Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

Picture from: fullforkahead
Image Credit: Kmont

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

“These cupcakes are still phenomenal several days after we made them. The cake wasn't dry and the chocolate flavor wasn't overpowering. It’s the perfect amount, actually, for the silky consistency of the peanut butter frosting.” Kmont

Ingredients:

12 tablespoons (1½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

⅔ cup granulated sugar

⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature

½ cup sour cream, at room temperature

2 tablespoons brewed coffee

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup good cocoa powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows

Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars 

on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.

Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer 

bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture.

Mix only until blended. 

Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it’s completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the 

right amount).

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow cooling completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

⅓ cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric 

mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you 

work.

Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Notes:

Our cupcakes baked up perfectly at 22 minutes per batch in the oven, but always remember to 

keep a close eye on yours since oven temps can vary a lot in how they cook.

The frosting is on the looser side, but we still managed to pipe it, so it’s manageable.

If you’re just going to spread it on, we used about three to four tablespoons or so of frosting per 

cupcake for that method.

We started out with about two to three but went back and added more when we saw we’d have 

enough frosting to do so.

Makes: 14-15 cupcakes

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