Peanut Butter~Banana Jam Cake with Brown Butter Icing

One of the key elements in making a recipe, for me, is history and tradition.  A jam cake fits that bill with over a hundred years of being made in America.  Most of the cakes I've sampled, here in the Pacific Northwest, have had blackberry jam in the middle...and I love them.  However, strawberry jam is one of my favorites and definitely one I made a lot of jars of with my mother, so today after making a batch of jam, I decided on creating my own version of a jam cake.

It didn't take me long to come up with a cake to "sandwich" the strawberry jam filling; I had one banana sitting on the counter for three days and it was apparent my hubby wasn't going to be using it on his cereal:-D  Since I didn't think one banana would make enough statement, I relied on my own childhood memories of peanut butter and banana sandwiches and added peanut butter to the batter.  To top the cake off, I made a brown butter icing to pour on and flow over the sides. A wonderful cake I'm sure to make again!

Peanut Butter~Banana Jam Cake with Brown Butter Icing
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 banana, peeled and mashed
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk*

3/4 to 1 cup jam (your favorite)

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Grease and flour two 8-inch round baking pans.

In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together thoroughly.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the mashed banana, peanut butter and vanilla, then, mix again.  Scrape down the sides as needed.

Add the dry ingredients and turn mixer on low.  Slowly add the buttermilk while mixing the batter.  Scrape down the sides once again.

Divide the batter between the two baking pans and bake for 28 to 30 minutes.  Test with a wooden skewer to make sure the center in done.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Turn out one of the layers on a rack covered with wax paper or parchment, the other onto a serving plate.

I chose my Grandma Gladys' Depression Glass Cake Plate

 Brown Butter Icing
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cook over low heat until golden brown (about 8-10 minutes)
Transfer the butter to a bowl of your stand mixer to cool.

2 cups confectioners' sugar
Scant 1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Add the confectioners' sugar to the mixing bowl and while it's running, add the almost all of theheavy cream and the vanilla.  The icing should be soft and somewhat "flowing."

 To assemble the cake...
Spoon jam on the serving plate cake layer, spread almost to the end--remember the jam will spread more when the top layer is added.

Add the top layer, then, spoon the entire icing on top, allowing it to cascade over the sides.  Use an off-set spatula to spread smoothly.

All the combinations of a childhood memory in one dessert--Enjoy!!

 

Bejeweled Thumbprint Cookies

Grandchildren certainly can wrap you around their little finger...and for me, there's no place I'd rather be with mine.  Yesterday, when we were SKYPING with Ari, he asked his PopPop, "Can you get me a new glove?"  Last week, he and his Dad had ventured outside to start practicing their pitching and catching since spring training is just about a little over a month away.  Ari apparently can't wait : )

Last Summer having fun in his backyard.

So, when I said, "would you like some cookies in the box with your new glove?"  He said, "yes, blueberry!"  I had to laugh because that's what he always asks for.  I said, "how about another kind?" and he said, "Strawberry!" This was my dilemma.  The answer I came up with was a thumbprint cookie that I could feature the many flavors of my homemade jams I made last summer.

The cookies have an intriguing flavor, using ground toasted pecans and vanilla in the dough, then topped with blueberry, strawberry, peach/mango, and raspberry jam.  I've made several versions of these cookies, sometimes, rolling them in flaked coconut or additional nuts at the holidays; those varieties were a favorite of Kelly's and Matt's.  Ari is definitely a fruit lover and I know when he opens his box he'll be just as thrilled with the cookies as he is with his new glove. 

Bejeweled Thumbprint Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups ground toasted pecans
2 large eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla extract + 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
About 1 cup of your favorite jam (I used 1/4 cup of 4 different kinds)

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Toast pecans for approximately 7 or 8 minutes.  Let cool and grind in a nut grinder or use a food processor.  If using a food processor, add 2 tablespoons of sugar with the nuts and be careful not to go too far and make pecan butter!

In the bowl of a KitchenAid, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy.  Add the nuts, vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds and blend well.    Mix the dry ingredients and add to the dough, combining until well incorporated.  Divide dough into half and wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 3 days.  Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Preheat oven to 350F-degrees and remove dough from the refrigerator.  Roll dough into 1 1/2 - inch balls.  Press your thumb into the center to make a "well" for the jam.

Fill the centers with 1/2 tsp. jam and bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before removing the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

These cookies are really delightful and would be perfect with a cup of tea on a cold, snowy day.  I hope the fruit filled centers will be just what Ari ordered!  Enjoy!

RECIPE FOUND...Kelly's Jam Bars

Through the past year, I've made a few different jam bars, each time mentioning I wish I could find the recipe that Kelly made.  On Christmas, I unwrapped the most wonderful gift from my daughter Erin.  She had "My Mother's Apron Strings" bound into a book for me.  As I was looking back to the beginning of the blog, I came across a post I did on August 18, 2009, about Raspberry Bars from Tate's Bakery and Kelly had made a comment that she had always made "this" recipe.  I couldn't believe my eyes; there it was, the recipe she made, when I visited in June and helped her with a bake sale for God's Pantry.

You may not believe in miracles or twists of fate, but this recipe has been on my mind this past year, wondering where she could have kept it, and with Erin's surprise gift, I now have it.  She got the recipe from Real Simple magazine and with just a few ingredients, she easily made these up whenever she wanted to give something special to people.  The only change I made was that I used my homemade raspberry jam, but a good quality jam works too.

Kelly's Jam Bars

1 3/4 cup All-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1 /2 sticks) unsalted cold butter
1 1/2 oats (the recipe called for Quick, but both Kelly and I use Old-Fashioned)
2 T lemon zest (since I put lemon zest in my raspberry jam, I omitted this)
1 1/2 cups raspberry jam


Preheat oven 350F-degrees.  Lightly butter a 9" x 13" baking pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, salt and baking soda and whisk to combine.  Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and use a pastry cutter to incorporate into the dry ingredients.  (I used the food processor to mix the butter and dry ingredients, then put them back into the large bowl to continue.

Add the oatmeal to the bowl and stir to combine.

Measure the jam.  I didn't add the lemon zest since I use some lemon in my jam when I preserve it.

Spoon about two-thirds of the crumble mixture into the prepared pan.  Press down lightly.  Add the jam and use an off-set spatula to spread over the surface.  If you're using the lemon zest, sprinkle it on top of the jam.

Sprinkle the remaining one-third of the mixture on top of the jam layer.  Place in the preheated oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Let the bars cool in the pan about 30 minutes.  For ease in removing the bars, I run a straight spatula around the rim when I first take them out of the oven.

My 9" x 13" pan is a spring form, so after 30 minutes, I can remove the sides for easy cutting.

This recipe is a wonderful way to start off the New Year and I've made some resolutions. One of them is to get the "Give-Away" up on the 1st day of the month.  The fabric I chose is white poinsettias with a snowflake companion fabric and I thought it fit, not only the season, but the weather : )  Just leave a comment on the posts for the month of January and this apron could be yours.  Enjoy!