Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

I’m quite sure there’s some study out there that shows a direct correlation with stress and cupcake making/eating.  It’s no coincidence then that I’m giving you two cupcake recipes in a row here on Dreamy Dish.  Between an absurdly busy semester and planning a wedding, I could be quite satisfied living on cupcakes alone.  Can you really be anything but deliriously happy and delightfully satisfied when consuming a really good cupcake?  Um, no.

Now, while I’m partial to these melt-in-your-mouth Strawberry Cream Cupcakes, sometimes you need something a littler richer, more substantial and more serious.  That’s right people, I needed a serious cupcake.

I love Ina’s use of coffee to bring out every last bit of flavor in chocolate.  You can’t really tell it’s there, you just know that the chocolate tastes really good, and really chocolate-y, and before you’ve pondered the reason why, you’ve gobbled up the evidence.

Having a long week?  You might just need a serious cupcake, too!

Chocolate Cupcakes
Courtesy of Ina Garten

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it’s completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing (recipe below).

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing

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

nocoupons

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

Tagged as: chocolate cupcakes, peanut butter icing