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]
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!