Along with swirls and valleys of peanut butter. Need I say more.
The cake is based on the recent Blueberry Muffin and Buttermilk Pancakes Cake ,Peaches and Cream Fluffy Muffin Cake, and the Cream Cheese-Swirled Cherry and Mixed Berries Cake. I used the same cake base here as I did for those because it doesn’t disappoint. It’s exceedingly moist and soft, and it’s fast and easy. Like PB & J in decadent cake form.
The batter comes together with a whisk, and is as easy as making muffin batter. A bowl of dry ingredients, a bowl of wet ingredients, fold wet into dry, and pour in a pan. So easy. The cake is springy, soft, and fluffy. It’s got just the right amount of density to leave you feeling satisfied. There’s Greek yogurt (or sour cream) in the batter, along with buttermilk and oil, all of which keep cakes moist and soft.
There’s an abundance of big, juicy berries woven throughout. I used one 16-ounce bag of frozen strawberries. I always bake with frozen and save my fresh berries for eating. Feel free to substitute with cherries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches; fresh or frozen. If you’re using fresh fruit, the baking time will likely be dramatically less, by as much as 20 minutes or so. When I used this cake base with fresh peaches, my baking time was a solid 10 minutes less. With all cakes and baking in general, watch your cake and not the clock. Bake until it’s done.
I suggest tenting your pan at about the 40 minute mark. That simply means laying a sheet of foil across the top of the pan so the surface of the cake doesn’t become overly browned before the interior fully cooks through. With a pound of juicy fruit inside, it takes awhile to cook through completely.
As much as I like cream cheese swirls, peanut butter trumps cream cheese. The slight saltiness of the peanut butter complements the juicy, sweet fruit wonderfully well. It’s a cake that reminds me of a PB & J sandwich, but with actual strawberries rather than jelly. The peanut butter sinks and ‘disappears’ to some extent while baking, so don’t go too crazy with the swirling and start off with thin, wispy swirls. You’ll never see them after the cake is baked. Embrace those big patches and blobs of peanut butter because they’ll turn into lovely peanut butter valleys during baking.
I loved this cake so much. I tried to forget about it and put it deep inside my cupboard, thinking out of sight, out of mind. Wrong. I found myself going back to the lightly sweetened cake, with just a fork, straightening out the rows. Again and again. The wall of soft strawberries that inevitably sink to the bottom of the cake, despite flouring them before baking, is the best part of cake. Dense walls of fruit are the best. Okay, they’re tied with peanut butter valleys.
It’s good that it’s a small 8-inch cake, and perfect to use up summer fruit or for a shower, brunch, or event you need a fast and fabulous cake. I said last time that this cake batter has yet to let me down, and that I’d be making more cakes with it. I’ve happily kept my word.
Related Recipes:
Peanut Butter Honey Buttermilk Cake with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Streusel – This is a one-bowl, easy cake, ready in about 30 minutes that’s so moist and soft Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Cream Cheese-Swirled Cherry and Mixed Berries Cake
Blueberry Muffin and Buttermilk Pancakes Cake
Peaches and Cream Fluffy Muffin Cake
Strawberries and Cream Coffee Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze – The best coffee cake I’ve ever had or made. Use your favorite fresh, frozen, or seasonal fruit this incredibly moist and soft cake batter
Blueberry and Jam Buttermilk Coffee Cake with Buttery Vanilla Glaze – One of the best coffee cakes or cakes I’ve ever made. Highly recommended – tied with the one above
French Almond Cookie Cake with Apricot Cream Cheese Glaze
Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze
Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars
Strawberry and Sprinkles Buttermilk Pancakes
Strawberry Jelly Rolls – You’d never guess these start out as white dinner rolls and within 15 minutes, are transformed into little jelly rolls
12 Favorite Blueberry Recipes
Do you have a favorite cake that never lets you down? What do you bake with fruit?
