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So, school starts next week. {Yay!}
I love so many things about the start of a new school year.
I love that twinge in my belly…the newness. Everyone says Spring is the rebirth…but for me I feel like I start anew every September. And, even though I have not personally attended classes or taught for seven years now, I still get that renewed feeling.
I love the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. Actually, I love the school supply section in general. Pens, pencils, erasers, folders, notebooks, oh my! And everything is on sale for practically $1!
{Unless you buy 30 things. Then you’ve just spent $30. With $30 I could have gotten a pedicure.}
I love the early mornings. We don’t have to re-train Jordan to get up early. I’m lucky if she stays in bed until 6:00 am on a Saturday, let alone on a school day. The early out of the house means I can run outdoors (no childcare needed) in cooler weather.
I love the thought that, because school is here that means that eventually it will be Fall and it won’t be 108 degrees anymore.
What I don’t love about the school year? Making lunch.
Is anyone with me on this? I mean, it’s hard enough to get variety in my kids’ diet without having to pack it in a box with an ice pack that will inevitably melt before recess, rendering the contents luke-warm and melty by lunch.
If I left it to Jordan she would eat salami every single day. But only because I won’t let her have fried chicken.
I’m constantly trying to come up with new lunchbox ideas. But when your kid won’t eat anything but salami, that gets difficult.
However, I think she’d eat this sandwich, no problem.
I saw the idea for this sandwich in Food Network Magazine. That “bread” is actually cake.
Kinda genius, actually.
It’s a cupcake without the icing mess.
Because the icing is the sandwich filling.
The Food Network version was a big cake. I wanted to make actual sandwich size mini cakes. So I baked half a box of white cake mix and baked it in a 9″ square pan. I cut the square into four pieces and cut off the edges and the top and bottom (because no crust is allowed in my house). Do you all have that problem? I stuff a sandwich with crust in the lunch box and it comes home looking like a deformed rainbow.
Then you tort the four small cakes, so they look like bread. I know, my torting skills need work. But that crooked piece doesn’t matter. Just turn it upside down, no one will ever know.
You could use jelly for the rest of your sandwich. That’s not how we roll in this house.
We roll Nutella-style.
Sandwich these babies up, wrap ’em in plastic and chill until they’ve firmed up. It’s like April Fool’s Day in August.
A sandwich Jordan will eat. And a new reason to love the new school year: making cute school-themed food.
What do you love about back-to-school?
PB & Nutella Sandwich Cakes
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 1 1/2 cups white cake mix from a box
- 1/2 cup water
- 7 tablespoons oil
- 2 egg whites
- (This recipe makes 4 sandwiches. If you want more, make the whole box of cake mix using the ingredients called for on the box.)
- For the Peanut Butter & Nutella Filling
1/2 stick butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup Nutella
- 2-4 tablespoons milk , divided
- (You will have extra filling unless you make extra “bread.”)
Instructions
Make the Bread
- Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 9” square pan and line the bottom with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Mix all cake ingredients in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan and bake 20-23 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.
- To make your slices: Cut cake in four equal pieces. Cut off the edges. Carefully cut off the top and bottom. Slice in half lengthwise to create two slices of bread. You will have 8 slices.
Make the Filling
- ?Mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Divide into two equal portions. Transfer half to another bowl.
- Add peanut butter to one half of frosting and mix with a hand mixer. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to get desired spreading consistency.
- Add Nutella to remaining half of frosting and beat with hand mixer. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to get desired spreading consistency.
- Spread peanut butter frosting on one slice of “bread.” Top with Nutella frosting and second slice of bread. Wrap in plastic and chill until firmed up. Repeat with remaining bread and frosting.
Enjoy!
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Last Updated on September 10, 2023
ok I would so eat that! But we are not allowed to send nut things to school, which is fine because my kid will not eat a sandwich. Seriously it is all we can do to get him to eat, so he gets veggies and cheese and olives and such. I leave lunch to hubby because he is way better at it than me ,I will sneak in a cake pop every now and then. And is usually comes home too.
I’m not sure what I’d do without peanut butter. It’s only a matter of time before that happens at our school too.
I recently came across a similar “cake-wich” recipe, but the best part was that it was made with an actual cakewich mold! Go figure, they make everything nowadays. This was her blog post: http://sweetlittlethang.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/cakewich-time/
Favorite part of going back to school: the smell of freshly-minted textbooks! And tossing some *cookie butter* into that packed sandwich. (Yep, I just went there.)
Yum, cookie butter would be totally awesome! And I’ll have to check out that pan. 🙂
LOVE this idea. And cake for lunch? You’re like the lunch box fairy. Kids will love you for spreading this idea.
I’m thankful I don’t do packed lunches. My kids all have school hot dinners which is great for me as I’d go insane packing 3 separate packed lunches.
-Lisa.
Sweet 2 Eat Baking
PB & Nutella – the only thing better than PB & J or PB & Chocolate may be PB & N 🙂
That’s for sure!
Those are awesome. I should start packing them in my lunch. I just loaded up my food drawer (oh, I do have a food drawer) with granola bars and Soup at Hand today. I’m horrible at packing lunches.
Did you have “extra filling”? I wonder what you did with it…
Oh I’m glad my son (who is 2) isn’t the only one that lives off salami. I think I’ll try this for lunch tomorrow, thanks for posting!
Enjoy! 🙂
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ohh I like this!! How fun would this be for a pic-nic themed party 🙂
That would be too cool. Thanks for visiting!
I saw this idea in FN magazine and loved it! Love that you made mini snack cakes 🙂 I totally want this in my lunch! And I love that you’re so excited for school, miss math teacher!
What a fun idea! I am cracking up that crust is not allowed in the Crazy For Crust housa, haha! 😉
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