This mini cake recipe combines the perfect pair of peanut butter & jelly and milk into one Peanut Butter & Jelly Hot Milk Cake! The classic hot milk cake your grandmother made is kicked up with Peanut Butter Whipped Cream, Homemade Strawberry Jam, and Marshmallow Whipped Cream – should you choose to be indulgent!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cake for Two, Hot Milk Cake, Mini Cake, Strawberry Jam, Whipped Peanut Butter
Make the strawberry jam first so it has time to cool. Making it the night before is even better! You will likely have extra jam.
In a small saucepan, add the strawberries and lemon juice. Cook on medium heat until the strawberries start to break down and bubble. Then add the maple syrup.
While the jam is cooking, occasionally stir and gently mash the strawberries with a wooden spoon (or just let the strawberries cook if you prefer chunky jam). Cook the jam for about 30 minutes - allowing the strawberries to break down, thicken, and the liquid to reduce. Optional - add more maple syrup or lemon juice to your preferred taste.
Allow the jam to cool slightly in the saucepan before transferring to a glass jar. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Hot Milk Cake
Preheat oven to 325F degrees and adjust oven rack to the middle position. Line the bottom of the quarter baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Lightly grease the pan and paper.
In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar. Using a hand held mixer with the whisk attachments, beat on medium speed until light, fluffy, and tripled in volume. Set aside.
In 3 increments, sprinkle the dry ingredients over the egg mix - mixing to just combine after each addition. Set aside while you heat the butter and milk.
In a small saucepan, add the butter and milk. Simmer over low heat until the butter is melted and small bubbles form along the sides of the saucepan.
Drizzle the warm milk into the egg mixture while beating at low speed. Mix until just combined. The batter will be thin and it is ok if there are lumps in the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the pan onto the wire rack to remove the cake, and slowly peel off the parchment paper. Allow the cake to cool completely before assembling.
Peanut Butter Whipped Cream
While the cakes are cooling, make the peanut butter whipped cream.
In a small mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and peanut butter. Use a hand-held mixer and beat on medium-high speed until it starts to thicken. Then add the maple syrup (or powdered sugar). Continue to beat until stiff peaks form - about 3-4 minutes. Refrigerate the whipped cream until ready to use.
Marshmallow Whipped Cream - Optional
In a small mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and marshmallow cream. Use a hand-held mixer and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Cake Assembly
You can either keep the cake as a sheet cake, or use a large cookie cutter to cut into smaller cakes. Either version - spread on a generous amount of the strawberry jam on top of the cake first. Then gently spread on the Peanut Butter Whipped Cream. Then the Marshmallow Whipped Cream (if using - and in any order is fine!)
Notes
For the Peanut Butter Whipped Cream - I recommend using regular creamy peanut butter - not organic or natural peanut butter, where the oil separates from the butter. I have found that even stirring this type of peanut butter leaves the whipped cream with an oily taste.