Salty Caramel Peanut Butter Snacking Cake

Comfort me with snacking cakes. Even better – comfort me with this salty caramel peanut butter snacking cake! When I first saw mention of Yossy’s latest brilliant book Snacking Cakes, I just knew it would be the emotional eating tome of Covid 19. I think we all knew we loved snacking cakes but we didn’t quite know the term for it – a simple, single layer cake with an easy to make frosting or glaze, perfect to whip up on a random Wednesday to make a dragging day feel a little more special.

Print Recipe

Salty Caramel Peanut Butter Snacking Cake

By: Lyndsay // Coco Cake Land

Makes: 8 slices

ingredients

For the peanut butter cake

• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, well shaken
• 1/2 cup neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
• 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

For the caramel frosting

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup 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)

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instructions

Make the cake

• Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter or coat an 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with a circle of parchment paper cut to size.
• In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and kosher salt. Whisk until smooth andemulsified.
• Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and whisk until well-combined and smooth.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles, and smooth the top of the batter with an offset spatula.
• Bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes depending on your oven. Set the pan on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes, then turn out the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting

• 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 release the heat.
• After 3 minutes, whisk in the kosher salt and confectioners’ sugar until smooth and slightly thickened.
• Spread the icing over the cooled cake and sprinkle with flaky salt, if using.
• Let the icing set for about 20 minutes before slicing the cake. Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for up to three days.

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Snacking Cakes is the perfect comfort for our pandemic-shattered minds, a cookbook page-turner to relax the anxious old noggin – it’s like you’re being hugged by Yossy’s calming, beautiful photos of softly tender-crumbed cakes.

After picking up my copy at my fave local indie bookshop, an hour later I was in the kitchen whipping up this salty caramel peanut butter snacking cake because after looking at Yossy’s dreamy photos of this lushly crumbed, fudgey-caramel-iced cake with snowflakes of flakey sea salt, I JUST HAD TO HAVE A PIECE. It came together in a flash, and suddenly our little family’s day felt exciting with a special dessert awaiting our weeknight dinner! A note about peanut butter: use non-fancy peanut butter for this, ie something like Kraft or Skippy (the junky delicious kind of PB!)