Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting

I looooove chocolate and peanut butter.  It's the perfect combination of heaven and. . .heaven.  I could pretty much take to the face a package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in a matter of seconds with no regrets.  I'm sure I'm not alone.


I needed an excuse to try a recipe for chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter icing, so when my friend and colleague had a birthday (on the same day as my grandmother and boyfriend, incidentally), I decided to bring in cupcakes to celebrate.  Sure, I brought more than one can eat alone, but I like to encourage sharing.  It's just good for society.


I love a dense, moist cupcake, the kind you get from one of the many cupcake shops in the city for $3.50 each.  However, I find that most cupcakes I make come out dry and crumbly.  Hardly worth the calories.  I can usually make a pretty decent frosting, but then again, how hard is it to screw up butter, sugar, and flavoring?  


Despite my less-than-stellar track record, these cupcakes turned out really well!  The cake was dense and fairly moist (though I'm still going to hunt for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe, so if you have a good one, please pass along), and the frosting was to die for.  Very peanut butter-y, without being too sweet.  

Oh, I'm sorry.  Did you expect them to look pretty?  No can do.  I can only attempt edible.  And edible they were.  Of course, just to be sure they were good, we had two.  Each.  

Happy Birthday to Kartar! 

Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting
Stolen from Tracey's Culinary Adventures, who stole it from someone else.


Chocolate cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted temperature, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (I made my own)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled  (I just realized I completely forgot to add this ingredient, and they were still good!  Maybe I should try these again, though. . .)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with liners.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Working with a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for about 2 minutes, until it is blended into the butter. Add the egg, then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate and mix it in with the rubber spatula. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin molds.
4. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes are dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into their centers comes out clean. Transfer the muffin pan to a rack and let the cakes cool for 5 minutes before taking them out of the pan.



Peanut Butter Frosting:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream


Directions:
Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.