Soft and rich chocolate cake with a light, whipped peanut butter buttercream.
Welcome to my first recipe, I am so excited you are here! Cupcakes are one of my favorite desserts to make because there is so much room for creativity when decorating. The majority of the time, in my opinion, the way cupcakes are decorated either make or break the whole thing. Today, I decided to decorate half of my cupcakes with just mini chocolate chips and the other half with chocolate ganache and mini chocolate chips.
This chocolate cake recipe is my favorite. It is rich with chocolatey flavor, yet very light and moist at the same time. A key ingredient to make the cake rich in chocolate is adding strong, hot coffee. As someone who doesn’t like coffee, I have found that adding just a half cup of hot coffee and hot milk strengthens the chocolate flavor without making the overall cake have a coffee flavor. Using plant milk doesn’t have much of an effect on the cake, so if you are like me and my family and don’t have regular dairy milk, use what you have- almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk, all work just fine!
I was having trouble with my foil liners sticking to the bottom of my cupcake tin because of two reasons:
- In the hot oven, the coloring on the outside of the liner had a tendency to stick
- Small drips of batter got between the liner and the cupcake tin
To fix the first problem, put a small square of parchment paper at the bottom of each cupcake tin. This made it so much easier to remove from the tray. As for the second reason, since the batter is really thin, it is easy for the batter to drip, so I like to let the batter sit on the counter for about 5 minutes so it thickens up slightly, then I fill the cupcake liners. This will make it easier for you to scoop batter into each cupcake liner.
The frosting has a strong peanut butter flavor to pair with the chocolatey flavor of the cupcakes. It is important that the butter and the creamy peanut butter are whipped together before the confectioners sugar is added and after it is added. This will ensure that the frosting is lighter and more airy. Before the buttercream sets, feel free to decorate your cupcakes however you like! I used a 2D Wilton tip and mini chocolate chips! Comment below how you decided to decorate your cupcakes!
I’d love to see your cupcake creations! Tag me on Instagram with your pictures!
Peanut Butter Lover’s Chocolate Cupcake
Yield: 24 cupcakes
For the cake:
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk*
- 1/2 cup flavorless oil (I used vegetable oil)
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup very hot coffee
- 1/2 cup very hot milk*
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line 24 large cupcake tins with a paper liner.
- In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, 1 cup milk, oil, and vanilla.
- Make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Gently mix until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Mix together the hot coffee and hot milk. Slowly pour the hot liquid into the batter and stir until it is well combined. The batter will be very thin.
- Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes, then fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Clean any excess batter around the pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Let cool to room temperature, then put the cupcakes in the refrigerator while making the frosting.
For the frosting:
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 1/2- 3 cups of powered sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk*
Directions:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter, then whip on medium-high speed for 1 minute.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar and 2 Tablespoon of milk. Mix until combined.
- Add another Tablespoon of milk (if needed) with the vanilla and salt, until the desired consistency. Whip for 2-3 minutes.
- Put the frosting in a large piping bag fitted with your desired tip, and decorate!
Beyond Baking with Amanda Jane 
Great recipe and tips, looks yummy too. Makes me want to bake the cupcakes now.
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[…] flavors paired with chocolate. For these cupcakes, I use my chocolate cupcake recipe from my Peanut Butter Lover’s Chocolate Cupcake recipe; feel free to view that post for tips and tricks on how to perfect these […]
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