Instructions

Make the cherry compote:

1. Add the cherries, organic cane sugar, and water to a heavy, wide saucepan and cook over medium to medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved and cherries soften and release their cherry juice, approximately 15 minutes. If you are using frozen cherries, it will take a little longer to cook them.
2. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust lemon juice and sugar if needed.
3. Allow the cherry compote to cool before transferring to a clean glass jar. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Make the crumb:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F.
2. Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Toss with your hands to mix.
3. Add the melted butter. Toss using a spatula until the mixture starts to come together and form small clusters.
4. Spread the clusters on a parchment-or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes. The crumbs should be sandy at that point, and your kitchen should smell like buttery heaven. Cool the crumbs completely.
5. Crumble any shortcake crumb into clusters that are larger than ½ inch in diameter. The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.

Make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Melt the butter In a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Swirl the butter in the pan so the solids won’t remain in the bottom and burn. The butter will eventually start to froth and boil. As soon as this happens keep moving the pan around until the center of the butter starts to brown. Remove from the heat and pour into a mixing bowl. This process can take about 5-10 minutes.
3. After the butter has cooled for about 5 minutes, add the granulated and brown sugars with the vanilla and stir. Add the room temperature eggs one at a time and stirring rapidly.
4. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt together, and stir to combine ingredients well. Add the flour mixture to the browned butter mixture and stir on low while slowly adding the buttermilk. Keep mixing until combined.
5. Spread batter out in your lined quarter sheet pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Make the frosting:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and salt. Beat on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, and then increase the speed to medium to keep beating until the frosting is smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
3. Taste and add powdered sugar or salt if desired. You can add more powdered sugar to thicken the consistency or heavy cream (1/2 tablespoon at a time) if it needs to be thinner.

Assemble the cake:

1. Put a piece of parchment or a silpat on the counter. Invert the cake onto it and peel off the parchment or silpat from the bottom of the cake. Use the cake ring to stamp out 2 circles from the cake. These are your top 2 cake layers. The remaining cake “scrap” will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake.
2. Clean the cake ring and place it in the center of a sheet pan lined with clean parchment or a silpat. Use 1 strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring. Put the cake scraps together inside the ring and use the back of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer.
3. Use the back of a spoon to spread about 1/3 of the frosting in an even layer over the cake.
4. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the cinnamon crumbs evenly over the frosting. Use the back of your hand to anchor them in place.
5. Spread about half of the cherry compote over the crumb, using the back of a spoon to spread it out.
6. Nestle the remaining cake round on top of the compote, and repeat the frosting, crumb, and jam layers.
7. Put your final piece of cake on top, and frost with the remaining frosting. Decorate with any leftover crumb, as desired.
8. Transfer the sheet pan to the fridge or freezer for a minimum of 7 hours to set the cake and filling. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
9. When you’re ready to serve the cake, remove the acetate and allow it to come to room temperature.
10. Slice the cake into wedges and serve.