Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes combine everybody’s favorite dessert flavor duo! Rich, moist chocolate cake topped with fluffy peanut butter icing.
This delicious and tender Cake Recipe is perfect for any chocolate lovers out there. It uses the same rich cake base as regular Chocolate Cupcakes but tops it off with salty peanut flavor for an extra interesting taste.
Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream are the ultimate recipe to serve at a party or bring to a bake sale. The chocolate-peanut butter combo is the perfect blend of sweetness and a little bit of salty flavor for the perfect crowd-pleasing treat.
The cake is extra moist and has a rich chocolate taste that’s enhanced by adding a little coffee. The deep chocolatey taste is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth!
Homemade Peanut Butter Cupcakes get rich peanut butter flavor from the frosting. The sweet peanut butter is best to make with smooth peanut butter. Although, you can use crunchy-style peanut butter if you’d like some real peanut crunch added to the original recipe. However, you don’t want to use natural peanut butter because it won’t blend well into the frosting, but other than that you can experiment with your favorite kinds of butters.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes are sure to be a favorite with your family and friends. You can easily double up the recipe to make 24 cupcakes so that you can feed a big group.
Another option is using the killer peanut butter frosting on Vanilla Cupcakes. Make 1 batch of chocolate and one batch of vanilla cupcakes, then just double up the frosting recipe. You’ll have double the dessert and some variety for serving a crowd.
More Cupcake Recipes
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Rainbow Cupcakes with Vanilla Cloud Frosting
M&M’s Stuffed Easy Vanilla Cupcakes
Gluten Free Salted Caramel Cupcakes
Tips for Making Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Prep Time: Start by preheating the oven and lining the 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
- Cupcake Batter: Add the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, chocolate cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt, melted butter, canola oil, and water to your KitchenAid stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to combine the flour mixture at medium-low speed. Continue mixing as you add the eggs. Then pour in the milk and vanilla extract. Beat at medium-high speed until the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are in one smooth mixture. Don’t worry if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can just use a large bowl and a hand-held electric mixer.
- Baking Time: Fill the cups with batter so that each of the cupcake liners is 2/3 full. Pop the muffin tin in the oven to bake for 18-22 minutes. To check if they’re done, stick a toothpick in the center of a cupcake, and if the toothpick comes out without any batter on it, they’re done. Bake for an additional minute if you still see batter on the toothpick. Let the unfrosted cupcakes rest at room temperature to cool before adding the frosting.
- Peanut Butter Frosting: Add room temperature butter and peanut butter to your stand mixer bowl. Use the whisk attachment to make creamed butter. Next, add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time with 2 tablespoons of milk in between each cup of sugar. It should reach a light fluffy consistency. Go ahead and add extra milk for moisture if the frosting is too dry. Lastly, pipe the icing over the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
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Variations on Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Peanuts: If you want some extra crunchy texture, top off the cupcakes with crushed peanuts. The peanuts make a great garnish and add some flavor. Instead of just using the peanuts as a topping, you could also mix the peanuts into the batter.
- Sweeteners: If you don’t want to use white sugar in your baking, you can replace it with brown sugar, honey, coconut sugar, or stevia.
- Mix-Ins: Try your cupcakes with chocolate melted throughout by mixing in semisweet chocolate chips or M&Ms for example. Additionally, for an extra peanut butter surprise mix peanut butter chips or mini peanut butter cups into the original cupcake recipe.
- Frosting: You can use different frosting recipes to bring different flavors to the cupcakes. For some tangy taste, make Cream Cheese Icing with classic ingredients like cream cheese and sour cream, then add in the peanut butter. You can also drizzle Chocolate Ganache over the top of any frosting you use.
- Vegan: To make a vegan dessert, you’ll need to replace the milk, eggs, and butter. You can use any of your favorite non-dairy milks, like almond milk, oat milk, soy, or coconut milk. To replace the eggs, you could use applesauce or mashed bananas. For vegan butters try out coconut butter, olive oil, or avocado oil.
More Chocolate and Peanut Butter Desserts
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Bread
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Brownies
Chocolate Marshmallow Peanut Butter Bars
How to Store Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Serve: Peanut Butter Cupcakes can stay good at room temperature for up to 2 days. Just cover them in plastic wrap to keep them nice and moist.
- Store: To keep leftovers longer, put them in an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freeze: You can also place them in an airtight container to freeze for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 cup muffin tray with liner cups.
- To a stand mixer add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt, melted butter, canola oil, water and turn on the beater until just combined.
- Add in the eggs until just combined, then add in the milk and vanilla beating until smooth.
- Using an ice cream scoop fill the cups 2/3 full and bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
Peanut Butter Frosting:
- To your stand mixer add the butter and peanut butter and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until fully combined.
- Lower the speed to low, add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, alternating with 2 tablespoons of milk (starting and ending with sugar) until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Nutrition
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