Any peanut butter-chocolate fans out there? How ’bout some cupcake fans? Well have I got the recipe for you! Peanut butter frosted chocolate cupcakes! Hello??? What more can you fans ask for?
The peanut butter frosting is so smooth and creamy. It’s a cinch to whip together too. It’s a great alternative to your basic chocolate or vanilla buttercream.
The cupcakes? Cook’s Illustrated chocolate cupcakes! I am a huge fan of Cook’s Illustrated. These were of course as good as I imagined they would be. Moist. Chocolatey. Springy, if you will haha but! They did bake up with a bit of a hard crust around the edges of the top. I hate when that happens with cupcakes. They should be soft and moist without any crispy bits. Oh well. It could have been my tiny German oven that caused that. Either way, the interior was very moist and that’s the important part.
Ohhhh and the chocolate cupcake recipe uses sour cream! I looove baking with sour cream. Always a good result.
This whole combination is a killer in cupcake form. Both the components are great on their own, but are really meant for each other. Feel free to use them individually though. The peanut butter frosting would be great topping on a brownie. The chocolate cupcakes would be wonderful with any kind of frosting.
I’ve tried two Peanut Butter Frosting recipes- the one below and the one given in Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes Book. Martha Stewarts’ frosting is pictured in the cupcakes in the glass votives. It’s much fluffier and lighter, but it was terribly salty and almost too wet. I didn’t like it at all. So although the one I have provided for you isn’t as sweet as I would prefer, it was the better of the two. You can always add more sugar. And if you would like it fluffier, just whip the cream then fold it in.
- For the Cupcakes:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup (1.5 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ¾ cup (3.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup (4 ounces) sour cream
- For the Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 1 cup (2 stick or 16 Tb) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 Tb heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (8 oz) confectioners’ sugar
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F. (If you are using a non-stick muffin pan, heat the oven to 325 degrees F.) Line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners.
- Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.
- Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.
- Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.
- For the Peanut Butter Frosting: Using stand mixer fitted with whisk, whip butter, peanut butter, heavy cream, and vanilla on med-high until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to med-low and slowly add sugar until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed to med-high and whip frosting until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
adapted from the Brown Eyed Baker
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Now who can possibly say no to these gorgeous little treats.