Ultimate Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These chocolate peanut butter cupcakes are sure to please! I think that I am just completely unable to resist the chocolate peanut butter combination. Chocolate and peanut butter has to be the best food combination ever created  The thought of a peanut butter filling inside a chocolate cupcake just got me so excited.

First there is a super moist dark, decadent chocolate sponge cupcake witch is filled with delicious peanut butter. Then they are dipped into silky melted chocolate, have a swirl of creamy homemade peanut butter buttercream and are then garnished with half a Reece’s piece. And then last but not least drizzled with dark chocolate.

Ingredients for chocolate cupcakes:

100g self-raising flour

20g cocoa powder

140g caster sugar

a pinch of salt

40g unsalted butter, at room temperature

120ml whole milk

1 egg

¼tsp vanilla extract

60g Crunchy or smooth peanut butter

 

Ingredients for peanut butter buttercream:

300 g unsalted butter, softened

120 g peanut butter

540 g icing sugar

4 tablespoons whole milk

Ingredients for cupcake topping:

200g dark chocolate

12 Reece’s pieces

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Put the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.

Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug, then slowly pour about half into the flour mixture, beat to combine and turn the mixer up to high speed to get rid of any lumps.

Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full.

Take 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter a place in the centre of each cupcake and gently push the peanut butter into the centre. Be careful not to push it all the way to the bottom.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool break the chocolate and place into a heatproof bowl. Sit the pan over barely simmering water and allow the chocolate to melt. Remove the heatproof bowl from the pan.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool take one cupcake at a time and dip the top of the cupcake into the dark chocolate. Allow the excess chocolate to drip off and the place back down to set.

Next beat the peanut butter and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment until smooth. Then add the icing sugar and milk and beat until all combined.

When the dark chocolate  has set you can begin to pipe your peanut buttercream. Using a spatular, place as much buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

Pipe a swirl of peanut buttercream on top of the set chocolate.

Using the remaining melted dark chocolate (reheat in microwave if necessary, in 30 second blasts) drizzle over the top of each cupcake for extra decoration.

 

Then cut the six Reece’s pieces in half and pale a half on top of each cupcake.

And there you have it! The Ultimate Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcake!