raise your hand if pb&j sandwiches were a staple during your childhood. Not gonna lie, I was a weird kid and preferred peanut butter and butter sandwiches. Once I moved to university and was on a student budget, I came to appreciate the peanut butter and jelly combo!
When I surveyed my email subscribers about nostalgic cake flavors, peanut butter and jelly was at the top of the list. (If needed, sun butter and jelly bars are a great peanut free alternative!) Since you are busy, like me, I created this recipe to be quick and easy. It mixes in a few bowls, with no mixer needed.
The combination of oil and buttermilk creates a super moist cake. I accidentally over baked the cake in these photos by 2-3 minutes and it's still incredibly moist and tender!
🥜 ingredient notes
I tested this cake a couple times because while peanut butter technically has moisture in it, it can cause baked goods to be a bit dry. To counter that, I took a note from chocolate cake and espresso cake and used oil as the main fat. Buttermilk is also used to add moisture and tenderness. You won't even miss that the cake batter has no butter in it!
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
- Peanut butter ~ I recommend using a processed peanut butter, not natural peanut butter with oil that needs to be mixed in. I tested with Justin's and Jif. If using a peanut butter with added sugar, the cake will be a bit more sweet.
- Jam ~ we like raspberry jam, but grape is classic to this nostalgic combo. Use your favorite!
- Oil ~ vegetable oil or canola oil can be used. I did not test with coconut oil, but suspect that would work well too.
- Buttermilk ~ adds moisture and helps to create a tender crumb. I prefer store bought buttermilk for the best results. See the recipe card notes for how to substitute homemade buttermilk, if needed.
🥣 how to make in photos
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9-inch round baking pan with a parchment paper round and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and vegetable oil, mixing until smooth. Set aside. Measure out the jam and stir with a spoon to loosen. Set aside.
In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, kosher salt and vegetable oil. The mixture will not be fully smooth at this point.
Then add peanut butter, egg and vanilla and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
Now whisk in the baking soda and once combined whisk in ½ cup of the flour.
Once the flour disappears into the cake batter, whisk in the buttermilk. Now fold in the remaining ½ cup flour with a spatula, mixing just until everything is combined.
Pour the peanut butter cake batter into the prepared pan.
Then take spoonfuls of the peanut butter swirl and drop them over the top of the cake batter. Now take spoonfuls of jam and drop them in between the peanut butter dollops.
Use a knife to swirl the peanut butter and jam topping into the cake batter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire cooling rack. Slice and serve. If desired, sift a little confectioners’ sugar over the top of the slices before serving.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram if you make this Quick and Easy Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Quick and Easy Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
peanut butter jam swirl
- ¼ cup peanut butter* 63g
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar 15g
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil** 15mL
- ¼ cup jam ~80g
peanut butter cake
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 50g
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed (150g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil 120mL
- ½ cup peanut butter 125g
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125g
- ½ cup buttermilk*** room temperature (120mL)
peanut garnish
- 2 tablespoons peanuts chopped, if desired 22g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C and line a 9-inch round baking pan with a parchment paper round and set aside.
for the peanut butter jam swirl
- In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter (¼ cup/63g), confectioners’ sugar (2 tablespoons/15g), vanilla (1 teaspoon) and vegetable oil (1 tablespoon/15mL), mixing until smooth. Set aside. Measure out the jam (¼ cup/~80g) and stir with a spoon to loosen. Set aside.
for the peanut butter cake
- In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar (¼ cup/50g), brown sugar (¾ cup/150g), kosher salt (¼ teaspoon) and vegetable oil (½ cup/120mL). The mixture will not be fully smooth at this point.
- Then add peanut butter (½ cup/125g), egg (1 large) and vanilla (1 tablespoon) and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
- Now whisk in the baking soda (½ teaspoon) and once combined whisk in ½ cup of the flour/62g. Once the flour disappears into the cake batter, whisk in the buttermilk (½ cup/120mL). Now fold in the remaining ½ cup flour with a spatula, mixing just until everything is combined.
- Pour the peanut butter cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Then take spoonfuls of the peanut butter swirl and drop them over the top of the cake batter. Now take spoonfuls of jam and drop them in between the peanut butter dollops. Use a knife to swirl the peanut butter and jam topping into the cake batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire cooling rack. Slice and serve. If desired, sift a little confectioners’ sugar over the top of the slices before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
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