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.
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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]
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!