Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I woke up on a Saturday morning, and wanted to bake something to take to our local homebrew store to share with our buddies there. They are always so informative and helpful, and I’m always promising them some goody the next time I come in – and then never deliver. That needed to end. So, I took my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe and had a little bit of fun with it the morning before we left.

The only thing I really changed was adding a bit of peanut butter to the frosting. Then topped with some chopped peanuts for a garnish. Yowza – talk about a good cupcake! The cake is tender and moist, but the frosting – the frosting is where it’s at. Rich and decadent, but with a salty kick from the peanut butter. And the peanuts resting on top were just the perfect crunch to set the whole thing off.

The guys at the brew shop of course loved them, even Jon who’s really trying to watch his weight for the “Biggest Loser” competition at work (the guys been eating Greek yogurt for lunch everyday – talk about committed!) even broke down and ate one. And I pretty much ate the rest. One for me…three for baby.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup hot coffee
chopped peanuts, for garnish

For the frosting:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add the coffee to the cake batter. Beat for about 1 minute to combine well.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine butter and peanut butter and beat until fluffy. Carefully add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until no lumps remain. With the mixer on low, slowly add the chocolate and mix until combined. If frosting is too thick, add a splash of milk to reach desired consistency.

Frost cupcakes as desired and garnish with chopped peanuts.

Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes

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Red Wine Cupcakes

A couple of months ago, my friends at Avalon Winery asked me to come up with a recipe to promote their new cooking contest for this year. If you’ll remember, they sent me to the Charleston Food & Wine Festival last year to compete in their America’s Greatest Foods Recipe Challenge. I didn’t win, I came in last actually (hey, some people can’t handle the idea of fish served with red, even when chorizo is involved – what are you going to do?) but after that trip – visiting the city of Charleston for the first time, meeting such influential chefs like The Lee Brothers and the great Art Smith (he asked me where to get a cup of coffee, y’all – and then he went to that coffee shop the whole time he was in town!), getting drunk with Kelly Liken, and making some new friends… I came out a winner in the end anyway!

So when they offered to send me a few bottles of their delicious Cabernet Sauvignon to develop a recipe with, of course I jumped at the offer. Guys, it’s seriously one of the best reds you’ll find for the price point. For under $10 a bottle, it really can’t be beat. Rich and fruity, with all kinds of delicious berry notes going on. Rolls right off the tongue, with very few harsh tannins that tend to come along with red wines. It’s available nationally, I always have luck finding it at Whole Foods (if your Whole Foods carries wine that is!). But, if you can’t find it – definitely ask your local wine distributor to carry it. I promise that you won’t be disappointed!

I ended up making two dishes with the bottle I opened…since I can’t do much drinking of the stuff at the moment due to baby #3. The first of which was more traditional, and I plan to share with you guys soon – then there were these cupcakes. Red wine and chocolate pair so well together anyways, I thought a cupcake wasn’t too far of a fetch. Boy, do I love being right!

The batter was absolutely beautiful…light and fluffy, and baked up gorgeous! For the frosting I went  the traditional route, used my simple vanilla buttercream with a bit of the wine added to it for flavor and a tint of color. It was definitely unlike any cupcake I’d had before, but still absolutely delicious. I loved how the acidity of the wine cut the sweetness of the frosting. And, of course the color was lovely!

These cupcakes would most definitely be perfect for your Valentine, and they’re something different that friends and family probably haven’t seen before – but will most certainly be intrigued by. I hope you guys enjoy, and a big thanks to Avalon for giving me an excuse to make them!

Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes

8 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
3/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add in the egg and egg yolk, as well as the vanilla, beat well until combined.

Add in 1/2 of the dry ingredients, followed by the wine, then the remainder of the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl if necessary.

Divide batter evenly into lined muffin pan. Bake for 18 minutes then remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

In the meantime, to make the frosting, whip the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar, as well as the wine and vanilla. Beat until no lumps remain. Frost cupcakes as desired.

Makes about 12 cupcakes. 

Source: cake adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes

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Perfect Chocolate Cupakes

I know this may come as kind of a shock to some of you, but chocolate cake isn’t one of my favorite things in the world. If given the choice, I always pick vanilla cake. But, after discovering Beatty’s Chocolate Cake (Blackout cake? Whatever you want to call it!) my views began to shift. I’ve been looking for a good chocolate cupcake recipe – that was easy, baked up well, held up to frosting, but was still (and most importantly) moist and delicious. This recipe definitely fits the bill!

With the addition of buttermilk, cocoa, espresso powder and hot water – it’s totally reminiscent of my favorite chocolate cake recipe. But held it’s shape and is a bit denser, which is just what I was looking for in cupcake form. For the frosting, it’s a standard buttercream in which plenty you add plenty of melted unsweetened chocolate too. That leads to a frosting that is rich and chocolatey, but not cloyingly sweet.

This recipe is for 12 cupcakes, but could easily be doubled to dole out 24. Which, I’m sure will be happening in my kitchen next time. A truly perfect chocolate cupcake, kids. Another one for the books!

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp espresso powder
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup boiling water

For the frosting:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder.

Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to combine well.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Beat butter until fluffy. Carefully add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until no lumps remain. With the mixer on low, slowly add the chocolate and mix until combined. If frosting is too thick, add a splash of milk to reach desired consistency.

Frost cupcakes as desired.

Source: cupcakes adapted from Add A Pinch, frosting adapted from Williams-Sonoma.

Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I can’t believe that I’ve made it all the way to the end of September without cracking open a can of pumpkin. Well, I’m happy to tell you that I did just that yesterday – fall baking has been commenced! I had a large can I had been hoarding from last year, so I ended up baking two treats. Look for the other on Friday! But for now, let’s talk about these cupcakes…

Last year I made some pumpkin spice latte cupcakes. But this, this cupcake is another animal all-together. Dense and moist, like a good carrot cake – but with all the rich, delicious flavor of pumpkin that you could possibly long for. The spices aren’t overwhelming either, which always urks me. I like my pumpkin items to taste like pumpkin – not a bunch of spices. The spices in the batter only compliment the pumpkin and make it shine.

I topped them with a maple and cinnamon studded twist to my usual cream cheese frosting recipe. I’ve been wanting to incorporate maple syrup into a frosting for quite some time now, and the flavor really played well off the pumpkin. I know this will be one I come back to year after year!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 (15 oz) can solid-pack pumpkin
2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp good maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preaheat oven to 350. Line 2 cupcake tins with paper liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix to combine.

With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar until incorporated. Then add the cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup. Mix for 10 seconds, until evenly combined. Frost cupcakes as desired.

Source: cupcakes adapted from Taste of Home