I have a secret that I’m about to blab. It’s about me. And it’s a doozie. It’s going to rock your world…
I don’t really like cake…
Shhh…
Can you believe it? It’s the truth. Hard to fathom, with all those cakes that I decorate. Now, don’t get me wrong. I will eat cake. But it pretty much ranks at the very, very bottom of the dessert hierarchy for me. Given options, I would choose pretty much anything over cake. Now, if you’re talking cheesecakes, flourless chocolate cakes, coffee cakes, crumb cakes, and things of that nature, well then that’s a whole different ballgame. But regular cake? Like birthday cake-cake? Meh. It’s just never really been my cup of tea. But what I do love is frosting. And phenomenal frosting can absolutely make my day. Peanut butter or cream cheese frosting? It may as well just be Christmas. As a result, I love cupcakes because I can pile them sky-high with dreamy frosting and enjoy each and every bite. These dark chocolate cupcakes are a dream come true for anyone who is a cake or frosting lover – they are truly the best of both worlds.
These cupcakes are insanely rich and moist, and are made using the same type of method used for making brownies – melted chocolate is added to a whisked mixture of eggs and sugar, and then flour is stirred in. The resulting batter almost resembled a mousse; both thick and light. It creates incredibly moist cupcakes that also have a light and fluffy texture.
And the frosting. Oh the frosting. Bestill my heart. I have been using this recipe for a couple of years now (how has it never made it on here before?!), mostly as a filling for chocolate cakes. But on top of cupcakes? Where I purposefully try to create a 2:1 frosting to cupcake ratio? A-MAZING. I cannot make this without usually ending up with a stomach ache from nibbling out of the bowl one too many times. It’s irresistible. Sometimes I’m tempted to make it to just have. Smeared on toast? Used as a dipping vessel for bananas or apples? So many possibilities. The “secret ingredient” in this frosting, just as in the Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream, is the heavy cream. It creates a smooth and fluffy frosting that is easy to slather or pipe on.
Note: To make the swirls of icing, I use a 1M icing tip. I just love the look that it gives the cupcakes; it reminds of a soft serve ice cream cone. Which is another one of my favorite things 
One year ago: Sweet and Sour Chicken
Two years ago: Fresh Strawberry Tart
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 18-20 minutes | Cooling Time: 45 minutes
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup (1.5 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¾ cup (3.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
¾ cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (4 ounces) sour cream1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F. (If you are using a non-stick muffin pan, heat the oven to 325 degrees F.) Line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.
4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.
5. Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.
(Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
)
Peanut Butter Frosting
Yield: Enough to frost 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy creamPlace 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.
(Recipe from Barefoot Contessa at Home
by Ina Garten)
More chocolate & peanut butter deliciousness:
Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Crisp Squares
Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte
Peanut Butter-Fudge Cheesecake
No-Bake Cookies
Tags: America's Test Kitchen, Chocolate, Cupcakes, Ina Garten, Peanut Butter
← Previous Comments
I have a batch of devil’s food cupcakes that I made yesterday, and was still deciding what to do with them…
Now I know: peanut butter frosting!!! There can’t be a better way to go.
Great post and pictures, I’m hoping mine turn out just as beautiful!
Made these, and they were to DIE FOR. I seriously spend hours on your website. With my cupcake business just getting started, it’s nice to look around and find such wonderful recipes as this!
i drooled over the brown eyed baker recipe archives for days while trying to decide what to make for an at-work, fundraising bake sale/competition. i LOVE me some dark chocolate anything and these cupcakes hit the spot perfectly- and the frosting?!- i told my husband i’m topping everything that i make from here out with this airy, delectable devil’s delight. peanut butter cookies. cakes. steak.
ok. i might be kidding about that last one. but honestly… the frosting is so good i would actually have to try it on steak before saying “never”. my next attempt: the Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes. i happen to have a bottle of my mommy’s homemade Limoncello in the freezer as i type.
in case you’re wondering- no. my 12 yumm inducing cupcakes did not win the competition but they flew off the table in record time and i will certainly be making them again and again.
hi, can I ask how you get that shape for the frosting?? I’ve always been longing to get that, but can’t seem to find the right piping nozzle
Hi Cheryl, I use a 1M decorating tip from Wilton and just pipe and swirl in circles. Nothing fancy!
I made these today. Awesome! My frosting wasn’t quite as creamy as yours, but I think it’s because I mixed it just a little too long. No matter though, it was still amazing. I used Reese’s peanut butter…yum-my! I’m like you…it’s all about the frosting! I split the cupcake recipe in half, but made 2/3 of the frosting recipe. That made some yummy cupcakes, with a little frosting left over in the frosting bowl. Thanks for sharing!
I used this frosting on a different dark chocolate cake recipe, and oh my gosh, I’m so glad there was leftover! I love, love, love it. I filled the cupcakes with Reese’s peanut butter cups. Super yummy!
OMG! These were fabulous! So easy to make and such fantastic results! I’m not a big fan of peanut butter so I skipped that and frosted them with some white chocolate ganache to make them more kid friendly. The dark chocolate alone tasted quite bitter and I was a bit apprehensive about it but once they were done I couldn;t stop eating them! Thank you, this one is going in with all the other family favorite recipes
p.s – they yielded 16 instead of 12. Do you think that has something to do with a difference between Indian and US muffin liners?
I’m not sure what size your muffin liners are, but that could definitely factor into a different yield!
Regardless, they were amazing. Thank you
Wow, made these in mini muffin cups. They were AMAZING! Loving the blog, will be on daily! Blessings, Mary
Do you think I could make a cake version of this? What pan size do you recommend if I were to keep the measurements as it is?
If you keep the measurements as is, this recipe would make one 8″ or 9″ cake (single layer).
Thank you! I do feel silly though – you had answered the question earlier in a comment above. Anyway thanks a bunch
These are amazing! Going into my favorites group!
What frosting tip did you use to frost these wonderful cupcakes?
Hi Lee, I used a Wilton 1M decorating tip.
This recipe is amazing !
I LOVEEE your recipes. Thank you soo much 
)
hi, ive tried this recipe 3 whole times, but each time my cupcakes fall flat! i checked my baking soda and baking powder, and theyre both perfectly fine. my oven temperature is also correct. any idea why this happens?
Hmm, the only other thing that I can think of is that you are taking them out before they are fully done baking. That can cause regular cakes to sink in the middle, so I imagine it could happen to cupcakes as well.
Hi, I have a question about the heavy cream in the peanut butter frosting. As I live in Germany it is very hard to find heavy cream. I was just wondering if that cream is still liquid or if it is whipped already. Thanks for your help!
Hi Karin, The cream is liquid, hope that helps!
thanks! it did help
will try to find non whipped heavy cream now!
I can not wait to make these for my family! We all love pb and choc!
I know what you mean about peanut butter frosting. I also do the dark chocolate and pb frosting combo anytime someone wants anything chocolate
okay i am gonna blow your mind though… i make a peanut butter cream cheese frostin!!!! i know, sounds insane but it is heaven. it is 3 oz cream cheese, 1/3 cup pb, 2 cups confectioners sugar, 2 tb milk or heavy cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla. please try it 
i think your gonna love it
Hey Michelle , do you double the frosting recipe to get the swirls for 12 cupcakes???
Nope, just a single batch for 12 cupcakes!
I’m a huge chocoholic, but when it comes to cake, I prefer vanilla to chocolate every time. But these cupcakes are soooo good! So moist and they have such depth of flavor!
Just a warning though – I made the peanut butter frosting and tried to substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream because I had it on hand. Does not work! It got all separated and gross. Should have known better. Made a fresh batch with the heavy cream and it was delicious. A major hit!
I made these for my husband’s birthday and a second batch of mini cupcakes for co-workers..It was a hit! Added mini reese’s peanut cups … So sinful…but ooo soo delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
I am always looking for new frosting since that’s really the only reason that I bake. This frosting has the best texture and taste. I will be using this again soon. The only problem that I did have was that the frosting had little crunchy pieces as if the sugar didn’t blend right, does this mean that I didn’t whip enough before I added the cream? Any suggestions?
Hi Kathleen, There’s actually nothing that should cause crunchy pieces in this frosting. Did you happen to use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar?
Hi Michele,
Just wanted to let you know, I made them in an 8″ cake tin (I made it twice because I wasnt sure if I’d get a thick layer), cut each layer in two and got a fabulous four layer cake! Thank you!
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I ADDED 1 ADDITIONAL EGG YOLK ONLY AND THEY DID NOT CRUMBLE.
THEY ARE PERFECT.
THANKS AGAIN FOR GREAT WEBSITE
BK
Oh my gracious! This frosting is unreal…cupcakes are cooling…hope there is frosting left to put on top of them! Yum!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.. It was just PERFECT! I made this today and it tasted just AMAZING! Everyone who ate them was very happy and I got such good compliments. I made about 53 mini cupcakes with this recipe and the peanut butter frosting was enough to do swirls and frosted all 53 mini cupcakes!
I will definitely be using this recipe again. I’ll try your other recipes soon!
I was thinking of making mini cupcakes too. Thanks for sharing how that worked out for you.
Just wondering can I use natural peanut butter in the frosting? I’m so excited about trying this recipe. I saw a few other recipes that I would like to try also.
You can use natural peanut butter if it is the “no-stir” type (Jif is one brand that makes this); I wouldn’t use the varieties that require stirring and refrigeration, as there will likely be too much oil in the frosting.
I made these cupcakes for a co-worker who loves chocolate and peanut butter combo. They were definitely the best cupcakes I’ve ever made, and quite possibly the best I’ve ever eaten (and I know good cupcakes!). I used 60% cocoa Ghiradelli chocolate chips for the bittersweet chocolate and Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. Baked in foil wrappers in a non-stick muffin pan for 22 minutes at 325 deg and they came out PERFECTLY moist. I used about 2/3 the frosting on each cupcake as shown here and I think that was the perfect amount since it’s so rich and peanut buttery. I also topped with sugar crystals which (to my surprise) really enhanced the flavor of the frosting. A+ all around, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
I loved the cake but the peanut butter frosting was a little too much.
(sorry)
Oh my Gosh! the Frosting!!!!!!!!!!! i LOVE it. I didn’t have any heavy cream so I used regular milk and it came out fine. Maybe not as light as it would have with the cream but still fluffy.
I used it to frost a 9″ chocolate cake.
Hi!
I’m from Mexico and sometimes the ingredients are a bit confusing or we just can’t find them here. Like the case of sour cream and heavy cream.
What we have here as sour cream is just (yes, i know) a very very sour cream that it is also used for cooking, like the one used in guacamole for example. I dont know if its the same one you use in this recipe.
And heavy cream, we only have the Lyncott whipping cream. Is there any other thing i can replace the heavy cream with? or will this cream help as well?
Thanks
Hi Elsa, You can use the whipping cream in place of the heavy cream (here in the U.S. they are almost used interchangeably). As for the sour cream, I have never had the one you are referring to, so I can’t really say for sure if it would work or not. But if you typically do cook with it, I think it should be okay. You could also substitute plain yogurt.
I LOVE this because I feel exactly the same way about cake as you do! No one gets it! Haha
I just made these cupcakes! they are super delicious. http://ovenadventures.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-must-have-been-sugar-free-vegan-in.html
Hi- these look lovely!! Can I ask, what size frosting tip did you use to frost these? I am a newbie baker and not too familiar with frosting
I use a Wilton 1M decorating tip.
Hi!!!
I stumbled across your site and last week and FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. (>.<) I tried making your vanilla cupcakes yesterday and my husband loves it; considering how he doesn't like all desserts and cake-related stuff. [I wouldn't count green tea ice cream as dessert]
Anyway, I was thinking of making these for his birthday and I was wondering if there is anything I could do to make these cakes less dark chocolate-ish? (O_o) Thank You!
Also, I live in Japan so sour cream is either really expensive or I have to travel to Tokyo to get it. (T_T) Is it okay if I just mix cream and vinegar for this recipe? I tried this technique for the vanilla cupcakes; and they came out fine. (^_^)
I apologize for this LONG comment. Thank you!
Hi Saki, You could choose to use semisweet, or even milk chocolate, if you don’t like dark chocolate (I would recommend the semisweet over the milk though). If mixing cream and vinegar worked for the vanilla cupcakes, you’ll be good doing it for this one as well. Enjoy!
Rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. I used Hershey’s Dark cocoa, and was amazed at the depth of the chocolate in just a bite of the perfectly moist cake. Incredible recipe. And the PB adds more than a light touch! Deelish.
OMG! I just made these and they are AMAAAAZING!!!
I doubled the recipe and made mini cupcakes (84 cupcakes) and before I could even make the frosting, my kids and I gobbled down half of them. Thank you so much for sharing! lOVE YOUR BLOG!!!
Hi Michelle, I love your recipes! This is my first time for making cupcakes. I’m a lil bit confused with the ratio of the ingredients. Is that really 1.5 ounces for 1/2 cup cocoa, 3.75 ounces for 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 5.25 ounces for 3/4 cup sugar, and 4 ounces for 1/2 cup sour cream? Were you using a different cup?
The volumes are correct. I do a lot of my baking by weight, and all dry ingredients have different weights per volume, i.e. one cup of sugar doesn’t not weigh the same as one cup of flour.
This is the best chocolate cupcake recipe I have ever made. Thank you.
I’m so excited to make these for our girl’s night this evening! There is only a small group of us, so just wondering if it is o.k. to freeze any left-over icing for later use?
Thanks
YUMMY!
Hi Cheryl, I have never frozen icing before, and don’t know how well it would thaw (you could certainly try, and let me know how it turns out!). You could certainly refrigerate it for a couple of weeks and then re-whip it when you want to use it again.
I refridgerated my left over icing and used it later the same week, just put it on the counter to get to room temperature and it was just as delicious as the first go around!
These were perfect! I agree with the dryness, but I think my US cups to UK grams conversions just needs tweaking – maybe less cocoa powder?? And thanks for the tip about unsweetened apple sauce – great idea! Next time, I might add some chocolate chips too. Anyway, a wholehearted thumbs up from all the boys in our house – they said these were the best yet!
I have been searching for a nice chocolate cake recipe for awhile and I have to say this one totally rocks!! Every bite you take leaves your mouth watering, I’m holding myself back from eating all of them! I am not one to even exaggerate but I am absolutely in love with this cake! As for the icing, I don’t think there are enough words to describe how delicious it is. Is the recipe purposely written to leave enough left over so you can eat it like a bowl of ice cream? Great recipe thanks so much, your website is a treasure chest of deliciousness!!
I made these for my husband’s brithday party yesterday and had to tell you immediately how amazing they are. The cupckae has a fantastic deep chocolate flavor and the peanut butter frosting–simply perfect. We had former Pittsburgh bakery Dozen’s cater cupcakes for our wedding cake and my husband said this recipe far outshined the chocolate peanut butter cupcake we had then. Thanks for sharing such an amazing and easy recipe!
I made these cc’s for a friend who really likes dark chocolate. I followed the recipe to a T, didn’t over bake, and found them to be quite dry. Not sure why when all the reviews were so good….
I am so confused! First off, I LOVE your site. Second, I made this peanut butter frosting tonight and mine was horrible. I read other reviews (on the food network regarding this same Barefoot Contessa icing recipe) and most were great, but a few were the same as mine–the icing turned out like glue. I added an extra 2 1/2 cups of icing sugar bit by bit and a bit of milk to try to lighten it up but still glue. I finally gave up and iced my cupcakes with it anyway. It was more like a glaze as it hardened slightly on the cakes. Still delicious though.
Any suggestions? Does the type of Peanut Butter matter? As much as I love Skippy and high sugar varieties, a year ago I converted to healthier less sugary varieties. Could that have been the downfall? I make icing all the time and this has never happened. I know I did nothing wrong, so I’m convinced it must be the type of pb….???
Hi Tara, You mentioned icing sugar, what type exactly did you use? It’s important to use powdered, i.e. confectioners sugar. Also, the type of peanut butter could definitely have affected your texture. You mention “healthier, less sugary varieties” – are you using natural peanut butter? The extra oil in natural pb can wreck havoc on icings, for sure.
Hi Michelle, yeah I definitely used confectioners sugar (In Canada it is often called Icing sugar). I’m convinced it was the peanut butter. I didn’t use the purely natural kind, but there is little sugar in this and thus it has a far greasier/heavier consistency, so it must be that. I’d like to buy the ‘other’ kind of PB and try it again since everyone is raving about the icing!
I made some banana cupcakes and was looking through pinterest to find a peanut butter frosting when I thought of just checking your site because while I LOVE pinterest, you’re recipes are ALWAYS the best. This frosting does not disappoint. On the contrary, I had to immediately wash the bowl so I didn’t eat all of the frosting left in the bowl. Oh my gosh this is the best frosting I have ever tasted!!!!!!!!
I made these cupcakes with a small change…I used the peanut butter frosting to FILL the cupcakes and then covered the cupcakes in a dark chocolate buttercream frosting. I just had to experiment and the frosting makes a great filling!!!
This cupcakes are delicious and very moisty!!!! I just made them with the cream cheese frosting because I dont like much peanut butter.. Yummi!!!!
I just found this website and is now my addiction.
This is the best from scratch chocolate cupcake recipe ever! I frosted them with the best chocolate buttercream frosting, also from this site, and they were a huge hit!
These cupcakes are amazing! I made some regular chocolate buttercream to go with them from another recipe on your blog, but honestly I think I like these plain best of all. The cake is just incredible.
One quick question thought, the tops of my cupcakes look a little split, like they aren’t completely smooth. I know that doesn’t matter if I cover it with frosting, but I figured I’d ask if you have any ideas why that happened?
Hi Jamie, What did you use to scoop the batter into the muffin cups? I sometimes use a cookie scoop and notice that at times it can cause a crease in the top of the batter and unless I smooth it out the top can turn out a little cracked.
Yep. That’s exactly what it was…I used a cookie scoop.
Thanks
I wanted to know if i don’t have a mixer could i do it with a hand held mixer to do the frosting? If I can then im going to do homemade frosting from now on…
Yes, you could definitely use your hand mixer.
Hey. I was wondering if I can substitute All purpose cream for the heavy cream? Heavy cream is not available at home right now and I’m dying to try this recipe.
Hi Tay, I’m not familiar with “all purpose cream” but if it is similar to heavy cream then I think you should be fine.
I think I’m in love. These look fantastic! You got me at DARK CHOCOLATE. My sister will absolutely love this. Question: Did you use a stand mixer in making the batter and frosting? Can I hand mix the frosting? Thanks=)
Hi Debbie, I did use a stand mixer, but you can definitely use a hand mixer. Enjoy the cupcakes!
Thank you for the recipe! My husband loves the peanut butter and chocolate combo. It’s a favorite at work too. Needless to say, it was a hit. Made 2 batches, one batch regular size cupcakes and the second batch made mini cupcakes (325 degrees for 17 minutes). For extra sinfulness, added peanut buttercup! Yummy!
I was very excited about this recipe but the cupcakes were dry and almost bitter tasting. Not at all what I expected. Not sure if I screwed them up or if I just prefer a lighter, moister cupcake. I baked them at 325 and took them out after 15 minutes. I may give it another try since I see so many others raving about them. The frosting was amazing, though.
can you place the recepy, in one way or another, in kg, so not in ‘cups’? I would be very grateful
Hi Paulien, Unfortunately I do not use kg as a measurement, so I likely won’t do full conversions for each recipe. However, I would recommend Googling for a conversion calculator and using something like that if you need different types of measurements.
Just made this frosting – it is soooo amazing!!!!
I’v been dying to try this recipe for a while, I finally got round to it and I have never had a cupcake with this moist, velverty texture, it was great, I like to follow recipe’s to a T, but I couldn’t get hold of any Dutch-Processed Cocoa and subsituted it for unsweetened Cocoa, they were perfect. Great Recipe!!!!
My favorite Brown-Eyed Baker recipe is anything involving PB and chocolate obviously! But I can’t choose a specific favorite. Too many good ones.
I am making these for Valentines day for my friends and boyfriend. I live in the dorms at college and I am not sure I will have time to make them Monday or Tuesday. Would they hold up if I made them tomorrow and I put them in an air tight container in the fridge? Also would a water bath aid in perserving the moisture of the cakes at all? I just want them to be perfect! Can’t wait to make them! They look great! Thank you!
Hi Kylen, Yes you could definitely put them in an airtight container, but I would not put them in the refrigerator – refrigerating cake and cupcakes can cause them to dry out. You can keep them at room temperature. It’s best to frost them the day they are going to be eaten, but if you have to do it ahead I would only do it one day in advance. (You can make the cupcake base 2-3 days ahead.)
I just finished making these cupcakes and they worked beautifully!! And the recipe was so concise even a novice like me found it easy
keep up the excellent work!
I just found this recipe and it looks amazing! We only have natural peanut butter on hand right now though, do you think the frosting would turn out ok using that? I may just give it a try and see, but just thought I would ask!
Hi Melissa, That depends on the type of natural peanut butter that you have available. Is it the no-stir kind like JIF, that can be kept at room temperature, or is it the “stir and refrigerate” type? If it’s the no-stir variety you can definitely use that, however if it’s the natural type that needs to be stirred and kept in the refrigerator then it will be much too oily for this frosting.
I just took them out of the oven and have very high hopes. Over the past 11 days, I have spent nearly every waking hour on blogs, in cookbooks and on my browser in seach of a dense but fluffy, airy but not overly light-weighted, moist dark chocolate cupcake. I have test baked over 25 different receipes and found some of those qualities in many, but not one receipe has filled this tall order. I know, however, that such a cupcake exists because I ate one two months ago at my daughter’s wedding cake tasting. Unfortunately the baker does not share her recipes (and I don’t blame her), so I’ve been out there on my own spending all my spare change on flour, sugar and the like and staying up way past my regular bedtime baking cupcakes. I will be forever grateful for your generosity in sharing this recipe if it turns out to be what I’m looking for! Can’t wait till they cool!
I just tried to make these cupcakes; the cake is delicious and most, yet it was very crumbly. I’m not sure what I might have done wrong, I followed he recipe exactly. I do live in a high altitude, though. Should I have done something different? I’m still pretty new at baking!
Oh no! I would suspect that your altitude had something to do with it. Although I’ve never baked at high altitude, I have included some general modification guidelines on my Baking FAQ page: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/baking-faq/
I just finished making these, they are just divine… considering I am not the biggest fan of peanut butter, that frosting totally knocks your socks off in the taste department! Big winner here. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made these for a girlfriend’s birthday. Seemed like a good excuse to make them really for me!
They were FABULOUS! I reposted with my own pictures (and a link to you of course) on my own blog.. hope that’s okay. Will be making your mocha and vanilla cupcakes next. I am stalking your blog like crazy now! Thank you so much!!
I just made these but didn’t have enough creamy peanut butter for the frosting (we’re a crunchy kind of family) so I scraped out the bottom of our creamy PB jar and reached for the crunchy stuff to top off the measuring cup when I saw the Nutella on the counter and used that instead… OH.MY.GOODNESS. it was like Reese’s pieces frosting!! Such yummy choco-peanut buttery deliciousness!!! Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
OMG, I just made these! The best batter I’ve ever eaten. The frosting is insane. What a great find!! Delicious, heavenly, perfect. Now you owe me a gym membership!!!!
Hi,
The recipe called for whisking the ingredients in the cupcake batter. Can I use a stand mixer instead? Would that affect the texture of the cupcake?
Thank you.
Hi Gar, I would not use a stand mixer, as you could easily overmix the batter, which could result in dry or dense cupcakes.
Hi Michelle, I’v already made these cupcakes and they are amazing! I wanted to make mini one’s this time, but was wondering how long I should bake them for?.. (I’m using a 12 hole mini muffin tin)
Thanks
Hi Faye, I would probably start checking them around 8 minutes just to be safe.
Hi Michelle, I love and use this recipe a lot. I just created a dark chocolate fudge sundae cupcake with it and its amazing! THANK YOU for sharing all of your awesome recipes! I will link this to my blog!!! Sugars!
LOVE the penut butter frosting and the cake was really moist. I’ll be making these again soon
Hi Michelle,
I needed a scratch recipe for chocolate cupcakes and with all of the rave reviews, I decided to try this one. Unfortunately, mine came out dry and crumbly as some others.
I did have to substitute Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa for the Dutch Processed and since I didn’t have any bittersweet chocolate, I used Hershey’s Special Dark. I don’t know anything about Dutch processed so I’m not sure if that had to do with it I saw that posted that we could sub it in. I did love the flavor and richness of the chocolate and with the marshmallow frosting I used that was very sweet, it balanced it well but it was just dry. I watched them closely and didn’t overbake. Not sure how to fix it since baking is a science and don’t want to just add things willy nilly. Dang…sorry it didn’t work out for me…and I used them for Easter. LOL Oh well.
Michelle, I have made these before and, of course, they were very good. I have seen another recipe with a small peanut butter cup in the middle, peanut butter frosting, and then —– dipped in a magic shell frosting. Have you tried these? Any thoughts about the magic shell?? …………..Also, the other peanut butter frosting was the same as this one, only with two cups of powdered sugar… ?? What would the difference be with one or two cups xxxxsugar??? I would certainly hope that the frosting would stay on when dipped upside down……… thanks for your help, sue.
Hi Sue, My guess is that the extra powdered sugar was to help the frosting set up and not droop at all when dipped in the shell. I haven’t played around with the magic shell cupcakes yet, but it is on my list!
i made these and they were really dry … maybe it was the cocoa because i didn’t use dutch processed? :S
Hi Kelly, I don’t think that would have caused them to be dry. It could be due to either overmixing or baking a tad too long.
so i dont have dutch chocolate can i just use reg cocoa powder
Yes, definitely!
Hi Michelle, another question for you.. So mostly all recipes that use cocoa powder will say to use dutch-processed. I don’t know what the difference is between normal and dutch-processed … would it make THAT much of a difference to switch to dutch-processed cocoa powder instead of just using no-name brand or something like that?
Hi Kelly, Dutch-processed cocoa powder goes through an additional processing which makes baked goods more flavorful and rich. I personally love it. In some instances, though, regular unsweetened is fine too. I keep both on hand, but you could substitute unsweetened regular if you don’t have any; if you’re looking for Dutch-process and can’t find it, you can order it online from places like Penzeys, King Arthur Flour, Amazon, etc.
i made these today. Was very nervous about them but they came out wonderful. Thanks for these wonderful recipes Michelle. I would be lost without them. You are my go to baking blog. <3<3<3
Do these need to be refrigerated since there’s heavy cream in the frosting? What is best way for storing? I’m making a cupcake bar for a bridal shower and want to make these!
thanks
Hi Joanna, I never store them in the refrigerator; just room temperature in an airtight container. Enjoy!
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