Hello, I am so excited about this cake mix!!!! It’s everything I love in one tidy highly giftable package: cute jars, sprinkles, typewriter cards, string, peanut butter (!), a menorah candle disguised as a birthday wish, and the anticipation of cake! Developing this might have been my favorite part of meal prep especially because it’s the most fun and also, well, it’s for my birthday today! I just figured, who knows if Eggboy will have time to bake my annual yellow cake, and I’ll certainly be too busy to pipe a dang embroidery marzipan llama. So what’s the easiest next best option? A homemade peanut butter cake mix with chocolate glaze mix that I can whip up with a Bernie in one arm and a whisk in the other. I assembled the mix back in March and it’s been sitting in my pantry since. (I kind of feel like I should have half a dozen of these on hand for future cake emergencies, no?) I’d never made anything like it before but realized after looking at my peanut butter cake ingredients that most of the ingredients are easily available in powdered form. Powdered peanut butter and powdered milk were the only two things that I didn’t already have on hand but I bought some at the store and tried them out and they worked so well! So the only things that are required for assembly are an egg, oil, and water, just like a store-bought mix! The result is a really moist and fluffy cake with a shiny chocolatey glaze. I made a set of dala horse cakes, just enough for our little family, but this can be made in a round 8” cake pan or easily doubled and made into a sheet cake!

Homemade Cake Mix for Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Glaze

Makes 1 One-layer 8” Round Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

3/4 c + 2 tb (175g) sugar

1/2 c + 2 tb (81g) all-purpose flour

1/2 c (65g) cake flour, or more all-purpose flour

1/4 c (28g) powdered peanut butter (such as PB2)

2 tb (14g) milk powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/8 tsp baking powder

Glaze:

1 c (120g) powdered sugar

1/4 c (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder (I like dutch cocoa for the darker color)

2 tb (14g) powdered peanut butter

1 tb (7g) milk powder

Other bells and whistles:

A birthday candle

A card with directions (see below)

A packet of sprinkles and other colorful candy

Other decorations as desired

Clues

In a medium jar (I used a 1/2 L Weck jar), layer the sugar, flour, cake flour, peanut butter powder, milk powder, salt, and baking powder. In a separate smaller jar (I used a 1/4 L Weck jar), layer the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, peanut butter powder, and milk powder. Cover and wrap up cutely with a candle, directions card, a packet of sprinkles, and any other decorations. Go wild! Gift it to the birthday person! 

Directions To Bake (print this out or make a card on a typewriter if you’re into that)

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºf. Grease an 8” round cake pan.

2. Dump the large jar into a bowl and whisk to combine. Add 1 large egg, 1 cup water, and 1/4 cup oil and whisk to combine. 

3. Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan.

Glaze:

1. Add 3 tablespoons water to the small jar and mix until spreadable, adding an additional tablespoon of water if it’s too thick to spread. Pour over cake.

2. Decorate and enjoy!

-yeh!

photos by chantell and brett quernemoen