Molly Yeh of the popular blog, my name is yeh, shares a recipe from her book, Molly on The Range.
This cake is great because it is so rich and peanut buttery that it does not need to be frosted. Of course, I won’t complain if you do frost it, but my point is, this puppy can be whipped out and ready to eat in very little time. It is idiot-proof, hangover-proof, and can be made in even the most unequipped kitchens, for brunch dessert, lunch dessert, or dinner dessert. I’d encourage you to memorize this recipe and make it if ever you find yourself bored in a foreign kitchen or around people you want to impress in a short-ish amount of time. It’s the tastiest with the least amount of effort. Top it with a plop of yogurt, whipped cream, berries, a dusting of powdered sugar, or nothing at all.
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon (2.25 grams) kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon (3.75 grams) baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon (3.75 grams) baking soda
- 1 large egg (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 grams) buttermilk
- ¼ cup (56 grams) flavorless oil
- 6 tablespoons water
- ½ cup (128 grams) creamy unsalted, unsweetened peanut butter
- Confectioners’ sugar, whipped cream or yogurt, and/or fresh berries, for serving
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with baking spray with flour, and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, oil, 6 tablespoons water, and peanut butter. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Pour into the baking dish.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Begin checking for doneness at 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a rack to let cool completely, or serve while it’s still warm. Serve plain or with desired toppings.
This cake was insanely good and so easy to throw together!
[…] need it! When it came time to bake Dad a birthday cake it was to my trusty friend I turned. This cake is seriously easy, and with the measurements listed out in grams, I thought I’d try using my […]
Just saw this on the Kitchen Saturday morning we’ve already made it twice. This is amazing added chocolate chips and was so easy to convert to gluten free. Thank you.
So simple yet so scrumptious! Great recipe for when you need something impressive from your pantry. I topped with whipped cream & grated dark chocolate. So good!
On The Kitchen Show, a suggestion was thrown out that tahini might be substituted for the peanut butter. This did not work for me.