These high altitude peanut butter and jelly cupcakes have soft vanilla cupcakes filled with homemade strawberry compote, frosted with fluffy peanut butter buttercream. They’re finished with more of the strawberry compote on top, and a sprinkling of crushed salted peanuts.
You might also like these recipes for no churn peanut butter and jelly ice cream, peanut butter and jelly cookies, and chocolate peanut butter cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tastes Like a PB & J Sandwich. If you love a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you’ll love these cupcakes, which have all the flavor of a sandwich, but in a sweet dessert.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Cake Flour. Use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour for a softer, lighter, fluffier cupcake. The lower protein content in the cake flour makes a lighter texture that’s best for vanilla cake.
- Strawberries. For the filling, you can use either fresh or frozen strawberries.
- Corn Starch. Thickens the strawberries into a sauce that’s similar to pie filling.
- Peanut Butter. Use creamy peanut butter for the frosting. All-natural peanut butter that needs to be stirred should be avoided, as it’s not very stable for using in buttercream.
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line standard-sized muffin/cupcake pans with 18 paper liners.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the melted butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until smooth and combined.
- Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling them 2/3 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 18-22 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Cool in the pan for several minutes, then gently transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Strawberry Filling
- If using fresh strawberries, wash and hull the strawberries first. In a saucepan, combine the chopped/sliced strawberries with the sugar, corn starch, vanilla and lemon juice.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and stir frequently, until the liquid starts to thicken. Once it thickens, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Remove from the heat, and use a potato masher to mash any large pieces of strawberries so you have a thick compote with small pieces of fruit throughout.
- Cool completely before filling the cupcakes.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute, until smooth.
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls. Add the vanilla extract.
- Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl down several times, until very light and fluffy.
- Add the peanut butter, turn the speed down to “stir”, and mix for one more minute.
Assembly
- Use a cupcake corer (or just a small knife) to remove the centers of the cupcakes. Spoon the strawberry compote into the cupcakes to fill the centers, reserving some of the compote for the tops of the cupcakes.
- Use a piping bag fitted with tip 1M to pipe the peanut butter frosting on top of the cupcakes. I started by first piping a simple rosette, then added a “ring” of buttercream on top of the rosette. This leaves an open well in the center for more of the compote.
- Decorate the cupcakes by spooning the rest of the strawberry compote on top, then sprinkle with crushed salted peanuts.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days, but bring to room temperature for several hours, before serving.
You can make the compote up to three days in advance, keeping it refrigerated until needed. You can even make the buttercream in advance, keeping it frozen for up to 3-6 months, then thaw it completely before using.
You can use natural peanut butter, as long as it does not need to be stirred. The all-natural type that has to be stirred after the oil separates doesn’t work well in buttercream, as it’s not as stable.
Personally, I think these are best with either a strawberry or raspberry filling. You can substitute raspberries for the strawberries.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 10 minutes
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Filling
- ¾ lb fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp corn starch
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Peanut Butter Buttercream
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp meringue powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp milk (only if needed for consistency)
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup salted peanuts
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line standard-sized muffin/cupcake pans with 18 paper liners.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Separately, whisk together the melted butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, oil, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until smooth and combined.
- Divide the batter between the paper liners, filling them 2/3 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 18-22 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Cool in the pan for several minutes, then gently transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Strawberry Filling
- If using fresh strawberries, wash and hull the strawberries first. In a saucepan, combine the chopped/sliced strawberries with the sugar, corn starch, vanilla and lemon juice.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and stir frequently, until the liquid starts to thicken. Once it thickens, continue to cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Remove from the heat, and use a potato masher to mash any large pieces of strawberries so you have a thick compote with small pieces of fruit throughout.
- Cool completely before filling the cupcakes.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute, until smooth.
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients by spoonfuls. Add the vanilla extract.
- Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl down several times, until very light and fluffy.
- Add the peanut butter, turn the speed down to "stir", and mix for one more minute.
Assembly
- Use a cupcake corer (or just a small knife) to remove the centers of the cupcakes. Spoon the strawberry compote into the cupcakes to fill the centers, reserving some of the compote for the tops of the cupcakes.
- Use a piping bag fitted with tip 1M to pipe the peanut butter frosting on top of the cupcakes. I started by first piping a simple rosette, then added a "ring" of buttercream on top of the rosette. This leaves an open well in the center for more of the compote.
- Decorate the cupcakes by spooning the rest of the strawberry compote on top, then sprinkle with crushed salted peanuts.
Notes
- Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days, but bring to room temperature for several hours, before serving.
- You can make the compote up to three days in advance, keeping it refrigerated until needed.
- You can use natural peanut butter, as long as it does not need to be stirred. The all-natural type that has to be stirred after the oil separates doesn’t work well in buttercream.
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