No-Bake "mock Cake"

Submitted by Saralaya

"This is a dessert made from bread, apple butter and peanut butter. Other fruit "butters" such as pumpkin or prune would work also and probably jam, too. I needed a dessert that had no dairy ingredients and did not have what I needed to bake from scratch ( my cake mixes were all dairy). I couldn't get to the store because we were in the middle of an ice storm! So, I decided to try using the sweet bread my husband likes for sandwiches. This happened to be maple cinnamon bread, but I'm sure raisin bread would work just as well. Plain bread might work, too, but I think the sweet bread helped this along. I used an 8x8 square pan because it was handy and the bread fits more easily, but other sizes would work too. You will NOT be using up all of the apple butter and peanut butter - so the nutrition numbers will be wrong - but the program insisted on numbers...lol... You can spread the stuff thick or thinly, depending on your needs and tastes, but you will need enough so the flavors soak into the bread. My husband really loved this and told me I do not need to wait for another round of inclement weather to make it for him again!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 3
• Serves: 6-9

ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) jar apple butter
• 1 (18 ounce) jar peanut butter
• 1 loaf maple cinnamon-swirl bread (or other sweet bread)

directions

1. Cut off the crusts of the bread as close to the crust as possible.
2. Figure out how you will need to cut some of the slices in order to make several layers in the pan, as close to the edges as possible.
3. Spread the apple butter on the top of the bread for the first layer and set into the pan.
4. Spread peanut butter on the bread for the second layer, set in the pan with the peanut butter side up.
5. Spread apple butter on the bread for the next layer, turn these slices over so the peanut butter and apple butter are mingling ( just like making a regular sandwich) leaving the top "plain" for now.
6. Depending on the size of the pan, continue until it reaches the top of the pan. I was able to get three layers from one small loaf of bread. Just make sure the top layer is plain for now.
7. Put plastic wrap on top of the "cake" pressing it down onto the top.
8. Using a couple of cans or jars, lay them on top, to weight it all down and help "mingle" the flavors.
9. Put in the fridge for at least 1 hour, moving the cans / jars around every so often to distribute the weight evenly.
10. After that, remove the cans / jars and the plastic wrap.
11. Spread apple butter on the top layer, cover the pan with foil (it won't stick to the spread on top as much) and return to the fridge.
12. Slice and serve when you are ready!

Reviews

[Meowmix318]

This actually did not bind well as a cake. I used chunky peanut butter for a added crunch, nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) and blueberry jam. I weighed this down with a small iron skillet and left in the fridge for several hours. But it still tasted like a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was a little dry to be mistaken as a cake. So I made a strawberry wine sauce and poured it on top and continued to weigh it down with my iron skillet. But that still wasn't like a cake. It tasted better with the sauce but I still don't think this binded quite well for a cake. But this makes a fantastic pb&j sandwich. I also made this with a cinnamon swirl bread and added in a piece of regular whole wheat bread (because I ran out of the cinnamon swirl to finish it).