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Wednesday 20 January 2010

Re-Inventing the Lamington Day Five: PBJ Lamingtons



(In which Mr. P really mixes it up.)

Peanut butter and jelly is as American a combination as you can get. Lamingtons are Australian, and I am British. This one is already starting to sound like a joke. But hear me out!

I adore peanut butter. I eat it almost everyday, and it's a fact (a fact!) that it goes with almost anything. I love the way it coats the roof of your mouth when you eat it, I love the chunky texture, and I love the smooth flavour. If you think you do not like it, leave now and do not come back until you have eaten a scoop of vanilla ice-cream topped with peanut butter. You'll see.



(A related side note: a peanut butter loving colleague of mine, who's from the Czech Republic, says that you can't get peanut butter there - it doesn't exist. Can we all spare a thought for them, please?)




I did not grow up eating peanut butter with jam sandwiches, and admit to struggling with the combination when I first tried it. But then, a few years ago, I saw Nigel Slater (who I think I love almost, but not quite as much as I do Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall) making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on TV with an American lady, and she said that it was only a true PBJ if you use jelly, not jam, and grape jelly at that. I had never even heard of grape jelly! So, ladies and gentlemen, I hope you'll applaud my getting hold of some specifically for this challenge. How's that for lamington love? In fact, you could use any jam for this, since you have to melt it down anyway, but it is true that the grapey flavour goes quite nicely with the nutty butter filling.


The happy couple.

Nigel Slater's guest also said that real kids ate their PBJs whole, and that only 'a pussy' would cut them in half. I wonder what she'd make of my heart-shaped lamingtons?

Peanut Butter and Jelly Lamingtons

You will need:

1/2 quantity Mr. P's Lamington Base
1 jar peanut butter
1 jar grape jelly
200g dessicated coconut
wafer flowers, or whatever you like, to place on top

  1. Cut the cake into the shapes you like. I peanut butter, so the choice was simple for me.
  2. Empty the jelly into a glass bowl, and add a little water. Microwave on full power for a minute or two, stirring often, until all the jelly has melted and you have a thick, purple liquid.
  3. Slice the cakes in half, and spread one half with peanut butter. Top with the other half, and press firmly together.
  4. Dip these sandwiches into the jelly glaze, and then into a dish of coconut. Coat thoroughly, and set aside to dry.
  5. Garnish if you like, before eating.
Don't forget to Re-Invent the Lamington! Deadline 26 January.

12 comments:

  1. Pete I'll have you know that I scampered over to my computer and said "OOO Lamingtons!" in my head this morning! You are so creative! Love these PB and Js, yum yum!

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  2. :-) Love this....will have to seek out grape jelly too!!!!!!!!!!!

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  3. Lynda - I think that when this is over, I'll be devastated that there is no longer a purpose in my life. At the moment, lamingtons = my brain!

    Kitchen Butterfly - Along with my other favourites, these were my favourites!

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  4. Brilliant - they look and sound delicious. I never knew that PBJ had to be jelly, not jam, and I have never heard of grape jelly!

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  5. Looks delicious and beautiful! What about Peanut Butter and Honey? Have you had that?

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  6. Ok, you must understand as an American how odd it is to imagine a world where grape jelly and peanut butter might seem exotic. This is probably a more ubiquitous feature of the American table than apple pie... and I happen to dislike both (gasp).

    That being said, this looks like a PBJ even I could love.

    And yes, grape jelly is a must. You can even get swirled jars of both grape jelly and peanut butter here called Smucker's GOOBER. Yep, for reals.

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  7. Ah-ha! I was wondering when someone would make this version! Well done. Send one over here will you?

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  8. I never used to like peanut butter. I also got terribly confused when reading about peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in books (such as the Babysitters Club...crucial reading in my time) because I couldn't figure out why anyone would want to, or indeed how they managed to, put jelly inside a sandwich. Of course, what we call jelly is what Americans call jello, and it's really not sandwich friendly.

    Anyway, I now love peanut butter and have increased my food vocab so I wholeheartedly approve of this creation! Bravo!

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  9. Mae - Dislike apple pie? What? And peanut butter outright, or just with jelly? I am shocked.

    Conor - We shared similar thoughts growing up. Except I never read the Babysitter's Club. Still, let's not point fingers. I just owned up to loving pina colada.

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  10. I saw that episode of Nigel Slater's Real Food Show. I love the way he describes ingredients with such zeal. And how he randomly decides to cook the most decadent things in the middle of the night! I've never been a fan of the PB&J Sandwich but in a cake...? Well now that's different... I would devour the jelly filled heart in a single bite :p The rose lamingtons you did are defo my favourite though. They're just beautiful!

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  11. Now, Sanjana, about NS: I have a female friend who is considerably younger than I am, and she thinks he's cute, borderline hot; she'd marry him.

    How do you feel about that?

    ReplyDelete

That's what he said.

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