Christine February 9, 2022 11 Comments
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 Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting!

A moist chocolate cupcake with a creamy-peanut buttery frosting.

***This recipe was originally posted on Jan 8, 2016. I have re-tested the recipe making adjustments to some of the ingredients. I have also updated the photos and added additional tips.

Hello, friends!

Raise your hand if you LOVE the flavor combination of peanut butter and chocolate!!

I know you can’t see me, but if you could I’m the one jumping up and down, waving BOTH hands in the air.

Seriously, friends! Ever since I was a child, peanut butter and chocolate treats have been my absolute FAVORITE!

I would literally savor every last morsel of a Butterfinger candy bar. And don’t even get me started on Reeses Peanut Butter cups!

OMG! How I loved them!

Now that I’m all grown up, that love for all things peanut butter and chocolate hasn’t changed one bit.

But one thing that has changed is I actually prefer baking my own chocolate and peanut butter sweet treats now!

Like these scrumptiously moist and decadent chocolate cupcakes with a light and creamy peanut butter frosting!

First, there is that chocolately cupcake. Oh my goodness! I’m not going to lie. Whenever I make them I find it VERY difficult not to lick the entire bowl of chocolate cupcake batter! It’s so darn tempting.

When I first started making these cupcakes (years ago) I usually frosted them with a simple buttercream frosting or chocolate ganache. Nothing fancy. But then who needs fancy when you’re talking c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e?!

And then one day I was watching my absolute FAVORITE baker, Ina Garten on the Food Network. Her show was dedicated to all things chocolate and one of the recipes she shared was chocolate cupcakes. But she didn’t just put some plain ole’ ganache or frosting on top of them. Oh no. Not Ina.

 

You should have seen my mouth drop open when she started whipping up the most magical, creamy, oh-so-dreamy PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING!

All I can say is Ina was lucky I wasn’t there.  I would have eaten the whole darn bowl! I know this, because the very next day I made a batch of my chocolate cupcakes for a birthday party, and THIS time I plopped a big gooey dollop of Ina’s peanut butter frosting on top. And I didn’t make it past frosting the first cupcake before…

‘said’ cupcake was in my mouth. Good thing I made extra’s for the party because we were down one, maybe two before I set them out for everyone to enjoy! And enjoy they did.

I’ve tried testing other variations of Ina’s frosting recipe many times, but none are the absolute perfection that hers is. So why try to change a good thing, right?

what you’ll need to make chocolate cupcakes:

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Equipment/Kitchen Tools

  • Mixing bowls
  • Cupcake pan
  • Paper liners
  • Whisk
  • Wooden spoons
  • Glass measuring cup
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Cooling rack
  • Stand or hand mixer
  • Piping bag & Frosting tips

Here is the full recipe:

Print

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

A decadent chocolate cupcake topped with a creamy peanut butter frosting!

Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate, peanut butter, dessert,, cupcakes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Servings 20

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter softened
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 2/3 cup boiling water
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Frosting ( Ina Garten's recipe)

  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 5 Tablespoons butter softened
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Instructions

For the Cupcakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake tins with paper liners or grease well.

  2. Combine the cocoa and hot water (or coffee) in a glass measuring cup. Set aside.

  3. Cream together the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and fluffy.

  4. Add in the eggs and vanilla.

  5. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

  6. Alternately add in the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Fold in the cocoa mixture.

  7. Scoop the batter into the paper-lined cups 2/3 full. DO NOT OVERFILL!! Bake the cupcakes in the oven for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely.

For the Frosting

  1. Combine the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer.

  2. Whip until smooth.

  3. Add in vanilla and half of the heavy cream. Continue to whip, adding additional cream until the frosting is the consistency you desire.

  4. Frost the cupcakes and serve!

how to store the cupcakes:

Place the cupcakes in an air-tight container (making sure not to squish them) for 3-4 days. You can also refrigerate but remember refrigerating will dry the cupcakes out a bit sooner than normal.

can you freeze the cupcakes?

Yes. But do so BEFORE frosting.

I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe for Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting!

If you’re a chocolate lover like us, you might also enjoy these recipes!

Or check out more of our scrumptious desserts here!

 

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Thank you so much for stopping by!

 

11 thoughts on “Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting!”

  1. Yum to Cupcakes these look great, that peanut butter frosting sounds amazing. But I have to say single digits burr, I would probably just go hide in the closet with a batch of those cupcakes and wait for spring to arrive. Can you guess I’m just not a fan of cold weather.

  3. I have been trying hard to eat healthy. These chocolate cupcakes looks so amazing. I am going to have to break down and give myself a treat. LOVE LOVE these cupcakes.
    Blessings,
    Diane

  4. I hear you, Diane! I started the new year off making a MAJOR goal to lose weight, and get healthy, but darn it if I make these treats for hubby and of course, have to sneak a bite!! Blessings to you, sweet friend!

  9. I could literally have an entire Pinterest page dedicated solely to your sweet treats and goodies! They all look amazing. I can’t wait to try these as well. Thanks so much for the recipe – the littles will LOVE these! Hugs, CoCo

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