Make Ahead

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

by:
July 16, 2012
0
0 Ratings
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes
  • Makes 3 dozen cupcakes
What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Chocolate Cake
  • 2 cups sugar, brown or white (454g)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour (272g or 9oz)
  • 2/3 cup high quality cocoa powder, like valrhona (90g)
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (6g)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (8g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (6g)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature (100g)
  • 1/2 cup room temperature melted butter (120g)
  • 1 cup old coffee, though water will do (240ml)
  • 1 cup buttermilk, though plain milk will do (240ml)
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (10g)
  • Peanut Butter Swiss Buttercream
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar (250g)
  • 5 large egg whites, room temperature (should weigh out to 150g)
  • 1.5 teaspoons vanilla (7g)
  • 3 sticks room temperature butter, cut in small cubes (340g)
  • 3/4 cup (or more) peanut butter, to taste
  • 1/4 lemon for cleaning bowl
  • Pinch salt
Directions
  1. Chocolate Cake
  2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your cupcake pan with liners.
  3. Sift your flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder into a large bowl. Add your sugar and salt - whisk until combined. Set aside.
  4. Measure out your buttermilk, coffee, melted butter, eggs and vanilla and add to dry ingredients. Whisk for 1-2 minutes until there are no lumps.
  5. Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 high with batter and bake for 10 - 12 minutes until they bounce back when touched OR when a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool, or if you're impatient like I am, put them in the freezer for a few minutes.
  1. Peanut Butter Swiss Buttercream
  2. Add your egg white and sugar to a very clean bowl over a double boiler. Whisk them until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is quite hot.
  3. Using a stand mixer, clean the bowl with a few drops of lemon and wipe dry with a clean, new cloth. Whip the hot sugar and whites into a fluffy meringue for as long as it takes until the meringue is room temperature, not hot.
  4. While still whisking, slowly add your room temperature butter one cube at a time until it's thoroughly incorporated. Add your vanilla and salt. Follow with your peanut butter, tasting inbetween additions. You can really add as much or as little as you like.
  5. Pipe or use an offset to decorate your cupcakes. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cooled or the icing will slide off - disastrous!
Tags:
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Swimkitty
    Swimkitty
  • darksideofthespoon
    darksideofthespoon
  • alex
    alex
  • Doralece
    Doralece

Popular on Food52

12 Reviews

alex
alex May 6, 2015
cupcakes took closer to 20 minutes @ 350 in my oven :-/
 
Doralece
Doralece February 12, 2015
Can you convert this recipe to a cake recipe? if so, how many layers and what size would they be. Doralece
 
Melania
Melania December 26, 2013
Looks like a clean ("healthy") recipe and sounds delicious! Can't wait to try this, and thanks for sharing! :) Do you think I can substitute with coconut palm sugar?
 
darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon December 29, 2013
Thanks! Coconut palm sugar should be fine instead of granulated. I don't bake with it much but google tells me it can be used 1:1 to white sugar.
 
Herminia
Herminia May 27, 2013
Where do you get your chocolate ball sprinkles? Thanks for the awesome recipe!
 
darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon May 27, 2013
I hope you enjoy it! They're chocolate covered puffed quinoa pearls and I found them randomly at a local health food store called Community Natural Foods here in Canada. I've worked with chocolate covered puffed rice lots too, which would probably be easier to find... I'd suggest looking online. It is a great garnish and adds wonderful texture to desserts.
 
crazydriver74
crazydriver74 May 22, 2013
Thank you so much! looking forward in making it:)
 
crazydriver74
crazydriver74 May 22, 2013
question: can i omit the peanut butter and substitute with something else?
 
darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon May 22, 2013
Absolutely. This makes a wicked vanilla icing, or alternatively, for chocolate icing - melt 1 cup of chopped dark chocolate and mix in at the very end.
 
darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon May 22, 2013
Additionally, if you make chocolate icing, make sure the melted chocolate is pretty warm when you add it, or it'll seize. If the icing seems a little runny, just put it in the fridge for a few minutes and it should thicken right up again.
 
Swimkitty
Swimkitty January 10, 2013
Ok. Great ingredient list but the directions need to be divided into two parts. One if you are using a double boiler and procedures. Then part two if you are using a mixing bowl. Very confusing and I don't want to read over and over again. I am sure it will be delicious but some clarity in the directions make for a flawless experience.
Thank you.
 
darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon January 10, 2013
For sure, I'll edit the recipe and clarify. Sorry for the confusion!