Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Chocolate and peanut butter is just about one of my favorite sweet tooth combinations. I love whoever invented it! And what do you know, I love making cupcakes. I'm turning into some sort of geeky Betty Crocker, and my husband doesn't mind a bit. I've made about 5 different batches of cupcakes in the last 5 weeks, the only way my husband and I aren't busting our clothes at the seams from all that sweetness is that I take the cupcakes to his shop and let them devour the goodness. We have one to make sure they're yummy enough for other people then give the rest away. While I probably could gobble them all myself (yeah, I love food and I'm not skinny...oh well!) I appreciate that I can exercise and hone my baking skills without the guilt of having to eat everything myself.

This recipe I found in one of my baking books, Crazy About Cupcakes, by Krystina Castella. Since the cupcake is made from scratch, it tasted different than the normal boxed mix I buy. The recipe calls for unsweetened chocolate but the next time I make these I will be using semi-sweet chocolate, I like my cupcakes to be sweet. The peanut butter frosting is also from the same book, and I used a chunky peanut butter at the request of my husband. I added bite size Reese's peanut butter cups to the center of the cupcake (after you pour the batter into the cupcake tins, pop a cup in the center and the cake will bake around it), and topped the whole thing off with chocolate sprinkles and a mini Reese's peanut butter cup. They are amazing, and were a big hit with my husband's shop!

What you'll need:

Chocolate cupcakes (from Crazy About Cupcakes)

1 stick unsalted butter (1/4 pound), at room temperature

1/2 c (3 oz) unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 c. boiling water

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 c granulated sugar

1/2 sour cream

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Frosting  (from Crazy About Cupcakes)

12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

4 tbsp water

1 1/3 c smooth or crunchy peanut butter

2 tbsp. vanilla extract

Preparation

For cupcakes: Preheat oven to 325. Insert liners into cupcake pans. Place the butter and chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over them, and let stand until melted. Stir to combine, then stir in the vanilla and sugar. Add the sour cream and mix on medium speed until fully integrated. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the batter, mixing at medium speed until smooth. In another bowl with clean beaters, whip the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4s full. Bake mini cupcakes 10-15 minutes and medium cupcakes 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan.

For frosting: In a saucepan over high heat bring the butter, brown sugar, and water to a boil and continue to boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla and beat until smooth. Put the hot frosting on the cupcakes while the cupcakes are still hot. Frosting will thicken as it cools.

**Note: I did not put hot frosting on hot cupcakes. I waited until the frosting was set a little and the cupcakes had cooled, then frosted them. They turned out fine**