Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
These dark chocolate cupcakes are loaded with rich chocolate flavor, and topped with a light and creamy peanut butter frosting. If you are a chocolate/peanut butter fan, these are your jam!
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? AH-MAZING.
I cannot make this without taking spoonful after spoonful out of the bowl before decorating. It’s seriously 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.
If you are a fellow chocolate/peanut butter-aholic, you will love, love, LOVE these cupcakes. Put them on your baking list NOW!
Can’t Get Enough? More Favorite Chocolate/Peanut Butter Recipes:
- No Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Cookies
- Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
- Peanut Butter Cup Overload Cake
- Salted Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Buckeye Brownies
- Peanut Butter-Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
One year ago: Sweet and Sour Chicken
Two years ago: Fresh Strawberry Tart
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- ½ cup (43 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ¾ cup (93.75 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) baking powder
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) table salt
- ½ cup (115 ml) sour cream
For the Peanut Butter Frosting
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (258 g) creamy peanut butter
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) kosher salt
- ⅓ cup (79.33 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
- Make the Cupcakes: 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.
- 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.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift 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.
- Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
- Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and set on wire rack to cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.
- Make the Peanut Butter Frosting: Place the powdered 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.
- Assemble the Cupcakes: Frost the cupcakes with an offset spatula, or with a decorating tip (I used a Wilton 1M tip). Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Since first making these cupcakes, this chocolate cupcake recipe has become my favorite. Feel free to use either!
- If you do not have sour cream, you can substitute plain yogurt or buttermilk.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[photos by Whitney Wright]
Perfection! I followed the cupcake recipe with no adjustments. I used an ice cream scoop to measure each one and baked for exactly 20 minutes and they were perfect. The texture was lighter and and fluffier than expected. The frosting – I don’t even know how to describe how well the frosting turned out. I used heavy whipping cream in place of heavy cream and kept everything else the same. I’m so happy with the way they turned out. As we were eating them I was asked to make them again for another family event.
Please help, Michelle! Didn’t you used to have a second chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting from years ago? I’ve made them multiple times, including earlier this year. The frosting had cream cheese, and a larger amount of heavy cream that was whipped separately and then folded into the peanut butter / powdered sugar / cream cheese mixture. I know it was this site . Now I’m in the midst of making this recipe and realize it is not the same one, and I’m making them for a birthday dinner tonight!
Good day Ma’am! Can I steam this instead of baking? (i dont have oven yet). if yes, how long will I steam this? Thank you so much!
Hi Grace, Unfortunately I’m not familiar with steaming cakes, so I am not at all sure!
Hey.. I tried this recipe. The cupcakes turned out really bitter. I struggled with the metric values, could you please put a metric value along with the cup measurements?
I used the tabs to switch from cup measurements to metric values in your blog but I wonder how 1/2 cup of sour cream is 115ml and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder is only 43 grams. I thought there was some flaw and so I used this link to convert your cup measurements to metric– https://www.weekendbakery.com/cooking-conversions/
Also, my measuring scale shows the same quantity/value/number when switching between gm and ml. Is there something wrong with my scale?
Can you please help with the conversion. Something that I can refer to maybe that matches with your values. Then I can give this anther shot.
Thanks
hey, nice cup cake of dark chocolate, i loved it, its great and wonderful, recipe is also great.
These are my go-to cupcakes, they always turn out wonderfully and are devoured in no time – thanks for the recipe, I absolutely adore these!
Have made these a number of times -they’re superb!!
Is this enough peanut butter frosting recipe enough to frost a 13 x9 cake ?
Hi Gloria, Yes!
Made these today … the cupcake part, not the frosting. I’m making “my” birthday cupcake and wanted a perfect chocolate cupcake for the day (this is). Thank you! I’m filling it with some homemade strawberry jam that I made yesterday, topping with a very thin spread of chocolate ganache, and then piling high with a strawberry cream cheese buttercream that is to die for (the strawberry flavor comes from freeze dried strawberries turned into a powder). And for fun, I’m going to top with a chocolate dipped strawberry.
going all out. I’m worth it. :-D Happy Birthday To ME!!
Can you substitute the Dutch cocoa with regular coca powder or like Hershey’s special dark?
Thanks!
Hi Taylor, You could use the Hershey’s Special for this.
I made these for a staff birthday party. Overall, the recipe was great! I made minis; they were done in about 13 minutes. I would advise making double frosting because I nearly ran out and wasn’t particularly generous with each cupcake. They were best after being refrigerated, which helped the frosting to be a little less oily. Next time I’ll top then with fruit- they tend to be a bit rich, so I’m hoping that the fruit will add a little acid balance.
Hi Michelle,
it’s okay, cakes likes you, you have a gift on this even though you did not like but you make great recipes of them..love to hear more of your cooking story…
Delicious frosting!!!!
* I didn’t make the cake, so no review on that : )
So tempting and mouth watering. chocolates and peanut butter are love ,thanks for sharing.
I had to check if I was reading the right blog. You don’t like cake? I’m shocked!
I love chocolate and peanut butter together! These cupcakes are amazing!
I love the cupcakes! It looks delicious and the colors are really inviting. :)
I made these today and they came out great. I loved the frosting and that the cake wasn’t overly sweet. They had a nice texture but were a bit crumbly but not dry. Overall a great recipe I will probably make again.
I made this chocolate cupcake w/ peanut butter frosting for a friend’s Church function and she said they were the first to go and the first tray empty. I felt so proud! Thanks for all these great recipres. They’re the bomb!!
These were horrible. Frosting was good but the cupcakes were horrible
Would whipping cream (35% fat) or cooking cream (35%be a better substitute for heavy cream ?
I would use whipping cream. Enjoy!
Hi, I was wondering if this dough could be used for a small 5” cake and if so what are the proportions and baking time.
Thank you
Do you use unsweetened (raw) peanut butter for this recipe?
Hi Jessica, No, just commercial peanut butter like Skippy. I never use natural peanut butter for baking recipes – I find it too oily.
Hi! I want to make these for a 11 year old’s birthday and was wondering if there was away to dye peanut butter icing? any recommendations anyone? thanks!
I’ve never tried to dye peanut butter frosting, I’m not sure how it would work?
I usually rave about all recipes from your site but this one was a failure. To make sure I didn’t get any measurement wrong I made this recipe 3x, because I couldn’t believe that a brown eyed baker recipe would fail me. Unfortunately all the batches were of an odd almost brownie-like and crumbly… That crumb came loose and fell apart so easily. Definitely not like a fluffy cupcake I was hoping for.
Hello,
I have made these cupcakes several times over the last few years and I always have an issue with them being too dry. I have experimented with baking times and have bought fresh baking ingredients the day I make them even. I can sometimes get them to stay moist for a few hours if I pull them just before they are done (they deflate a little bit and not quite clean toothpicks) but after that they always become very dry. It is a little difficult to always pull them fresh from the oven when I want to take them somewhere so I was wondering if you could help with this issue. Thanks!
Hi Becca, I’m sorry you’re having issues with these turning out dry. Might I suggest these newer chocolate cupcakes, omitting the ganache filling?
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/best-chocolate-cupcakes-recipe/
I have always loved your recipes and this one seems divine! Making it right now and my oh my this smells AWESOME!
it’s actually the sour cream that makes them light and moist. The sour cream’s acidity reacts with the baking powder/soda which create bubbles.Try mixing some white vinegar and baking soda you will see. That’s what the hugely successful bakery Hummingbird in London does. They had the recipe in their first cupcake book but the vinegar element doesn’t appear anymore in the new books….cheeky
I love cake but this was way too dark for me! On the bitter side and not a treat for a sweet tooth. Frosting was creamy and good….not sweet but would compliment a sweeter cake.
The cakes of wonder just went into the oven, and can I say that it was bittersweet (pun intended)?! The batter was so divine that I didn’t want to give it up, but alas, my waistband is ever so tight, and I need save ~1/2 inch for a sampling of the grand frosted finale.
Thank you for the ambrosia of the gods we humans call cupcakes. Your recipes are the BEST!!
These cupcakes are all I ever dreamed a cupcake should be ….absolutely delicious . Now I need to try to convert ithis recipe into a cake ….any suggestions please?
You will need to double the recipe for a 9×13 or 8-inch or 9-inch double layer cake.
Can the peanut butter frosting be frozen?
Hi Elizabeth, I would not recommend it; since it includes cream, I’m not sure how well it would thaw.
I have tried this recipe and it is delicious!! Want to make again for a large family gathering, but am curious, Can this cupcake recipe be doubled??
Hi Leah, Yes, this recipe can be doubled.
You can make this recipe into a beautiful jarred gift! Put the dry ingredients in first and use a piece of decorative wax or parchment paper to separate the coco and chocolate ( i add a tsp of instant coffee for a lil kick). my best friend isnt much of a baker and doesnt like measuring but loved this. happy holidays :)
Hi
I baked these and substitute sour cream with greek yogurt. It comes out dry. I am wondering if it was because of the substitution?
Hi Corine, Yes, absolutely.
Omg loved these too! i used ww pastry flour and added a 1t of instant coffee to the chocolate and that just bumped it up that much more!
The cupcakes are soooooooooo dry!!!
Hi Michelle, I brought these to work for a co-worker’s birthday and they were a huge hit! The frosting is just right, not too sweet. For the co-worker’s birthday, I wanted to try a new cupcake recipe, but everyone is demanding this one again!
Question for you: Do you always use all-purpose flour in your cupcakes? Do you ever use cake flour?
Hi Jenny, I don’t typically use cake flour because it tends to make them too light and crumbly.
I finaly have time to make these for a special occasion. But i want to make this recipe into mini cupcakes is that possible?
Thank you best regards Astrid
Hi Astrid, Yes, it will make double the number of mini cupcakes, and you will need to reduce the baking time.
Hi Michelle
I did send you an email question but thought I had better ask here as it is a recipe question Please just ignore email question. :)
Can I use Self-raising flour as I don’t want to purchase in all purpose and self-raising as they will go bad before using both. I am making something else for my birthday as well as these cupcakes.
I will obviously leave out baking powder and salt but leave in the baking soda as it starts working at a lower temperature.
Many thanks!!
Hi Maggie, I would not recommend using self-rising flour. Flour typically does not go bad for a long, long time and you can store it in the freezer to increase its longevity.
Would the frosting turn bad if I leave these out? Like not put them in the fridge I mean. I was going to bring these to a gathering and I’m making it a day before but I’m afraid that if I put it in the fridge after making these, when I take it out the frosting will melt if I leave it out for too long. What should I do?
Hi Sam, As long as your house is temperature controlled and not too hot or humid, these will be fine at room temperature (up to about 72 degrees F). Enjoy!
I used this icing between cookies — the soft chocolate ones — and it was a hit and the icing was awesome. Followed the recipe and it was great! Thanks!!
I always read the reviews on a recipe before I try it! There are usually some helpful tips, however when I was reading through this recipes reviews I was concerned that most of them were praising the frosting and making no mention of the cupcakes. (There was someone that commented that the cupcakes were too bitter) but, because my cousin had sent the recipe, I decided to give it a try… What was everyone thinking??? These are the best chocolate cupcakes I have ever tasted! Wow, they are so moist and flavorful, they don’t even need frosting! And putting peanut butter frosting on them… Ingenious! Thank you in advance from all of my Mothers Bingo group! They are going to LOVE them…
If I want to make 24 cupcakes can i double the ingredients or should I stick to the original measurements and make 2 separate mixtures
Hi Karla, You can double the ingredients. Enjoy!
My boyfriend is a coffee lover so I made these for this birthday a few weeks ago. They were a huge success … especially with me! I couldn’t stop thinking about them, not until the last one was eaten.
sounds so good was what i was looking for as a flavor profile, could this be done as a sheet cake of some size? what size pan would i use?
Hi Dave, If you double the recipe, you could bake this in a 9×13-inch pan.
How long for a 13 x 9 panm
Michelle thanks so much for your direct reply.
Please explain/ clarify on the type & size of frosting tip you used.
I’m about to shop for tips, a first for me, and want be sure to buy exactly what you’ve used since it looks gorgeous!
No where on youtube tutorials did I hear mention of a 1M frosting tip??
What brand, type, and size is yours??
Have a great day & thanks!
Hi Linda, The decorating tip is a Wilton 1M tip.
Michelle,
I absolutely love the way your “frosted” PB cupcake looks, it’s the perfect professional finish. Please share tips on how to achieve it. Maybe a tutorial? ;)
I will purchase the recommended tip & bag to frost.
Thanks!
Hi Michelle,
Yay! I just discovered your blog.
I’m planning to make the Dark chocolate cupcakes w/ PB frosting for July 4th!
Please tell me, what brand PB do you use?
My usual is “smart balance” it has oil separation & natural.
Should I use a stable brand like jiffy! Or what?
My muffin pan is non stick but I always use liners anyhow, what temp should I use?
Hi Linda, I use Skippy brand peanut butter for baking. Using natural peanut butters for baking is not a good idea, as the excess oil can affect the final result. As for temperature, if your non-stick pan is dark, then reduce the temperature by 25 degrees.
Is it possible to make frosting without a mixer? I’m too afraid to try because the consistency of the frosting mixed by hand might not be the same… & I’m not sure my mom wants to buy a mixer
Hi Ysabel, I’ve honestly never made a frosting by hand, and I’m not sure how well the powdered sugar would be incorporated with just a whisk or wooden spoon.
I tried the exact recipe only that I reduced all the ingredients to half as I have a muffin tray with capacity of 6 muffins. It turned out great….. The taste is awesome.. also the cupcakes came out moist n fluffy…
Thanks… :)
Hi! I’m going to make these for Father’s Day and was wondering what temperature the butter should be at? Room temp or cold?
Please answer back!
Oh sorry just read the recipe directions! Whoops!
doubled the recipe and the are delicious! especially the frosting!
doubled recipe made a 2 layered cake with icing: 1Cup cream with 1 box choc. pudding and 1 Cup castor sugar Iced the cake and then topped with whipped orley whip devine love the cake best ever choc cake
Would it be ok to sub the sour cream with buttermilk? :)
Hi Sarah, If you need a substitution, I would recommend plain yogurt.
Hi. Can I substitute sour cream with yogurt? thanks a lot
Hi Sherly, Yes, you can use plain yogurt.
Was seeking an Italian dressing recipe.
Your mom’s caught my eye. I was reading your blog about it, and found myself distracted by THIS recipe at the right of the screen. It’s like mandatory that I make chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting for my husband’s birthday. I recognized the tantalizing swirl of p.b. icing atop these cupcakes easily. I think I should do a practice run with this recipe…My husband’s birthday isn’t until November! Oh, but hey! Our anniversary is this week! How’s THAT for a good excuse?! AND I have chocolate…er…brown eyes too. : ) Great website, great recipes I’ve seen thus far. Thanks!
Could I substitute bittersweet chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate? If I do would I have to reduce the amount of sugar, or would it not be that much of a difference? I don’t particularly like dark chocolate, so can I change it with semi-sweet chocolate, and it’ll still come out delicious?
Hi Erika, Yes, definitely! You don’t need to adjust the sugar.
Great! Thank you! :)
I’m inspired by the rave reviews & making these for a party on Sunday. How far in advance could I make the frosting & store fridge?
Thanks!
Is this recipe suited for high altitude?
Unfortunately, it is not. I bake at a pretty low altitude, so if you are at a high altitude, you should make appropriate adjustments.
Oh my, these are the best cupcakes, hands-down, ever. I made them to send to a sports fundraiser (which I did not attend), and heard from attendees that they were quite sought-after. My 17-year-old son said the one he ate “was the best cupcake he’s ever eaten,” and the kid doesn’t hand out food compliments all that readily. Since I couldn’t fit two dozen in the box to send, some stayed home. They are difficult to avoid. Wait, that’s not quite right–they are IMPOSSIBLE to avoid. In fact, I think I hear the last one calling to me now…
Thanks for sharing this delectable recipe!
I will try this one Dark Chocolate, it seems everyone is enjoying, happy eating,, ummmm yummy…
I haven’t tried the cupcakes, but this is my go-to peanut butter frosting recipe. It’s got a wonderful peanut butter flavor but it’s so light and whippy. I always get compliments when I use this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it!
After reading all the reviews, I made a few adjustments. First I whipped my eggs,sugar,vanilla and salt in my KitchenAid. This made the batter very fluffy. I also added more flour. Probably 1 cup total. I think because I whipped my eggs with my KitchenAid it made my batter go farther. I had enough to make 10 additional mini cupcakes. The next huge adjustment….I cored the center out and put ganache in…oh sweet heaven did that just make the cupcake!!! Thank you for this recipe! These are my birthday cupcakes this year and I feel every year from now on :)
I’m always searching the web for juicy, delicious recipes. Usually I just dribble over gorgeous pictures and imagine the smells and tastes, but never actually makes anything. (A bit lazy, but also not too much time as I am having a baby around..) But – I found your blog and these cupcakes, and I HAD to make them. I got a major craving! (Breast-feeding does that to you, apparently. Gives you cravings, that is.)
Then, I’m Norwegian – so we don’t have the same stuff as you do (i.e. butter in sticks, different cocoa powder etc.) and my head doesn’t understand anything that isn’t metric, but after some googling I found more or less everything and got it all converted.
In addition to this, my husband is allergic to gluten. And they came out just PERFECT! My blender-thingy didn’t manage to make the peanut butter all creamy, but I loved the bits of crunchiness (couldn’t make those beautiful swirls, though) .
So: Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Hi, I know this was from a while back but found your recipe on pinterest. I made these tonight and Holy Hell! De-licious. Will definitely be making these again:)
I made these cupcakes and they are absolutely amazing. It impressed my guests thats for sure. One thing I did do to give it that extra wow factor on the look was made some peanut brittle and stuck a shard of that in the icing.
thanks for the reply.another thing, after making any kind of frosting will i chill them before using? how many minutes?
Hi Monica, No, you do not (and actually should not) need to chill frosting before using, unless a recipe specifically states that you must.
Hello, it’s my 1st time here. I am not a professional baker but I love baking simple recipes. Just want to ask if what’s the alternative of sour cream in this recipe or is it ok if there’s no sour cream? It’s hard to find sour cream here.
Thanks.
Hi Monica, You can’t simply leave it out, but you could substitute buttermilk or plain yogurt in its place.
I NEVER write a review for recipes I use but this one forced me to come here and write one. This cupcake was the best cupcake I ever had. The cupcakes came so good that my family really appreciated it. My 9 yr old son is quite fond of baking and he helped me in this recipe. He followed the instructions to the T except that we used Yoghurt instead of sour cream and we did not have bittersweet chocolate so we skipped that altogether, still the cupcakes came really awesome. We did add chocolate chips though. When we were preparing the batter my son exclaimed how silky the batter looked! Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. Will try other recipes too.
Where can I buy espresso powder?? I can never find it anywhere. I live in Minneapolis, MN
Hi Chelsea, I find it at a local Italian grocery store here. I have also purchased it from King Arthur Flour and Amazon.com in the past.
My cake wasn’t moist at all. in fact it was really dry. Though the frosting was to DIE for ! Any tips for next time?
I thought I’d share my version of this (fantastic) recipe, which has been converted to Australian measurements and Australian equivalent ingredients, for any Aussies out there, since measurements are different between the US and Australia:
Ingredients
Cupcakes
113.4g unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
57g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
42.5g Dutch-processed cocoa powder
106.3g plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
148.8g white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon table salt
113.4g sour cream
Peanut butter frosting
90g icing sugar
100g smooth peanut butter
30g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/6 cup of pure cream
Method
1. Preheat oven to 160°C, fan forced. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with 12 paper cases.
2. Combine the butter, chocolate and cocoa in a medium heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water. Heat the mixture until the butter and chocolate are melted, and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
3. Whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a small bowl to combine.
4. Whisk the eggs in another medium bowl to combine. Add the sugar, vanilla and salt until fully incorporated.
5. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until combined.
6. Sift in one-third of the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture, and whisk until combined.
7. Whisk in the sour cream until combined, and then add in the remaining flour mixture. Whisk until the batter is homogenous and thick.
8. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin pan cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. If making mini-muffins, bake for 9-10 minutes.
9. Cool cupcakes in the muffin pan on the wire rack for 15 minutes. Then place the cupcakes onto the wire rack to cool before icing, which should take 30 minutes.
10. To make the peanut butter frosting, place the icing sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on a medium-low speed until creamy, scraping the bowl down with a rubber spatula. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
11. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes after they have cooled down.
can i substitute heavy whipping cream for half and half? Pppppppplllllllleeeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeee reply soon!!!!!
Hi Margaret, Yes, I think that would be fine.
Thanks Michelle, that was really helpful! Though when I went to make the cupcakes they turned out to be dry? I had same problem as Nika.
hi,
I tried these once and they came out really delicious! then I tried them again after a few weeks and they were different, although I did all the same as before. I don´t know what´s wrong, but they came out spongy and dry.
how do you make a chocolate cupcake that is moist as well as fluffy at the same time?
btw, I love your website and recipes and everything, thank you :)
Hi Nika, Since you had a successful batch and didn’t change anything, I’m not sure what would have caused the second batch to be spongy and dry. Do you use an oven thermometer? Perhaps the oven ran hot? Or you overheat the batter a bit? Without any substitutions or alterations to the recipe, I can’t think of anything else.
thank you for your reply. I have tried them one more time and I added some hot water to the batter since it was too thick and they came out really nice. maybe there was a problem with the flour or cocoa powder, maybe it was a different brand than the first time.
thank you and good luck :)
Hi, could you tell me how you managed to get the frosting so smooth and shiny? I followed the recipe almost exactly (except I used only half of the suggested powdered sugar). The frosting was yummy but the texture was just too frothy (not sure what is the right term to describe it but there were bubbles) to be piped nicely.
Also, I noticed I had cracks on the cakes, I was baking it with a fan oven at 140C, which I thought was quite a low temperature. The recipe was delicious, I just wished the cupcakes I made looked better. Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.
I would recommend using the full amount of powdered sugar, otherwise the texture of the frosting will not come out right.
Thanks. Will keep that in mind next time :)
hey i tried making these today but i made a mistake which is that i added to much of batter in each cupcake holder and it rise to the max and overflowed but the taste was so good
I am glad that i tried making these :]
Peanut butter cupcakes, yum! I need to make them!
Soooo, I am aware all these post are from so long ago…but I just made these- the batter for the cupcake is so good. I can’t wait to eat them. :) they will be used as the “burger” to the hamburger cupcakes we are making for my daughter to take to school tomorrow for her birthday…so good.
These Dark Chocolate cupcakes look amazing. Thanks for sharing.
In a pinch I had to use whole milk instead of cream for the frosting, and since all I ever use is Smucker’s natural peanut butter, it didn’t come out as pictured. I figure most people use the sugary super-creamy stuff, so mine would be different in that respect. My advice is to make a different flavor icing if that brand of PB all you have.
These look and sound amazing, before I make them can anyone tell me if the cakes need to be kept in the refrigerator overnight (as I am using them for tomorrow) due to the fresh cream in the frosting?
Hi Paul, No, you can keep them at room temperature.
Do you think I could make mini cupcakes out of this recipe for a party? And could I use Hershey’s cocoa powder instead of dutch?
Hi Hannah, I think mini cupcakes would come out just fine. I really recommend using Dutch (it’s worth stocking in your kitchen if you do a lot of baking with chocolate), but if you absolutely must, Hershey’s is okay in a pinch.
I used hershey’s for my cupcakes and they tasted fine so i guess you could.
Ok, I made these today for my sons last week in speech class tonight. I, of course, had to taste one, because that’s what all good chefs do. OMG, the cupcake is so moist and the peanut butter icing is smooth and creamy! Love it!!! Keeping this recipe forever. <3
Hi,I am a big fan of your blog and these are my favourite cupcakes by far :) I was just wondering if anyone has tried different variations of the chocolate cupcake recipe? i am thinking of making chocolate orange cupcakes and am wondering how I could adapt this recipie as I love the cupcake itself!
Hi there! I loved these when I made them, but have a neighbor’s birthday coming up and would love to make this as a cake. Have you? Any suggestions for tweaking the recipe? Thank you so much!!! Have a wonderful day….Ms. Newlywed :-)
Hi Carolyn, Thank you! :) I haven’t not used this recipe to make a cake, so unfortunately I can’t offer you any insight, but if you do try it, I’d love to hear how it turned out! You would need to do double the recipe for a two-layer or 9×13-inch cake, and likely increase the baking time.
Thank you for the response….I need an AMAZING chocolate cake with chocolate frosting….any suggestions?????
Hi Carolyn, I love this Hershey’s chocolate cake + frosting: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2007/08/03/perfectly-chocolate-everything/. If you want a real show-stopper, you could also make this 6-layer cake and use all chocolate frosting if you wanted: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/03/25/six-layer-chocolate-cake-with-toasted-marshmallow-filling-malted-chocolate-frosting/
Thank you! :-)
This looks amazing! I really want to make it but i have a few questions. First, can i sub the dutch-proccessed cocoa for unsweetened coca? And for the frosting, can i whip it up by hand instead of using a mixing machine?
Hi Wendy, You can make that substitute, I believe, without an issue. I have never made frosting by hand, but you could use a whisk – you’ll need a lot of elbow grease!
I wish I could do this frosting recipe but I’m allergic to peanut butter! But when I’m un allergic to peanut butter then the first thing I will try will be this cupcake recipe with the frosting for sure!
Okay so these cupcakes are the BOMB! I’m a 16 year old baker and I made them once for my good friend. The frosting is so dam good perfectly combined with the dark chocolate. Ill be making them again for my little brothers birthday tomorrow he loves peanut butter and I’m sure he will love this combination even more! Thanks for the great recipe : ) they are to die for!
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I’ve
joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your excellent post.
Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!
These cupcakes are amazing! I tried them and everyone loved them! thank you so much!! I didn’t do the PB frosting, instead I used the Vanilla frosting from your Vanilla Cupcakes, and omg they were amazing. tasted like an oreo cupcake.
This frosting did not work out for me. I used natural peanut butter. Could that be why? I have a bowl full of greasy glop. I’m very disappointed.
It’s definitely because of using natural peanut butter; it contains much more oil than processed peanut butter.
Hi Michelle, I assumed that was the problem. I managed to salvage the frosting by adding 8 oz. of cream cheese and probably another 3 cups!! of sugar. It came out delicious, albeit soft. I would do this, using natural pb again, with more butter, and the cream cheese. Thanks for replying.
I made these cupcakes yesterday, and they were truly amazing. The cake has a deep yet not too sweet chocolate flavor, and the frosting was light, which was perfect with the peanut butter flavor since peanut butter can often be too rich and overwhelming. My friends and family loved them — even the ones who aren’t huge fans of peanut butter. I will be making these again, and I will also use this chocolate cupcake recipe with other types of frostings. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
These cupcakes are the best ever! If you love dark chocolate that is moist beyond belief than these are for you. The peanut butter frosting is very rich. The guys in our family all love peanut butter and they are hooked! It was very easy to pipe on the cupcakes.
I’ve made these at least once as cupcakes since you posted the recipe (YUM!) but made it tonight as an 8″ 2-layer cake instead. I kept the frosting fairly thin but then refrigerated and topped after a while with a hardening bitter chocolate glaze (covering the top and dripping down the sides). It looked beautiful and tasted even better! Thank you; this is a wonderful blog!!
I have made these a gazillion times now and I just love love love them! you just can’t go wrong with this recipe. perfection. and I always top mine with a reese’s . :)
Hi! I just made this recipe and the frosting is phenomenal!!! However my cupcakes all cracked on the tops when baking, not sure what may have caused this! Any ideas or tips??
Hi Angela, I’m really not sure what have caused that :(
These cupcakes are marvelous. I texture is so light a fluffy, and the icing is the perfect complement to the slightly bitter chocolate cupcake! For a topping/accessory, I made mini sugar cookies and sandwich them together with a grape jelly to add to bring the childhood flavor of PB&J back. Love, love, love!
I’ve made these a number of times (including this morning) for friends. And every time it’s a big hit. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Regards from Indonesia.
Made these today because I can’t think of a better combination of flavors-chocolate and peanuts. Yum! The frosting turned out as advertized, delicious. However, sadly, the cake part is a bit dry. Not near the toss ’em side of the spectrum but certainly not moist. I’ll keep the frosting but keep looking for the right dark chocolate cupcake recipe. Thanks for sharing nonetheless.
Hmmm…I’m really surprised yours were dry. Mine were the most moist of anything I’ve ever eaten…professional or homemade and I bake a lot. Maybe you should give it another try.
Hi all! I tried these cupcakes, and they were really good. But I had a little problem with the frosting. It was delicious to the taste, but looked awful. I don’t know what happened, but mine did not look like the frosting above. It just collapsed into ingerdients. I followed the recipe correctly. Can you help me out?
Thanks in advance,
Nora
Hi Nora, I’m not sure what you mean by “collapsed into ingredients”. If you could provide a better description, I can see if I can help. Also, did you make any substitutions to the ingredients or technique called for?
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for the fast answer. I used the same things you wrote in the recipe, the only thing I changed was the order because at first I beat the butter for a couple of seconds, the I added the peanut butter and the sugar (+salt and vanilla), then I added the milk. You wrote it should be creamy and light, mine was heavy and kinda looked like sand, so it had big chunks, and when time passed by it seemed the butter is starting to “separate” from the mixture. I posted a picture on instagram with the “thebrowneyedbaker” tag where you can see my frosting.
not milk..heavy cream..sorry
Hi Nora, If you didn’t substitute any ingredients, I can’t imagine why it would have turned out like that. You could re-try and mix according to the order in the recipe and see if that helps. It should be completely smooth before you add the cream and whip on high speed.
Hey Michelle! I actually have a really serious problem (:P). You see, whenever I’m done with my cupcakes (any sort, any kind), they look perfectly fine at first, but after an hour or two, they’ll sorta sink and become really flat and ugly, Are there any reasons why this happens and how should I solve it????
Hi Christine, Make sure your baking soda and powder are fresh, and also make sure that you do not underbake them. Cakes that are not fully cooked through in the center tend to sink as they cool.
Just made these cupcakes this morning and they were amazing! Moist cupcake with the right sweetness and the frosting was to die for. I’m totally not a sweets person but I ended up inhaling an entire cupcake in seconds. Had to stop there since I wanted to save some for others to taste the awesome flavor! Great job!
The frosting is divine. Haven’t made the cake but it’s on my list. This frosting on fudgy brownies is a decadent overload. Thanks for the recipe.
they are SOOO yummy! the frosting is delicious, and the cake is awesome! really good. must taste them.
Hi, I was just curious if the same recipe can be used to bake a cake? If so, what size pan would accommodate for the recipe of 12 cupcakes? Thank you and I hope to hear back soon. :)
Hi Jessica, I have not used it for a cake, but some other readers have commented that they’ve done so. You will need to double the recipe, and that will give you enough batter for a two-layer 8″ or 9″ cake, or a 9×13-inch cake.
Hi! I’m going to try to bake this tomorrow. because it totally looks delicious and I have read some of the comments above that it tasted great. So if it does taste great i will make this in our family gathering. So excited! :D
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. In the past week, I’ve made a batch with peanut butter frosting for my 8th grade class. I also made a batch that I filled with chocolate buttercream and topped with mocha buttercream and cookie crumbs to make it a Starbucks Cookie Crumble Frappuccino! Both times, I’ve been missing bittersweet chocolate, so I have subbed in half semi-sweet and half unsweetened and it has worked great.
Finally made these yesterday, now I wonder why it took me so long! Loved both the cupcake and the frosting, they seem made for each other
I made these cupcakes last night for a pot luck we had at work today. The batter for the cakes was absolutely delicious! But like some other commenters, the cakes themselves turned out a little dry. Perhaps my oven runs hot, as this tends to happen more often than desired. As far as the peanut butter frosting goes… that stuff is to DIE for! I had tons left over after frosting the cupcakes, so my boyfriend spread some between graham crackers and dipped apple slices in it to help me get rid of it. I must say, though, the frosting was better last night than it was today. It seemed to have more of a peanut butter richness to it today, rather than the light, fluffy, sweet goodness it was last night. It was still tasty, I was just surprised it was so different (I am thinking it’s because the oil from the peanut butter separated a little bit; there were little oily pools around the bottom of the frosting mountains.) Despite a couple bumps in this chocolate-peanut-buttery road, I would absolutely make these cupcakes again! And I’ll use that frosting for many other recipes; I’ll just make sure to use it the same day.
To impress my colleagues even more, I dipped my cupcakes in a homemade dark chocolate ganache and let cool before adding the PB frosting. They were beautiful!
Hi Michelle,
Love, love, love your website and these Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with the devine Peanut Butter Frosting are just perfect! Thanks for this wonderful recipe, made my day :).
I made them now twice and they came out just right every time. Only problem is, they do not last long, first batch didn’t even leave the house.
I followed the recipe but only had Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder, used whipping cream instead of heavy cream, and normal salt. Am afraid I can not say at what temperature I baked them. Sounds funny, I know. So, I am living in China and am using a counter top toaster oven, I inherited it from the former tenant and when I cleaned it after moving in, I accidentally cleaned away all the marks and dots on the temperature and program control knobs. Yup.
Thanks Michelle, great work!
The cupcakes are outstanding. they are the best I have ever made, I felt so lucky to find your page. One question, my frosting does not look like yours, it wasn’t smooth and so when I tried to pipe onto cupcakes, it was not pretty :-(
Should I try to whip the cream first and then add the peanut butter mixture later so I can get a smoother frosting? Regardless of bad looking frosting today, I love this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Jenny, By not smooth, do you mean lumpy? Perhaps try sifting your powdered sugar next time. Also, make sure that you don’t use natural peanut butter – it has too much oil for frostings.
Yes It’s a bit lumpy and runny. When I pipe it couldnt keep the shape. I will try sifting the sugar next time. I did use creamy butter. Thanks for your answer.
hi again………frosting went together easily. now — will the frosting set? or crust? do they have to be refrigerated til serving? hopefully the weather will stay cool!!! ————— it tastes wonderful! thank you
Hi Sue, You do not need to refrigerate unless your home is very, very warm with no air conditioning.
Can I make the frosting Thursday to serve Sat pm? Can it be refrigerated, then brought up to room temp to pipe on cupcakes on Friday? thanks…sue
Hi Sue, Yes, you could definitely make the frosting on Thursday and refrigerate it until Saturday. You will need to re-whip it, though; just bringing it to room temperature probably won’t get it to the consistency you’ll need to pipe it.
Can I use cake flour in this recipe instead of all purpose flour? Do you think that would make them lighter and moist?
Hi Debbie, These cupcakes are very moist; I don’t think you need to replace any flour. You could try it, but I can’t guarantee how they’ll turn out.
Hi, Michelle. I made these cupcakes with your chocolate buttercream frosting and they are delicious. The cupcakes were a little too ‘dark chocolately” for my kids (which is fine by me since I had to ‘finish’ their cupcakes for them), but I’m wondering if I substituted the Bittersweet chocolate with Semi-sweet, would that make them a little sweeter and work okay? I realize I could use another recipe, but I do love the texture of these cupcakes and they came out beautiful. What do you think?
Hi Dee, You could definitely substitute semisweet chocolate for the bittersweet, I think it would work just fine. Hopefully your kids like those better! :)
Tried these with the kids today – taste great and look great too – really stand out, thanks!
Is kosher salt really necessary in frosting? both kosher and regular table salt should fully dissolve in the whipping process and the main difference is grain size
of course measured by volume table salt uses about half the amount of space so the amount of table salt added should be reduced by half, I just don’t get why the resipie called for kosher salt specifically, is there a reason?
You can substitute table salt for kosher salt if you don’t wish to use it; just be sure to use only 1/2 the amount. The frosting is based on an Ina Garten recipe, and in most of her recipes she calls for kosher salt; probably a personal preference.
love the pb icing , i use the same recipe on my chocalte cakes and cupcakes !
Planning to make the frosting for cupcakes for my sons’ birthday party this weekend. I am hoping to make all the cupcakes on Friday for the party Saturday. Will they need to be refrigerated because of the heavy cream, or will they be okay at room temperature?
Hi Andrea, They will be just fine left out at room temperature. Enjoy and happy birthday to your son!
ok out overnight? or just close to party time? And thanks! It’ll be a fun time- celebrating my boys turning 4, 2 and 1!!!
Hi Andrea, Overnight is fine. I’ve left them out for a couple of days. Enjoy! :)
cool! Thanks so much! can’t wait to try it! Cupcakes in the oven right now so I can frost tomorrow :)
Made these yesterday, they came out so good, everyone went back for seconds. Cannot wait to make them again :D
This is just tempting…I have just made this….successfully done! Thanks for sharing reciepe!
I am curious, could the frosting be made with PB2 (the powdered peanut butter) to make it lower in calories (I know, silly question when I am about to make cupcakes but any calorie counts, right!? ;) ) And if so, what would you suggest the substitution? Could I simply substitute the PB2 for some of the powdered sugar? Or would the consistency not be right? I guess I may have to experiment :)
Hi Angel, I have never heard of powdered peanut butter. You could not substitute for the peanut butter or the texture will turn out very differently. You could try substituting for some of the powdered sugar, but you’ll need to replace the peanut butter with butter. Which, in that case, you may as well just use the peanut butter if all you’re trying to do is cut calories ;-)
True, True. PB2 is powdered peanut butter, you just add a little olive oil or water to it to get the consistency you want. I am excited to make these as a “cheat treat” for me and my team tomorrow. We are health nuts at heart but who doesn’t love a good cupcake ;) Question: If I made these into mini cupcakes, how long would you suggest baking them for?
Thanks for your amazing recipe, I’ll let you know how everyone likes it :) I am sure I will be writing it down all day!
Hi Angel, For mini cupcakes, I would start checking around 8 minutes (although they may take longer than that), just to be sure you don’t overbake them.
They took 12 minutes. But these were DELICIOUS!!! Everyone loved them, my best friend’s husband ate SIX!! LOL! I used the ganache recipe from the irish car bomb cupcakes ( minus the whiskey, to my husband’s dismay) to fill the full size ones and it was amazing!!! I will definitely be using this recipe again!
Hello may I ask if the peanut butter frosting freeze well? Because I have leftover frosting and was wondering if it can be rewhipped so that I am able to use it another time? Thanks :)
Hi Sarah, I have never frozen frosting; I’m not sure that the texture would remain in tact, but you can certainly give it a try! If you do, I would thaw it in the refrigerator, and then re-whip it.
I really want to make these, but I want to get the exact ingredients, so there’s no chance of them turning out less-than-best. Question! I’m a bit confused about the dutch processed cocoa, if it’s blended like this product, http://www.amazon.com/Hersheys-Cocoa-Special-Dark-8-Ounce/dp/B001EQ4SHK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1365531192&sr=8-10&keywords=dutch+cocoa can it be used? But that’s a dark blend….not sure!
Sorry if this has been asked earlier! They look scrumptious, I want to make them this Sunday for a party!
Thanks so much!
Hi Maxine, I do know that a lot of people use Hershey’s Special Dark for their Dutch-process cocoa. I’ve never used it, so I can’t speak to its flavor, but I think you should be fine using that. Enjoy!
I substituted Dutch processed cocoa with unsweetened cocoa only to read later that if you’re to do that, there’s a science to it. I do hope they turn out fine!
Another thing I read was that dutch-processed cocoa is used in recipes that use baking powder in place of baking soda and if you needed to sub with unsweetened cocoa powder you needed three tbspns of unsweetened cocoa plus 1/8th tspn of baking soda for every ounce of dutch processed cocoa. But this already has baking soda sooooo … do we do the same here?
Thanks!!
I have never used unsweetened cocoa in place of Dutch-process cocoa, so unfortunately I can’t tell you if it will work or not. I have seen many recipes mention that you can substitute one for the other without issue.
I couldn’t have these because I have a really upset stomach but I’ve been told they’re super moist and melt in your mouth so I’m assuming it worked! I do hope I can try these myself! Thanks for the quick reply! I do love your blog! And I have never ever liked cake. Unless it’s cheesecake. :)
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, made these a couple days ago for my colleagues and they were definitely a hit. The frosting is to die for!
Hey there! These cupcakes were a huge hit with my friends and family! The frosting was to die for. Hehe. It’s so light and creamy and full of peanut butter flavour! :)
However my peanut butter frosting did not turn out like yours did. After whisking in my frosting with the heavy cream, it started to separate and kind of clump together like how a whip cream looks like when it is over beaten. :( I did the second time and it turned out the same. Is my method wrong?
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry you’re having some trouble with the frosting. You mention that you’re whisking; are you mixing this by hand or using an electric mixer? I would recommend using an electric mixer (even a hand held is fine if you don’t have a stand mixer) for best results.
Hi again Michelle!!!, i want to try your recipe for chocolate cupcakes but (as i told you in your post about apple pie) i’m from Venezuela and i can’t seem to find some of the products you use for your recipes, in this case, i can’t find Dutch-processed cocoa powder, can i substitute it with something else? Thanks in advance!!!
Hi Anaisa, You can substitute regular unsweetened cocoa powder.
Does the frosting freeze well?
Hi Kirsten, I wouldn’t freeze the frosting, I would make it fresh before frosting the cupcakes.
YUMMMM-MMYYY!!! Can’t wait to try these out! :)!
I was wondering does this frosting do well sitting out or put in the fridge over night of for a couple of days?
It’s been fine for me at room temperature; I try not to refrigerate cupcakes unless absolutely necessary since they can dry out.
Hi there – I ran across a pin of this recipe, but stolen by another site, here: http://www.easykitchenrecipes.com/2013/01/dark-chocolate-cupcakes-with-peanut.html
I have seen almost of your cupcake recipe have been adding sour cream to the recipe. But I’m having the difficulty finding sour here. I’m wondering if I can take sour cream out of the recipe or not? Is that going to make any difference? Can I substitute sour cream with anything else to make the same outcome? Please advice.
Thank you!
Hi Ying, Don’t just omit it; the sour cream is what gives the cupcakes a really moist texture. You can substitute plain yogurt (preferably) or buttermilk.
I mix cream with yogurt in equal quantities to substitute for sour cream. Should I ditch the cream then?
Hey Ying! You can add vinegar to your Greek yogurt and it’ll work just like sour cream :)
I love so many and tried a lot but if I had to pick one it would be buckeye peanut butter cup cookies. Yummy!!!!
This is way too delicious, i have to add it to my blog if you dont mind :)
These are fantastic!!! I had some friends over for movie night last night and they were a hugh hit! The frosting….hmmmm…it so creamy and peanutty and delicious. You have changed my mind about cake, which I though was all the same and never bothered to have any, I think you have just got me into big trouble, its all I want to eat now…..but thank you!
hey! I must say that I made these cupcakes and they were fantastic!!!!! loved the chocolate taste, so perfect! i just wanted to ask what kind of tip do you use for piping the frosting? cuase your cupcakes look so beautiful and it’s always so hard to get them so perfectly done!
thanks!
Hi Daniela, So happy to hear you loved the cupcakes! I used a Wilton 1M decorating tip.
I made this cupcakes for my BBF’s birthday last wednesday and they were a total success. Here in Chile the peanut butter is not a typical thing, but all of my friends loved the combo chocolate-peanutbutter. SO GOOD!!! And best of all the birthday girl told me that these were her favorites so far.
Just found your blog and I LOVE it! Today is Christmas and it is also my daughter’s birthday. She is turning 9! I was googling for the BEST cupcake recipe and found you. She also LOVES cupcakes & Tiramisu and you happen to have THE recipe. However, since it’s Christmas and whole food is likely to be closed, I will have to save the recipe. But I will be making your delicious chocolate cupcake with butter cream frosting and dust with cocoa instead. Wish me luck as I DO NOT have good luck with cupcakes. Luckily I have all the ingredients on hand,
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I just made these and gave them away for Xmas (but kept a few for myself! ;) Mine came out fine – not super duper moist but not dry either. Also, I used Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa since I didn’t have Dutch Processed and used European baking chocolate. The cupcakes were a hit with my peeps and myself. The frosting – OMG. To DIE for. I sprinkled chopped lightly salted cashews on top since I didn’t have peanuts. People were eating them and rolling their eyes behind their heads. I froze the leftovers otherwise I KNOW I would’ve eaten them all! Really delicious and I’m not even a cupcake fan!
These were amazing! I was pressed for time so I used a devil’s food cake mix for the cupcakes. But the frosting was so good! I also featured it on my blog, feel free to check it out here: http://www.cupcakesandcombatboots.com/2012/12/devils-food-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter.html
Thanks again!
Jennifer
Cupcakes and Combat Boots
I’ve baked these cupcakes for a friend’s tea party and again for a graduation party – they turned out DIVINE both times!! the cake it is moist and fluffy but rich and mousse-like at the same time!! I’ve tried them with a salted caramel buttercream and vanilla buttercream which went very well with the cupcake. Next time i’ll need to try out this peanut butter frosting of yours!!! Thank you so much for posting this recipe! You are amazing :)
I just made these for a close friends’ birthday, and I have to say: they look delicious! I tried one already, and it tasted incredible, but I’m sure it’ll be even better tomorrow, since it was half frozen today. I’m looking forward to sharing these, especially the peanut butter frosting! Fantastic.
Our family motto is “Why have cake when you can have pie?”
Wow, these are decadent! I made these for Thanksgiving as well (along with 2 of your pumpkin rolls). I made them as mini cupcakes, figuring with all the desserts and the richness of these, guests probably wouldn’t want a whole cupcake…instead they ended up having 3 or 4 mini ones! lol…The cake was moist and of course I couldn’t stop tasting the the frosting! Thanks :)
Hi Jenn, how long did you bake the mini’s for? I am contemplating baking mini’s rather than full cupcakes. Thanks!
We’ve been making this combination of dark chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting for more than 40 years! This is my dad’s birthday cake, and made even on other special occasions. If you’re in a big hurry, you can use a container of buttercream frosting and mix in a 1/2-cup of peanut butter. Then refrigerate the leftovers (hah!) and spread on crackers for a sweet yummy snack!
This were the best cupcakes I have ever eaten!!
Hi, I made these last week for my sibiling’s birthday party, and they are absolutely out of the park delicious. I think they will be my signature cupcake now, but first I have to fix some things. Maybe someone can help? I made the recipe exactly (was happy to use my dutch cocoa that I ordered from King Authur!), except that I doubled it. I used Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips for the chocolate. The batter is very foamy – I used my ice cream scoop to fill the tins, overfilling it to the size of just a little larger than a golf ball. It’s hard to tell if they are 3/4 full because the batter is so airy. I only had batter left over for 1 cupcake this time, so I was happy. Until I saw them baking, and most of them overran the tin :-( I had set the timer for 15m based on some of the comments of over-baking, but I ended up having to bake them for 25 minutes to get the tester to come out clean. Then, once I took them out of the oven, they all fell into a concave! The few that weren’t too overfull only fell a little, but all the rest had a crater top. So, my first question is about what I did wrong to have that happen? Is it just a symptom of them being a little too full? Even so, when I tried the extra cupcake, I thought that the texture and taste were phenominal. I doubled the frosting, and it was not stiff, I used every bit of it on the cupcakes with a large open star top – I always seem to be literally scraping the bowl to have enough frosting to cover the cupcakes, and I never have enough to do the 2nd swirl. I put them in the fridge to keep the frosting from melting on the cupcake. I would have added more sugar, but I didn’t want it too sweet. All and all, it’s a really yummy cupcake, and I would recommend it. The cupcake itself would taste great with vanilla buttercream or meringue buttercream – it’s so rich and flavorful.
This is the best peanut butter frosting ever i had. I use it as my macarons filling, it is really yummy, can’t stop myself to stop eating. Even my friend also like it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe here.
What’s up with the measurement for the heavy cream? Is that supposed to be 1/3 cup?
Hi Lynne, Yes, it is 1/3 cup. There seemed to be an issue with the HTML code for the fraction when it’s viewed on certain browsers. I changed it and it should look fine now. Let me know if you continue to have issues. Thanks!
Wow! Just made this icing for a wedding cake I’m doing for a friend, and it is PHENOMENAL! I actually needed a thicker consistency, so I simply added more powdered sugar, and I almost liked it even more with the extra sweetness. This is definitely a recipe that I am keeping in the books! Thank you for sharing!
Ok I was having a serious panic attack but in reading an above post I see that the last 3 ingredients in the frosting should be the last three of the cupcake itself. Whew!
Hi Debbi, My apologies! It looks like we had a reformatting glitch with the new design. I’ve corrected the problem; so sorry about that!
I have made these cupcakes dozens of times and they are awesome. When I went to make them tonight, though, I just noticed that the amount of salt called for in the instructions is not listed under the cake ingredients. I can’t believe I never noticed that before! Can you please advise how much salt should be used. Thank you!!!
And the vanilla is missing too! Something must have happened to the post.
I make these every month for my classmates! They’re delicious! :) Can’t quite get the icing right though.
Someone may have already pointed this out but I think the last three ingredients listed under the frosting should actually go under the cupcakes. I’ve made these many times and the recipe looked different today?? very bizarre!!
Love this recipe soo much!! :)
Hi April, My apologies! It looks like we had a reformatting glitch with the new design. I’ve corrected the problem; so sorry about that!
Does the sour cream need to be room temp or straight out of the refrigerator?
I just made these today .. They are perfect! Scrumptious! Look exactly like yours and i think I may have to eat them all myself ;) thanks for a great recipe!
Hi! I’m planning to bake this tomorrow… But i don’t have sour cream.
What can i substitute for it? Thanks!
I just made these and followed the recipe to a t and they came out HUGE. I mean like totally cascading over the cupcake tin. I used a regular sized muffin tin. Any idea what I did wrong?? I’m disappointed, because I could not get them out of the tin without breaking them :(
I have made these cupcake yesterday, as my hubby’s birthday cake. They are so amazing and delicious, everybody in my family love it. Will try these frosting recipe into my next batch macaron’s filling. click here
Thanks for sharing here!
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe, it is really YUMMY!!!! I also use this peanut butter frosting recipe as my macaron filling.
I NEED HELP!!! LOL… I need a great chocolate cupcake recipe… I have looked all over for one and I can’t find anything good… I need something that is going to be very moist, and I would prefer it not to be dark chocolate… I need something ASAP I have a wedding in a couple of weeks… Help Please!
Thank You!!!
So we finally did the taste test and these cupcakes won out BIG TIME over the others I cooked– even if they didn’t rise that much which was probably a function of my baking powder being old. You could probably do these cupcakes with another kind of baker’s chocolate but the dark chocolate is fantastic– not heavy and not bitter. The cupcake overall is very moist. We even did a marshmallow filling. The peanut butter frosting is such a winner I think I’ll be putting it on all my cupcakes, maybe using it as a filling, squirting it on top of ice cream instead of whipped cream– it is absolutely fantastic! Just know that this recipe only makes about 12 cupcakes so for a wedding you’ll have to do some tweaking. Best wishes!!
Hi Cristi, I would recommend these cupcakes. The dark chocolate doesn’t impart a bitter flavor, but if you prefer, you can substitute semisweet chocolate.
Those cupcakes look really good! And I have to agree with you – cake is not high on my list of desserts either. I don’t usually find it worth the sugar intake:-) Now, cheesecake and carrot cake – yum! My first choice in desserts is pie – especially apple pie, which is in season right now!
Hey there! I was trying out this recipe for my daughter’s baking contest at church (you know, giving it a dry run so I could make sure there weren’t any steps too hard for a 6 yr old) and the batter is absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!! However, when I took them out of the oven, they hadn’t puffed up– they kind of spread out flat. Do you think there was a problem w/ the leavening? or maybe I didn’t mix it enough? I can very easily fix it all with frosting (YUM!) I was just wondering if you had any ideas? Maybe I overfilled the cups? It made 12 cupcakes. Any ideas, let me know!
Hi Sue, My cupcakes didn’t get super puffy, but they did raise a bit. Your leavening could be on the old side, or you could have actually mixed it too much, which could have made them dense and flatter. The other possibility is that they were slightly underbaked and sunk just a tiny bit.
inspiring cook
Made the peanut butter frosting few weeks ago and it was AWESOME! The only thing I tweaked was instead of 1 cup icing sugar, I used 3/4 cup. The taste was just nice for my family and got 2 thumbs up from the kids!
Thanks!
Hi,
Cupcakes are not really common in Germany, so I thought I just might give it a go and searched for the “best” cupcake recipe. I tried out this one with the doubled amount of chocolate and these cupcakes taste like they were made in heaven!
Everybody in my family asked me to please make these again :)
Thanks for sharing this with us,
best regards
Another question: my cupcakes turned out rounded on top. Kinda difficult to put frosting as its a semi circle. May I know is it suppose to be like this or should the cupcakes be flat top?
Thanks a lot!:)
Hi Frances, Most cupcakes rise at least a little bit while baking, so you typically don’t find completely flat tops. Just pile the icing on! :)
Dear Micelle,
Thanks for repying! :)
I used heavy cream, aka whipping cream with 35% fat.:)
I tried to make the frosting. It turned out delicious. :) but also v v soft to the point that I was afraid it will melt! Did I do something wrong? I beat it at high after adding whip cream and immediately it turn soft and watery. How long approximately should we beat? Should I continue to whisk even though it has turned watery??
Thanks!:)
Hi Frances, Did you use heavy cream or did you use a whipped topping? If you beat a whipped topping, it will essentially turn to water.
All I can say about this recipe is – WOW! I’ve made so many different chocolate cakes, some tiered for weddings, some for showers, some just cause I’m in the mood ; ). BUT I have never made one that had eggs with this fluffy of a texture. The batter looked like mousse, it was so fluffy! Excellent! When it was baked, it had a moist, light texture that belies the intense chocolate flavor. And the frosting . . . what can I say about the perfect pairing of chocolate and peanut butter? I’ve added your site to my faves!!
Hmmm, what I meant was a cake / cupcake that had FLOUR that was this fluffy!!
This is some of the best peanut butter icing I have ever tasted. It is fantastic.
The cupcakes, however, were a wasted effort. The cupcakes did not rise properly and therefor were extrememly dense. I’m not too familiar with dutch processed cocoa powder so I was afraid to alter the baking powder which (from a quick google search) I know has a reaction with the dutch processed cocoa. I know something was off. Regardless of the dense nature of the cupcake, they tasted good but not spectacular. The PB icing really saved this recipe!
I cannot have sour cream. Is there anything I can replace it with?
Thanks
Hi Tracey, You can use plain yogurt in place of the sour cream.
Hi Michelle! I made these cupcakes (using yogurt instead of sour cream like you had told me when I asked a while ago!) and they were realllyyyy soft and great!! My cupcakes were always too cakey =p But unfortunately the taste wasn’t so good because I couldn’t find good dark chocolate =(
This calls for another attempt in the future, however =D
Hi Michelle! You said you usually use this frosting to fill cakes – did you make any changes to it? It looks so fluffy and silky i’m afraid my layers will slide around or won’t stay straight! Thanks :) I can’t wait to try it out this weekend
Hi Christina, Nope, no changes. It’s not a super thick frosting, but it will definitely stay put. Enjoy!
I love this recipe, but my cupcakes keep sinking in the middle. They taste wonderful, and the texture is great, but I end up with a big sink whole in the middle. Do you have any idea why this is happening? Thanks
Hi Tasha, I would make absolutely certain that the cupcakes are baked the whole way through. Usually if a cake is underbaked in the middle it will sink in as it cools.
I happened upon your website because other bloggers were referencing you–I’m so happy I did. I followed this recipe for my boyfriends birthday. They are rich and decadent—and very well received!
hey are all of these cupcake recipes minuture or full size cupcakes ??? ;-)
Hi Maddie, They are all for full-sized cupcakes unless the recipe states otherwise.
Yum, yum, yum!!!! I have been wanting to make these cupcakes since I stabled on to your blos site! I finally did it, at 1030PM the other night! I doubled the batch so I could share with coworkers! After finishing them I just have to try it immediately, soy hubby and I split one (since it was after midnight). He told me I was not allowed to take them to work, they were the best cupcakes he ever ate ( and that was without the yummy Peanut butter icing, he’s not a fan of peanut butter). Anyway, I did manage to get them to work and everyone raved about them! Even the dieters had to cave! I will definately be making these again. They were moist and chocolatey! My husband could tell that the had cocoa powder and he didn’t even see me making them! Thanks for posting this! Next up to try is the blueberry- lemon bunt cake! :)
OH MY GOSH!!!! this dark choc cupcake recipe is to die for!!! I LOVE IT!!! the cupcakes turned out moist and very decadent, and you can’t really go wrong with that.. at first i was like “why would you need sour cream??” but you i guess the most tastiest foods are made from very interesting combinations.. i love this recipe .. 5 stars :)
I am making a chocolate wedding cake with peanut butter filling…is this peanut butter frosting a frosting that can remain un-refrigerated for a day or two? The cake will be covered with fondant, which shouldn’t be refrigerated.
Hi Cathy, As long as it’s in cool room temperature (i.e. an air conditioned house) and not out in 80 or 90-degree heat, it will be just fine.
Delicious , Michelle! Its insane how moist they actually are! Amazing :) I love your blog btw :D
Just made these cupcakes. The perfect dark chocolate cupcake! Will be making these again!
I want to make these, but the event I’m making them for has peanut allergies…. could I use the chocolate buttercream instead? Or normal buttercream?
Absolutely! Either one would be delicious!
Made these on the weekend.
Used natural yogurt as I had no sour cream and added 2Tbs of red wine.
Served with a raspberry sauce and double cream instead of frosting.
Best. Chocolate. Cake. Ever.
Sour cream is not available where I live..can you suggest a substitute? Or can it be skipped from the recipe?
Hi Rida, I would use plain yogurt as a substitute. You can’t skip it, as it helps keep the cupcakes nice and moist.
The icing was great! The cupcakes had a rich flavor (not overly sweet). Unfortunately the cupcakes were really dry. I tested them at 16 minutes and they weren’t done. I took them out at 18 minutes. I will try them again but set the oven to 325, take them out at 16 minutes and put them in an airtight container for a few hours as suggested.
hi! i already try this recipe :D love it to the max!!!
i’m not a peanut butter fan, but the frosting recipe is just nice. not too buttery nor too creamy peanutsss. yum yum!!!
such a good combo with the dark choc cuppies. thanks so much!
I made these for a pot luck at work, and a colleague said that this frosting would make cardboard taste good!
Could you tell me whether I can double this recipe and not mess up the cupcakes? I am making 6 dozen of these for my parents 50th wedding anniversary in 2 weeks. Thank you!!
Hi Barb, Yes, you can double this recipe. Enjoy! (And congratulations to your parents!)
Thank you so much! i am in the middle of making my first batch and they already smell wonderful!!! =)
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!
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
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.
so i dont have dutch chocolate can i just use reg cocoa powder
Yes, definitely!
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.
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!
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.
LOVE the penut butter frosting and the cake was really moist. I’ll be making these again soon :)
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!
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,
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.
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!!!!
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! :)
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 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 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: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/baking-faq/
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 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 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 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.)
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’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!!!!
Just made this frosting – it is soooo amazing!!!!
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.
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.
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 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!
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 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.
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 :)
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!
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.
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!!!
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 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 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 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 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!!
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’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!
This is the best chocolate cupcake recipe I have ever made. Thank you.
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.
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!!!
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.
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!
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.
I just made these cupcakes! they are super delicious. http://ovenadventures.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-must-have-been-sugar-free-vegan-in.html
I LOVE this because I feel exactly the same way about cake as you do! No one gets it! Haha
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.
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.
I loved the cake but the peanut butter frosting was a little too much.
(sorry)
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!!
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. :-D
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.
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. :-D
Oh my gracious! This frosting is unreal…cupcakes are cooling…hope there is frosting left to put on top of them! Yum!
I ADDED 1 ADDITIONAL EGG YOLK ONLY AND THEY DID NOT CRUMBLE.
THEY ARE PERFECT.
THANKS AGAIN FOR GREAT WEBSITE
BK
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 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?
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’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!
Hey Michelle , do you double the frosting recipe to get the swirls for 12 cupcakes???
Nope, just a single batch for 12 cupcakes!
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
I can not wait to make these for my family! We all love pb and choc!
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!
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.
This recipe is amazing ! :) I LOVEEE your recipes. Thank you soo much :))
What frosting tip did you use to frost these wonderful cupcakes?
Hi Lee, I used a Wilton 1M decorating tip.
These are amazing! Going into my favorites group!
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 :)
Wow, made these in mini muffin cups. They were AMAZING! Loving the blog, will be on daily! Blessings, Mary
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 :)
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!
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!
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!
Another thing you can do is go to the wilton website and they will show you how to do the 1M swirl. It took me a while but is looks fantastic!
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.
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 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!
OMG! These are wonderful. I just finished making them and me and my roommate taste tested. And they are delicious! I will for sure be making these cupcakes again. <3
My kids and I made the peanut butter frosting last night to top the chocolate cupcakes (from a box) we made for my husband’s b-day. The frosting was OUT OF THIS WORLD, and I don’t even like peanut butter!! We shared the goodies w/ a few neighbors, and they raved about the frosting, too. It’s a winning recipe–thank you for posting it.
TOTALLY off topic – I haven’t gotten a weekly newsletter in quite some time! Are you still sending them? I miss it :(
Hi Christie, Aw I’m sorry, it’s great to hear you miss it though! It’s on hiatus as I try to game plan how to deploy the newsletter and other areas of the site. Stay tuned! :)
I stumbled across your blog in an effort to find new dessert recipes. I am a freshman in college and baking is a real passion of mine and i miss it as i don’t have a kitchen in my dorm. I had a real craving for cupcakes so this weekend i went home and tried these. The frosting was to die for, but my cupcakes were incredibly dry and crumbly. :( the flavor is still good and i hope popping them in the microwave for a few seconds before eating will help them.
Yes, yes, yes, these cupcakes were dee-vine and the frosting, wow. I was at a party and had a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting purchased at a local cupcake/cake bakery @ $3 bucks apiece! I made these for probably $4 for a dozen. Love em, now I have to try the red velvet, the espresso, the ?????
Just to finish these off for the “WOW” visual factor….I chopped some peanuts and sprinkled them on top of the frosting for some….”scribbled” a little melted chocolate over some…..and took a regular size peanut butter cup and cut it into 4 pie shaped pieces and put one on top of some. Awesome visual presentation for some really yummy cupcakes!!!!
I love how you finished these off Sue!
OMG,, I cant wait to make these,they look so goooooood !!!!!!!!!!!!
I made these for my girlfriends birthday along with the Red Velvet cupcakes. They did turn out a little on the dry side but the flavor is amazing. Keep in mind, these are suppose to be more ‘cake like’. I will try them again but will add a little unsweetened applesauce to the recipe. This usually cures the ‘dryness’ and perhaps underbake by just a minute.
PB frosting is awesome!!
Bravo BEB!
Hi Eva, glad you enjoyed these! I find that if you put cupcakes in an airtight container for only a couple of hours they really moisten up. See if that works!
heya can u tell me how the recipie will b diff for 6 cupcakes? ..thanks :))
You can just cut the recipe in half and make 6 :)
This recipe just made my day. Dark chocolate! Yum. I really enjoy your blog. Would it be OK if we link to some of your recipes in the future from our blog? Or maybe you’d like to participate in our blog hop.
-Sarah
shetland@primecp.com
http://blog.recipelion.com/
Editor
RecipeLion.com
Hi Sarah, sure, link away!
I have no idea what I’m doing wrong with these cupcakes. I’ve baked 2 batches now, and both have come out dry as a desert. The first I baked at 325 because I have nonstick pans for about 18 minutes and used regular cocoa. The second batch I baked at 350 for 15 minutes and used dutch cocoa and they are still terribly dry. Does anybody have any suggestions? The batter tastes so awesome and I would really love to try these cupcakes moist so that I can get the flavor of them. The frosting was easy breezy and quite delicious, I didn’t screw that one up. ;)
Hi Melissa, I’m so sorry you’re having issues with these! I’m not sure, they’ve always come out super moist for me. Do you by any chance have an oven thermometer? Thinking maybe your oven is running hot perhaps?
Michelle,
I am going to make these as mini cupcakes for a Big Girls pajama night with friends! Any suggestions on bake time? It’s so easy to go over with cake.
Can’t wait to make them. Going to make one batch with PB frosting and one batch with buttercream and valrhona chocolate beads on top. Yummy. Thanks!
Oh what a fun idea, love it! I typically start testing mini cupcakes around the 8 minute mark and go from there. Have fun!!
I have been eyeing this recipe for quite a while, and finally got a chance to make them over the weekend. The cupcakes came out of the oven LOOKING perfect, but ended up tasting very dry and crumbly :-(
I was especially excited about the peanut butter frosting, but somehow managed to mess that up too! I followed the directions super closely, but I still must have done something wrong… my frosting didn’t look like the picture at all. It was darker in color and wasn’t nearly as light and “whippy” SO SAD! :-(
Any idea where I could have gone wrong?
PS… Your blog is awesome!! Now I just wish I had your talent!
(Just to clarify, I’m a different Laura than the post before me) : -)
Hi Laura, Oh no that’s such a bummer! I have found these to always be super moist. Any chance you could have overbaked them? Totally unsure about the frosting, especially not knowing exactly how you prepared it :(
Has anyone tried these at high-altitude – any recommended modifications? I live at 6,600 feet…..Thanks!
Hi Laura, I don’t have any experience baking at high altitudes, but I covered some basics with a link to a conversion calculator on my Baking FAQ page:
https://www.browneyedbaker.com/baking-faq/
The peanut butter icing is the BEST I have ever had! I didn’t use the cupacke recipe, I made boxed and topped with this wonderful icing!!
Yay so glad you liked it! And I agree – the peanut butter frosting is definitely the best!
Has anyone tried making this recipe as an 8 or 9 inch round cake? If so, how long did you bake it and how did it turn out? Dark chocolate sounds great and I would like to make this for a birthday next weekend. Thanks!
Hi Drew, I never made this as a cake, but I think it’s worth giving it a shot. Usually a recipe for two standard cakes (8″ or 9″ round) yields 24 cupcakes, so you could make 1 layer and I would probably do an 8-inch so it’s a little higher.
These look fabulous. And you’re right, I can’t believe you aren’t crazy about cake! :)
OMG… This is the best frositing ever!!! I made some chocolate cupcakes for my co-workers and made the Panut Butter Icing!!! It is so smooth and delicious. My hubby isnt a sweet tooth kinda guy.. but he told me he could get a tummy ache from eatig so much of it :) This is my new favorite frosting….. I know all my co-workers are gonna love it!!
Isn’t it great Jenna?! And I agree with your hubby – I could definitely eat enough of this to give myself a stomach ache!
I made these this past weekend and the peanut butter was a bit much for me, but I still loved it! I just had to put on a much smaller amount of peanut butter frosting. =) I can’t wait to try the pumpkin whoopie pies!
Thrilled to hear you loved it Jolene! I admittedly load up my cupcakes with frosting because it’s my favorite part but it’s certainly okay to use less :) I think you’re going to love the pumpkin whoopie pies!
Hey Michelle… i love love loved the recipe.. tried it on friday… i made dark chocolate cake with espresso buttercream icing and it turned out beautiful. Though my icing was a bit loose, it tasted divine with the cupcakes. Is it alright to keep adding powdered sugar until you get the right consistency for the icing??. My cupcakes were a lil dry on the outside, is it how it should be or did i over bake it??.. Thank you sooo much..
Hi Veena, You could definitely add more powdered sugar if you prefer your frosting to be a little sweeter/stiffer. Just adjust to your taste. Sometimes I find that cupcakes can sometimes be a little dry or overcooked around the outside. I put them in an airtight container for a few hours or overnight before decorating or serving and they soften up beautifully.
I baked these for the first time about two hours ago. They came out deeeelicious! I also did a few where instead of icing the outside of the cupcake, I took a pastry-decorating bag bag, stuck it in the center, and filled them with the creamy peanut butter icing. I still have to try them out on my boyfriend and see which one he prefers.
One change that I made to the recipe before I even started–as a dark chocolate fan–was use Hershey’s Special Dark (chopped up from the 4.25 oz bar: I used half). I used that to melt with the cocoa powder and butter, and it gave the cupcakes the savory flavor I was looking for. Also, I tossed the remainder of the Special Dark bar (chopped up finely, again) into the batter and stirred right before baking. The cupcakes currently have dark-chocolate pockets of goodness.
Thank you so much for this recipe: it was exactly what I was looking for!
Sabrina, I’m so glad you enjoyed these and love the idea of piping the peanut butter frosting into the middle! Thanks also for the tip on adding some chopped chocolate to the batter!
Ok, you just went into my favs. I am now officially a HUGE Brown Eyed Baker fan!! What took me so long to find your fabulous site? Oh happy day….
Aw, yay! So happy you found your way here!
I’m not a cake fan either but I go weak for dark chocolate. I’ll be baking these for my niece’s birthday and dedicating it to her on my blog as she lives at the other end of the world so guess who’s going to benefit from these? Yum!
looks fab – I have to have a go at your cupcakes !
After a disaster with Hummingbird Bakery Red Velvet cupcakes and a serious knock to my cupcake confidence I approached these with some hope.
I have to say I hadn’t counted on having a two step conversion going on, US cups => imperial => metric (us Brits are used to both imperial&metric being shown) and didn’t find out that US cups are different to UK cups until they were in the oven……so I suspect mine may have turned out a bit different to yours but they were a roaring success!
Also as the mixture made 17 instead of 12 I am thinking the UK muffin cases might be a different size too…one lives and learns :)
Next weekend we have a charity (for Macmillan Cancer Support) coffee morning so I am baking some more for that plus some of the Mocha Expresso ones too. Thank you for having tried and tested recipes to share, it does make all the difference!
Rosalind – I apologize for any confusion with the measurements, but so happy that they turned out in the end and were a big hit! I think you will love the Mocha Espresso ones too!
I REALLY dont like cake either. I would rather have anything else, but I think decorating pretty cakes sounds fun! Guess I’ll just have to find someone else to eat it!
Funny that you don’t like birthday cake. I am not big on it either and my son hates it. I baked him Birthday Pies! Yes, pies. That he likes. A good slice of pumpkin pie, or a slice of blackberry pie, yes, that he will eat with relish. He goes to birthday parties and people get insulted because he doesn’t want the birthday cake. He does like the icing though or the frosting. Who doesn’t love sweet frosting? Whipped and gorgeous sitting on top. I love that too. I have a sweet tooth. These cupcakes look so wonderful. I would even eat one.
I made these last night and they turned out perfect. To go over the top i dipped the cupcakes in chocolate after the frosting was on and then drizzled peanut butter over the top. They look divine and everybody loves them!
Oh Molly, that whole dipping and drizzling sounds so good! I bet they looked like a soft serve cone with the optional chocolate dip. Did you ever have those as a kid? So delicious! Thanks so much for sharing such a fabulous idea!
I made these tonight! Very yummy, I used Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bars to melt down, and they turned out great! Just wanted to share my pic :)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/xprismperfectx/P1040188.jpg
Thanks Michelle!! The cupcakes were awesome! Everyone loved them especially the frosting! PB rocks!!
Hi Michelle, can i use unsweetened cocoa powder (i have Hershey’s) instead of dutch process? I can’t find the dutch process here in Dubai and many of your recipes call for it.
Hi Sana,
Yes, you can substitute. Dutch process tends to give chocolate baked goods a more balanced and richer flavor, but you can substitute unsweetened natural cocoa powder if you can’t find Dutch. If you can get it shipped there, you can order it from King Arthur Flour, Penzeys and Amazon if you’re interested!
If you add about a teaspoon of finely ground espresso coffee (the bean, not instant powder) to the mix it will help to enhance the flavor of the chocolate. You can add less or more but you are not trying taste the coffee, just enhance the flavor of the chocolate.
I’ve always heard to use instant espresso, not ground espresso beans, to heighten the chocolate flavor. Are you sure about this? Not really sure what the difference is anyway….
I am exactly the same way when it comes to eating regular cake and cupcakes. I just don’t like eating them, but frosting on the other hand is highly favoured on my part as well. Great recipe!
I would like to make these cupcakes ahead of time (obviously not frosted). Will the cupcakes be okay if I make them about a week ahead of my special event and freeze them?
Beautiful pictures!
I made this for a 4th party. The frosting was to DIE for…but my cupcakes were a little on the dry side. Did I bake them too long?
OK I have to admit I am the opposite of a lot of folks here. I like cake but don’t like sugary sweet icing so the peanut butter icing had me from the start. Also lazy at times so I just made a Duncan Hines Devil’s food cake (9 X 13) and slathered that peanut buter icing over it. It was gone in less than 48 hrs. So I made another one and it was gone in less than 48 hrs.
Haven’t gotten a response regarding refrigeration. Anyone if if that’s the case? Is that always the case with things with cream? I see a lot of truffles and frostings made with cream. Anyone? Thanks!
Hi Lisa, So sorry I am a little behind on comments – was sick last week and been trying to catch up. You don’t need to refrigerate these – they will be just fine at room temperature. A lot of the buttercreams that I make use some amount of cream, and they keep just fine without refrigeration. Enjoy the cupcakes and the frosting!
Just found this post through Foodbuzz … these cupcakes look amazing! I do believe they’ll be on our Fourth of July menu next weekend!
i made these today. i was really looking forward to them too. they turned out dry and crumbly. what did i do wrong? i followed your recipe to a t. please don’t tell me i overbaked either, i took them out at 18 minutes. i just don’t get it!
I had the same problem…hmmm
I baked mine at 350F (used an oven thermometer) and took them out at the 12 minute mark (when a skewer inserted came out clean). The cupcakes were nice and moist then. I’m sorry but I think you definitely overbaked your cupcakes. Try testing them with a skewer at the 10-11 minute mark next time.
Otherwise, the recipe is good. I used dark coverture chocolate bits and the cupcakes were perfect–not too sweet and have a rich chocolatey flavour. I wolfed down 2 before I started frosting them. :)
You had me at dark chocolate. Then you had to go and throw in some peanut butter too. I can’t wait to make these!
I baked these last weekend and they are positively the best chocolate cupcakes I have ever tasted! Wow! Thank you!
Wondering if it’s possible to use similar recipe to make white chocolate cupcakes?
Hi Linda, Aren’t these awesome cupcakes?! So glad to hear that you loved them too!
I have never tried adapting this to white chocolate cupcakes, but it sounds fantastic! I would just replace the cocoa powder with more flour, and of course white chocolate for the dark chocolate. If you try it, please come back and let us know how they turned out!
Just found this though one of the FB posts and they look delish! I don’t make cupcakes often although I have been watching Cupcake Wars and it’s gotten me in the mood! Is it safe to assume that because there is cream in the frosting that these need to be refrigerated? Can’t wait to try them!
These look great!! I’m the exact same way about frosting, too! When I have a cup cake I don’t even touch the cake until I’ve piled it up and licked off the frosting multiple times ^.^
I made these yesterday – I only made a half batch and wish I’d made more now!
Ready to eat at around 4pm, all gone by half 9 *blush*
I converted the measurements to UK weights & measures and am going to blog the recipe later if anyone over this side of the pond wants them :) Will link back to here too!
Thanks!
Made these the other day and they were absolutely divine. I’ve linked back to your site from my blog. Thanks!! :)
http://themorethanoccasionalbaker.blogspot.com/2010/06/dark-chocolate-cupcake-with-peanut.html
I just absolutely love this post! The confessional tone just grabs me, draws me in, and makes me want to eat spoonfulls of this amazing looking frosting while I spill all of my own secrets! How about I start with this one: I’m not a birthday cake person either. But give me a flourless chocolate cake and I’ll disappear and eat the whole thing by myself.
you earn extra points for admitting you don’t like cake all that much – i don’t either. the frosting is usually subpar and the cake is just dense and not very flavorful. for some reason, the same recipe can taste better as a cakecup, but i still prefer cheesecakes, gelato, cookies, etc. way before i’ll look at a piece of cake and consider eating it. thanks for sharing another great cupcake recipe! :)
I shouldn’t look at these. I shouldn’t have even opened the email, because I saw the blog post title on the subject line. but I did. and now I won’t be able to get these out of my head. Yum.
Hi Michelle,
These cupcakes looks fantastic! I admit, I really don’t like ordinary birthday cakes either. But I love anything with both chocolate and peanut butter in it :) I usually make a peanut butter frosting with cream cheese, but the heavy cream version sounds divine!
You have a fantastic blog. I love baking myself, so I was very fortunate to have discovered your blog. I really like your take on the lasagna tart, and I am planning to try out my own version this weekend with a bechamel sauce. Ive recently started my own blog, and I would love to get your feedback; so please feel free to drop by and leave any comments you may have :)
They looks amazing Michelle.
I made these for company this weekend. I did not tell them it was peanut butter frosting and the first bite was a look of suprise, and then OMG these are great!
Chocolate and peanut butter are the greatest flavor combination ever! I love cake but am picky about what kind of cake, so its not unconditional love! It has to be moist and it also has to not be to sweet or it won’t pair well with sugary frosting! These cupcakes are just divine…
I think I just found what “Ill be making for Father’s Day… thank you :)
I’ve been planning to make this combo……but I’ve been looking for a great PB frosting….can’t wait to try this!! Thanks! ♥
I am totally a frosting girl. I will get a dozen frosting shots at my favorite cupcake shop and go to my car and eat six of them. I love frosting.
Congrats on making the top 9 with those gorgeous cupcakes!!
This is beautiful. Very deserving of the Top 9. Congratulations. GREG
I’m right beside you with your love of frosting. If I have the choice, I will snag an outside piece of birthday cake to get a little extra frosting (though I try not to elbow any kids out of the way to do so). This peanut butter frosting looks good enough to stick a spoon into and eat it by itself.
Funny, I made a recent confession that I’m not a huge fan of cookies (but I love cakes) and here I’ve been obsessed about making them.
Your cupcakes look gorgeous, delicious!
Peanut butter frosting?! You have got to be kidding me! These sound and look absolutely delicious!
Hi! Love these– gorgeous, and I bet they taste great, too!
I am learning to love dark chocolate, and one of the best ways to make that transition has been to bake with dark chocolate, where the flavor is amazing but not overwhelming… also, peanut butter makes everything perfect…
— Lauren, Lauren’s Little Kitchen
I love everything about these cupcakes. Chocolate and PB is my weak point. I want one of these no
I actually like cupcakes, but not cake. The only explanation I can offer is the serious amounts of frosting on cupcakes! These look great!
Love peanut butter frosting with chocolate!
The perfect combination EVER!! Love it!
I am totally with you – I’d pick frosting over cake any day. ;-)
I’ve never made PB frosting but now I’m dying to. And your swirls are so perfect – you should do some kind of a tutorial post, because I am awful! Have a great weekend! xxSAS
It doesn’t surprise me that you don’t like cake. I find that cakes have less chocolate flavor compared to cookies or brownies for example. I always have brownies on my birthday because of that fact. But cakes can serve a lot of people and provide a big space to decorate though a double batch of brownies offers the same surface!
I shall have to try this, my husband is a pb/chocolate fanatic! Question though, on the icing recipe, wouldn’t it have to be refrigerated with the heavy cream in it? Was looking for a recipe I could put on cupcakes that would be able to sit out all day for co-workers to grab but kinda concerned about the cream on them spoiling. Just wondering!
You’re so funny. Well…THESE look AMAZING. I can just imagine that frosting….
I am in awe of that cupcake!!!! Its funny my post on salmon said the same thing I dont like it…lol….I am going to have to improve my icing skills, that icing looks so impressive sitting on top of that beautiful cupcake!! I guess its time to get the pastry bag out and practice, and of course since you love that frosting I will try to duplicate it!!
thanks so much for the inspiratation!
Those are sinfully delicious looking!
How amazingly wonderful these look! Funny about your cake thing:)
I made these today
OMG they were so good
I didn’t do the frosting but Im eating them on their own and they are so so so good
Fox! No frosting?! So glad you’re enjoying them plain (aren’t they delicious and moist?). You must try the frosting next time though!
michelle, you inspire me to be a better baker…i love this recipe…thanks & happy baking!
ps: your website is perfect!!! :)
This is sinful but so tempting! Wish I can sink my teeth into it right now!
Well in a way it’s a good thing you don’t like cake! Otherwise you’d be eating all the ones you had to decorate :P These look absolutely amazing, though! Peanut butter and chocolate are a dangerous combo- incredibly addicting!
I made Ina´s chocolate cupcakes with this pb frosting last week. Fantastic! I dont really like cake much either, but chocolate I love and with this pb frosting it was heavenly!
It’s funny… I was just leaving a comment elsewhere about how I’m not really a cake person. I make plenty of them, but they aren’t my favorite. This looks like a recipe I’d like, though… and I’m sure the rest of my family would LOVE it!
Unbelievable that you don’t like cakes! This sounds (and looks) like a lovely recipe – will try it soon!
OOO beautiful! And I would think very tasty :) It’s ok you aren’t a cake lover hehe :) means more for me!
I am TOTALLY with you on the love for frosting! And this recipe is a MUST!
This is the creamiest peanut butter frosting I have ever seen. I’ll have to try the heavy whipping cream next time!
These look really good, Michelle! My husband doesn’t like cake but he likes cupcakes too. :)
oh girl, i just gained 20 lbs reading this post…oh, wait, make that 30 because i would totally eat the whole batch :)
I usually don’t like frosting, but I am sure I could eat the whole bowl of this PB frosting! Mmm!
SAME
I wish you could come down and make those for us after Sam’s born MMMMMMMMMM. Dark chocolate and PB are two of my favorite things! :D
I understand you not liking plain cake! Most of the times, it’s too dry or overly sweet or just badly made! I love frosting too…cream cheese frosting will make me do bad bad things! :) I love your recipe because I heart dark chocolate and my husband loves all things peanut butter… this is perfect for us!
For mother’s day my 12 yo daughter offered to bake me anything in this world. I picked chocolate brownies with peanut butter icing. Yum! Can’t wait to make these for daughter’s day:)
*gasp* I have been visiting the site for quite some time and have really enjoyed some of your recipes but… we have just made a connection! lol Cake is at the bottom of my dessert list as well though I will eat it. And, if I have to choose a cake – it is ALWAYS devil’s food with PB icing. But I’ve never made it homemade. I cannot wait to try this! YUM!
I think you and I could throw birthday parties for one another. Like you, I’m not a cake fan either, but I DO loooove icing. This cupcakes look so awesome!
3 of my favorite things, chocolate, peanut butter & cupcakes! Can’t go wrong with that combination! These look amazing!
You know, I don’t like cake either. I can walk past a sheet of cake like it was a tray full of brussel sprouts. Hahaha. I do enjoy dark chocolate cupcakes. I have a recipe that I always make that my husband loves. I might try my recipe with your frosting. ;)
We must be frosting soul mates–I am the one who eats all the frosting excess that my family leaves behind. Cake? Meh. Frosting? Oh YEAH!!! I made that PB frosting to go on the PB Fudge cheesecake. It is lethal. Have a great day! :)
I’M SORRY ICING LOVERS I DON’T LIKE ICING THAT MUCH
Those cupcakes look lovely. I may have to make them asap.
These look fantastic! I love chocolate and peanut butter together and will have to try out this recipe.
I feel exactly the same way. I only eat cake for the frosting. I’ve made this peanut butter frosting many times, and it’s fabulous!
I love PB and chocolate!! These look amazing, I must try these soon. That frosting is to die for. Thanks for shaeing :)
I absolutely adore that peanut butter frosting recipe! It’s a favorite in our house and definitely one that has me standing over the bowl with a spoon :)
i made these cupcakes ONCE in college (probably about four years ago) and I still remember them like it was yesterday! the dark chocolate cupcake was moist and rich but not too sweet – actually alone it was quite bitter – but it was beautifully balanced out by the sweet, rich, creamy peanut butter frosting. SO delicious!