Go Back Email Link
+ servings
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

Our friend Mary Fran's gluten-free Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes are next-level delicious!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake, cupcake recipes, gluten-free cupcakes
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Author: Mary Fran Wiley

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 315 grams (2¼ cups) gluten-free all-purpose flour*
  • 1 gram (1 teaspoon) xanthan gum** if your blend does not contain it
  • 10 grams (2 teaspoons) baking powder
  • 5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
  • 3 grams (½ teaspoon) salt
  • 205 grams (¾ cup) smooth peanut butter
  • 85 grams 6 tablespoons or ¾ stick butter, softened
  • 100 grams (½ cup) granulated sugar
  • 110 grams (½ cup) firmly packed brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (265 ml) buttermilk

For the Frosting:

  • 170 grams (1½ sticks) butter, softened
  • 65-130 grams (¼-½ cup) smooth peanut butter
  • 675-900 grams (6-8 cups) confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (118 mls) milk
  • pinch of salt

Filling:

  • ½ pint your favorite jam or preserves

Instructions

Make the Cupcakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 C). Position one rack in the center and one in the top third of the oven. Line a cupcake tin with papers and grease the tops (just in case)
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum (if using), baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter, sugar and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. You want the mixture to be light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute on medium and scraping down the sides of the bowl before each addition.
  • Add half the flour mixture and mix on low speed and slowly add the buttermilk.
  • Scrape down the sides and add the rest of the flour mixture until the batter just starts to come together. Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish stirring with a spatula.
  • Use a spring loaded ice cream scoop or spoon to fill the cupcake papers ½-⅔ full.
  • Place one cupcake tin on each rack and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pans and bake for another 8-12 minutes. You want a toothpick to come out clean and the top of the cakes to bounce back if pressed.
  • Cool completely on a cooling rack.

Make the Frosting:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, 65 grams (¼ cup) of the peanut butter, 450 grams (4 cups) of the sugar, the milk and the vanilla.
  • Beat on medium for 3-5 minutes.
  • Gradually add the remaining sugar 1 cup (115 grams) at a time, beating for 2 minutes after each addition.
  • When the frosting is firm enough to pipe, stop adding sugar and add the salt. If the frosting is too firm or not peanut butter-y enough you can add more peanut butter. I used ¼ cup and nearly the full amount of powdered sugar. Your results will depend on the humidity, the type of peanut butter and how soft your butter was.

Assembly:

  • Remove the centers of the cupcakes with a cupcake corer or a paring knife, being sure to leave a little cake at the bottom of your well.
  • Pipe in the jam or preserves until the well is almost full. Replace the tops of your holes (you will toss some cake, just save the part that is the very top of the removed cake) to keep the jam from making the frosting mushy.
  • Pipe your frosting on your cupcakes. I made rosettes because I don’t think these need that much frosting, but you will have enough frosting to do a normal swirl if you would like.
  • Sprinkle with decorative sugar, if you feel like it. I used pink to represent the strawberry jam inside.

Notes

*I prefer Cup4Cup gluten-free all purpose flour and use it in all of my tests. You would also have good results with Jules Nearly Normal Flour and Better Batter.
**If your gluten-free all-purpose blend includes xanthan gum or an equivalent (the ones listed above all do), you can omit this.