I was charged with bringing a dessert to game night at a friend's place Friday night, and she is absolutely obsessed with anything chocolate and peanut butter. Typically, it takes the form of ice cream, but she is open to try other creations. So, Thursday evening I made chocolate chip peanut butter cup cupcakes! I found this tempting recipe online and knew I HAD to try it.
Here's a picture of how they came out:
They turned out fabulous! I did make a few modifications though. I added two teaspoons of instant espresso to 1/4 of the 3/4 cup of water required in the recipe. This really brought out the chocolate flavor without the heaviness that can be typical of cakes rich in chocolate flavor. These cakes were light and fluffy and oh so chocolatey. After filling each lined cup with the batter, I placed a mini PB cup in each. I really wanted to get that PB cup feel. Well, although it was tasty, they sank to the bottom of each cake while baking and hardened upon cooling. I think this took away from the fabulous texture of the cake itself and the frosting holds enough PB clout all on it's own, no filler required! :)
I found these recipes on a site called fakeginger.com. Not sure how I got there, I think it was when I googled Choc. and PB recipes. Anyway, the recipe follows and according to this source, they are both Martha Stewart recipes.
One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes from Martha Stewart
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water ***I took 1/4 c. of this amount to mix the 2 tsps. of instant espresso powder
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside. Sift together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
from Martha Stewart
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until pale and fluffy. Add salt and peanut butter, and beat to combine. Beat in vanilla.
In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium-speed, whisk cream until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold cream into peanut-butter mixture. Use immediately, or refrigerate, covered tightly, up to 2 days. Before using, bring to room temperature and stir with a flexible spatula until smooth.
Happy Baking!
