In the early stages of her pregnancy the doctors told her that in order to increase her chances of the embryo implanting successfully she needed to consume a lot of calories.
She did exactly that.
Oh how I was secretly jealous of her free hall pass to eat anything and everything. But the secret, in my opinion, was in the peanut butter. She ate a jar of peanut butter a week...just by the spoonfuls.
This recipe comes from Nina Jones, a reader of this blog, who said after reading my blog she immediately thought of this recipe to send me. Thank you!
These are definitely for peanut butter lovers or those trying to conceive (ha-ha). It's surprisingly lighter than I thought (I was expecting a heavy bar for some reason) and not too sweet. Don't laugh...I know my sweet scale is a little higher notched than most but I really enjoyed it.
Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
by Nina JonesMix in pan and bring to a boil:
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
Mix together the following and add to the above mixture:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
Mix and add to the above mixture:
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
Stir well and pour into greased or parchment lined cookie sheet pan (jellyroll pan). Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
Frosting
Mix in pan and bring to a boil:
3/4 cup butter
6 Tbsp buttermilk
1/2 cup peanut butter
Take off stove and add:
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp vanilla. Pour over warm cake.
Not prego but LOVING this recipe!!! Thanks!
oh wow! I bet you could use a big old glass of milk with this cake!
Looks like a yummy recipe! I'm in love with all things peanut butter :-)
This would've been a great tip for us a few months ago... we are having a hard time getting pregnant, too. Maybe when we're ready again I'll try this recipe.
Alayna,
I'm sorry to hear that. We tried for years with our first.
I don't want to mislead you...I think a lot of calories just helps if you are doing IVF. Maybe the natural way too...but I'm not sure.
It's good either way,
Christy
I just made this recipe and was wondering what I did wrong? The frosting is all separating and looking oily, not pretty like yours. ???
I also baked mine for 25 min in a 9x13 pan which came out fine.
Absolutely yummy!!!!
Rachelle,
Oh no! I just double checked to make sure there weren't any typos in the recipe and there weren't. The only thing I can think of is maybe the kind of peanut butter you used is different? I used plain old JIF.
Christy
Love the story about your sister - this recipes looks sooooo good !!
I found your blog by chance on TasteSpotting. I stopped by to look at your cake, but ended up staying much longer than I planned. I really like your blog and will be back often to see what you've been cookin'. Have a great day...Mary
I am a stalker and am finally leaving a comment!!
If I could give away some of my baby making vibes I would! I am currently expecting #7 with an IUD still in my uterus... apparently we were supposed to have this many as I have also gotten pregnant on the pill and Nuva ring. We love all of them and are extremely blessed, I can't imagine how hard it is to not be able to conceive.
Alas, I have never been able to have the eat calories excuse! But I am going to make some anyway and have everyone eat them in honor of all you ladies that have a hard time getting pregnant in hopes that some magic will happen!
Thanks for all the great recipes, I always look forward to a new post!
I don't really think I need the extra calories but if I thought it would actually help I'd eat a jar a day!
Cake looks awesome!
I'll be making this one. Thanks!
Laura
Oh cool, I see Mary up there stopped by your blog. She is amazing. Ok, I'm off now. Really lol...
I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER MORE THAN CHOCOLATE!! And this recipe is gonna be made at my house soon. And I must tell you I clicked on it from foodgawker and poof there you were...totally cool! :)N
Your blog is my new favorite blog! I love the recipes~
Looks delicious, and I have all the ingredients on hand... might have to go try them!
ummm! Christy really my diet is suffering because of this blog. I am hooked and my friends here in Chicago all read it too. thanks!
Peanut Butter is so yummy! I eat a spoonful every morning in my oatmeal. I'll be giving this recipe a try for sure!
Oh girl! I made this last night, after spotting it on foodgawker. YUM! I even bragged about you on my blog. :)
OMG this looks beyond amazing... will be making ASAP
Ooh, this sounds amazing! I'm not sure I need another baby, but if it means I get to eat jars of peanut butter, well, I'm in! :) Sounds like a great cake!
Hey there...
I searched for a recipe like my mom use to make...This was even better then expectation! I love it! Thank you... :))
hi...i just made this cake and though i have not tasted it yet, i know it is going to be a huge hit around here. thanks for the recipe!
These bars are yummy. My 7 year old and I made them for the fam tonight and had them for dessert with milk. delicious. Thanks!
Hi! Wondering if you can add frosting a few hours later? Made the bar without realizing I had no powder sugar. Thanks :)
Yum yum yum! This peanut butter sheet cake looks really delicious!! You should consider entering this cake into Recipe4Living's 5th Birthday Recipe Contest! The site is turning 5 years old, and we're giving away a Scharffen Berger gift basket to the top birthday cake that's submitted!
Just found this on Pinterest! Made a test-run a few days ago, and now making for an 8 year-old's birthday! So yummy, and thanks for sharing!
yumm... gonna try this for sure!
Odd question, the recipe states that you start adding the ingredients to the top section that you have heated to a boil. So after it comes to a boil, are you removing it from the heat and then adding the next group???
Yes, you remove the first group from the heat and add it to the second. Kind of confusing. I will try to fix it in the recipe.
Just made this (ran across it on Pintrest), and it is awesome. I was wondering if anyone has made this in a 13x9 pan instead of a cookie sheet. If so, what was the cooking time? Thanks so much for a great recipe!
the soda that you use is baking soda right?
Yes. Baking soda. Sorry. Need to change that.
I'm wondering if you changed the frosting to be melted chocolate instead of adding the peanut butter. I love peanut butter, but I thought maybe it would be better if the flavors were broken up a little bit? But I'm not a baker so I don't know how it would turn out consistency wise, just thinking ;)
@Michelle,
I'm all about peanut butter and chocolate but I would have to experiment to see if it would work. Good luck!
@Michelle,
I'm all about peanut butter and chocolate but I would have to experiment to see if it would work. Good luck!
Congrats to your sister! This looks so good.
First, congrats to your sister!!! Second, this cake sounds very similar to something the lunch ladies in my elementary school (and I'm almost 42) used to make and have looked long and hard for a recipe that resembles it...yes, I've obsessed about it that long...and I'm not even that much of a peanut butter fan!!! Is this cake kind of dense?? Theirs was...and it was my favorite dessert in elementary school...I'm seriously drooling thinking about it! Okay, never mind...I'm just going to make your recipe to find out! Thanks for sharing!!!
We must have screwed this up! Son and I just pulled out of the oven - and it is runny? And we baked it for 25 minutes. Seems like too much liquid to turn it into cake? Idk...looks pretty in the picture.
Ok...ignore my last post - looks like no cooking merit badge for my boy scout...he admitted tonight that he used powdered sugar instead of flour in the cake :( We'll try it again - this time he will stay out of the kitchen :)
omg...this was fabulous! The icing is to die for and it is really hard not to eat it all while waiting for the cake to cool down!! LOL!! It smelled divine, beautiful texture, very moist and you are right "not too sweet". Thanks for posting this.
Shoot I want thins like RIGHT NOW, lol I have everything but butter milk..could you use 2% milk?? Needddd this lol
@sarah, aw shoot. I think buttermilk is a necessity in this. Just my personal opinion. :)
You can make your own form of buttermilk if you don't have any on hand. Just add a tablespoon of vinegar to the milk the recipe calls for. Basically, you want something to interact with the baking soda and make it bubble up and rise. It's an old trick my mom taught me. I cut the recipe in half and baked in a 9 x 9 inch pan for about 20-25 minutes. Turned out perfectly and is a hit in my house!
I'm not much of a baker, but I'm gonna try this. What type of flour?
@workinggal, just regular all purpose flour is all you need.
I really want to try this recipe, it sounds delicious! I've never sifted brown sugar though. How does that work? Seems like it would be a pretty heft task!
@SheilaA,
Haha! You're absolutely right. That would be hard to sift brown sugar. I'm changing the directions...
I just finished making this! Talk about one delicious recipe! I love peanut butter and this definitely satisfied my craving :) Like stated, a small piece is definitely enough to begin with. Thanks for the recipe!
I'd like to turn this recipe into a PB&J cupcake...your cake looks so much more moist than other recipes I've come across! Do you think the cake will hold up to being cooked in cupcake form, then filled with jam? I wasn't sure what the consistency of the finished cake was. Also, the icing looks fairly runny--I'm wondering if I could turn it into a peanut butter buttercream by letting the cooked portion cool first, then adding a little extra p. sugar. If anyone has experimented with this, I'd love to hear how it turned out.
@Megan G,
Crepes of wrath made these into cupcakes and simply didn't cook the frosting and her's turned out great. Here's her version: http://crepesofwrath.net/2010/05/24/peanut-butter-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter-frosting/
This sounds like a Peanut Butter Texas Sheet Cake. I have recipes for a chocolate and a vanilla Texas Sheet Cake. This will be a great addition. All three kinds on a tray would be great for a carry-in meal! Thanks for a nice blog.
Just had a piece of this. Very tasty! VERY rich. We all agreed it needed a brownie layer on the bottom, but then you could only stand to have a teeny tiny piece. That would be hard for me, but still worth a try!