Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

More cupcakes!! These were from a few weeks ago for an engagement celebration.

I adapted this recipe from a recipe for a whole cake. I have to say, this recipe made for some fluffy cupcakes. They were infused with a light peanut butter flavor and we ate a decent amount sans frosting. The cake melted in your mouth! The peanut butter frosting on top just added another flavor layer.

Then roll them in sprinkles and you have the most festive little cake. Along with a single tiny blue sprinkle in this photo. tee hee, so cute.

After this slew of cupcake posts, you know what time it is? fall baking time!! pumpkin everything time!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Adapted from Molly Yeh
Makes ~ 24 cupcakes

For the cakes

1 3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup boiling water (key to the fluff!)

Preheat oven to 350. Line two muffin tins with the festive liner of your choice. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients except for the boiling water. Mix the wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and then add in your boiling water. Fill your cupcake liners ~ 1/2 – 3/4 full. Tap onto your counter to make an even surface to frost. Bake for ~15 mins or until the tops spring back at you or a toothpick comes our clean. Let cool while you make the frosting. Eat a cupcake top…

For the frosting

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cup powdered sugar
~ 8 oz sprinkles

Beat together the butter and peanut butter. Add in your vanilla and slowly incorporate the powdered sugar. Frost your now cooled cupcakes with a simple angled spatula or knife. The sprinkles will cover any imperfections.

Pour your sprinkles into a shallow bowl and one by one, turn your frosted cupcakes upside down into the sprinkles, gently pressure them onto the top and sides until it’s so festive you can’t even handle it!

Enjoy!!

Mocha cupcakes with coffee buttercream

Holy cupcakes!!! No words for this post – only photos. Let’s just say, coffee + chocolate + adorable straws.

Adapted from browneyedbaker
Makes 12-16 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes:
1⅓ cups flour
⅓ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
½ cup strong brewed coffee, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons instant coffee (or espresso) powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg at room temperature

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, combine your flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together your butter, sugars, and egg. In a measuring cup, combine your milk, coffee, instant powder, and extract. Alternating your liquids and your powders, combine into your creamed butter until well mixed.

Bake in lined cupcake tins for 17-20 minutes or until the top springs back at you. Let cool completely.

For the Coffee Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons instant coffee (or espresso)
Chocolate syrup (optional)

Let your instant coffee and vanilla dissolve in a small bowel. Cream your butter and powdered sugar together. Once light and fluffy, add in your dissolved coffee. Whip until well combined. Pipe onto your cooled cupcakes!! Drizzle on the chocolate syrup to your hearts desire.

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

We have a birthday in the house this week! Our roommate is turning a whole year older and he loves coconut. I stumbled upon this recipe looking for a good coconut cake recipe. In my book, cake to cupcake is an automatic upgrade. Plus, these photograph a bit nicer than a plain white cake.

These chocolate cupcakes are so easy to make. They’re my favorite kind – variations from a box. The addition of buttermilk and sour cream make them extra moist and fluffy. They’re a breeze to put together!

The frosting is amazing. Coconut extract makes these cream cheese frosting perfectly tropical and the perfect counterpart to the chocolate cuties. Dip them in a ton of sweetened coconut and you’ve got yourself a treat!

Adapted from yourcupofcake
Makes 18 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the coconut cream cheese frosting: 

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract

4 cups powdered sugar

3 cups sweetened coconut flakes

Preheat your oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, combine your egg, milk, sour cream and extract and whisk until well mixed. Add in your devil’s food mix and combine until all incorporated. Line your cupcake liners with your liner of choice and fill 1/2 way (a light handed 1/4 cup measurer). Careful not to overfill otherwise you’ll get cupcake edges that overhang the tin!

Bake for 18-20 minutes until the top springs back at you, or a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool while you prepare the frosting.

Using a hand mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add in your vanilla and coconut extract (mmm so delicious). Cream in your powdered sugar one cup at a time until well incorporated and you have a fluffy white coconut frosting to lick and eat. Save some for frosting!

Frost each cupcake with a hearty amount of frosting and dip into your coconut flakes. You can pat on extra flakes for good measure and extra fluffy cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

It’s officially fall! It’s the time for leaves, apple picking, cinnamon in everything, fall-scented candles, pumpkin spice lattes, and perfectly crisp morning runs. Even if it means winter is coming, at least we get a bit of this absolutely perfect time of year before it hits us.

Pumpkin spice cupcakes!! Coupled with fall themed cupcake liners and tiny little pumpkins on top. These were frosted with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting making for a batch of gleefully gorgeous cupcakes.

As with most pumpkin recipes, the cupcakes are incredibly moist. They’re not too sweet at all which made for a nice balance with the sweeter cream cheese frosting.

I found the sugar pumpkins at the nearby craft store. They’re mostly for decoration but they’re super cute! Bring on the fall recipes!

Makes 24 cupcakes

Adapted from tasteofhome

For the cupcakes

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk (I used 2%)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale yellow, light, and fluffy. Add in your eggs one at a time, beating in-between. Finally, beat in your pumpkin.

In a separate bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients (flour, spices, baking powder and soda). Alternating with the milk, add the flour mixture to your pumpkin mixture, beating well after each addition until well incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of your bowl to ensure an even batter.

Line your muffin tins with cupcakes liners of your choice (fall theme advised) and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top springs back at you or a toothpick comes out clean. Allow for your cupcakes to cool completely while you make your frosting.

For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Beat together your cream cheese and butter until well incorporated. Add in your remaining ingredients until it all comes together into a beautiful ball of cinnamon speckled cream cheese frosting! Add in your confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time so you don’t end up covered in powdered sugar, although worse things have happened!

Spread all over your cupcakes or transfer into your favorite piping bag and piping tip and go to town. If you come across some fall themed edible decorations and you feel like slapping them on top of your cupcakes….well, I won’t stop you.

Enjoy and happy fall!

 

 

 

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

We moved away from Boston a few weeks ago and I realized I never got to get an actual Boston Creme Pie from Boston! Oh well, recreating them in upside-down cupcake form will just have to do.

The cupcake batter for these cupcakes is one of the most luscious batters that I have ever made. It was so much fun to work with – not too runny, not too thick. Just perfect batter consistency. Man, sometimes I can really nerd out over this stuff.

I also haven’t made pastry cream in quite a while, so that was a vanilla filled blast. I flipped these cupcakes upside down for a fun little twist and topped them off with a chocolate ganache!

Pretty great combination of flavors, if I do say so myself. Plus, they’re in cupcake form so that’s just icing on top of the cake.

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Makes about 20 cupcakes

For the Cupcakes
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
3 eggs at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Over low heat, heat together your milk and butter in a small saucepan. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together your eggs and sugar until pale yellow and very fluffy (about 5 minutes with a hand mixer). The test to tell whether or not they’re ready is when you remove your whisk, the batter should hold a ribbon on the surface for a few minutes. Once you’re at this stage, add in your flour mixture in stages until incorporated.

Once your milk and butter are boiling, slowly add it to your batter and mix just until smooth. Finally, mix in your vanilla.

Line your cupcake tin with liners and fill each cup about halfway with batter. Bake about 15 minutes or until the cake bounces back at you when touched, the edges are golden brown, or a toothpick comes out clean.

Let your cupcakes cool a bit. Once you are able to handle them with your hands, peel them from the liners and using a serrated knife, slice them horizontally. Now get ready to make your pastry cream!

For the Pastry Cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Whisk together your egg yolks until smooth.

In a medium saucepan, heat together sugar, cornstarch, and milk over medium heat. Stir constantly (whisk preferred) until your mixture thickens and starts to bubble.

While constantly mixing, add about 1/3 of your hot mixture into your egg yolks to help prevent your eggs from scrambling. Pour this mixture back into the hot saucepan and continue to whisk together until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.

Strain your cream through a strainer and cover with parchment paper (pressing onto the surface of the cream to prevent the formation of a film).

Note: here, you can refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or you can serve it warm!

For the Chocolate Ganache
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream

Microwave your heavy cream for about 45 seconds until just starting to bubble at the edges. Pour this hot mixture over your chocolate and let sit for about 3 minutes.

Whisk together the chocolate (now melty!) and the cream until uniform in consistency

Note: if you want you serve your ganache warm and it has cooled down, simply reheat in the microwave in 30 second intervals until it is drizzling consistency

Putting it all together

1. Take a cupcake top and place upside down onto a surface.
2. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of your pastry cream (warm or cold) onto the cut surface of your cupcake and place the other half of your cupcake on top of this.
3. Drizzle some ganache over the top of your pastry cream sandwich until sufficiency covered in chocolate for your taste!
4. Enjoy!