Double Dark Chocolate Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Filling Recipes

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FILLED CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by lining it with cupcake liners.
• In a measuring cup, mix together the coffee and unsweetened cocoa.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
• Add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated.
• Mix in the vanilla and coffee.
• Add half of the flour mixture and combine.
• Add half of the buttermilk and combine. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Add remainder of flour and remaining buttermilk and thoroughly incorporate.
• With a rubber spatula, fold in the milk chocolate chips.
• Spoon into cupcake liners and fill 1/2 to 2/3 full.
• Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the middle of each comes out clean.
• Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before filling and frosting.
• In mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese and peanut butter.
• Mix in the confectioners' sugar.
• Add the heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time and mix until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl.
• Cream the shortening and butter together in the mixing bowl until well combined.
• Add the cocoa powder.
• Mix in the vanilla extract.
• Add half of the confectioners' sugar and combine well.
• Thoroughly mix in remaining confectioner's sugar.
• Add 4 tablespoons of milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add remaining tablespoons of milk, ONE AT A TIME until desired consistency is reached.
• If you find that the frosting is still too dry add more milk by teaspoons, not tablespoons at a time. If too moist add more confectioners' sugar by one tablespoon at a time.
• Insert an apple corer or cupcake corer into the middle of each cupcake and remove.
• Pipe enough peanut butter filling into each hole to fill and spread a layer of the filling on the top of each cupcake as well.
• Using the Wilton 1M Open Star decorating tip, frost each cupcake with the chocolate buttercream.

DOUBLE DARK CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350° and position 2 racks in the lower and middle third of the oven. Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil liners.
• Put the cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in the buttermilk until combined. In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1 1/2 sticks of the butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then beat in the dry ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Carefully spoon the cupcake batter into the lined muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
• In a medium bowl, beat the peanut butter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter until creamy. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spoon all but 3 tablespoons of the peanut butter filling into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch star tip. Holding a cupcake in your hand, plunge the tip into the top of the cake, pushing it about 3/4 inch deep. Gently squeeze the pastry bag to fill the cupcake, withdrawing it slowly as you squeeze; you will feel the cupcake expand slightly as you fill it. Scrape any filling from the top of the cupcake and repeat until all of the cupcakes are filled.
• In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the semisweet chocolate to the cream and let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk the melted chocolate into the cream until smooth. Let the chocolate icing stand until slightly cooled and thickened, about 15 minutes. Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing, letting the excess drip back into the pan. Transfer the cupcakes to racks and let stand for 5 minutes. Dip the tops of the cupcakes again and transfer them to racks. Spoon the remaining 3 tablespoons of peanut butter filling into the pastry bag and pipe tiny rosettes on the tops of the cupcakes.

PEANUT BUTTER FILLED CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners (yields 22). Peanut Butter Filling: Cream all ingredients until well combined and set aside. Chocolate Cake: In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil and vanilla (do not over beat the eggs). Add sour cream, yogurt and milk and stir well. Add cake mix (for easy mixing sift cake mix into batter). Fill cupcake liners ½-3/4 full. Place about 1 ½ teaspoons peanut butter filling on top of batter. Then, do your best to push the filling down into the batter. (Unlike my photo where it is just sitting on top.) If you don't push the filling into the middle, it may slide over while it bakes, that is what mine did.
• Bake for about 18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Buttercream: Beat butter and cream cheese. Add remaining ingredients and adjust as needed to reach desired consistency. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with half of a peanut butter cup. (To cut easily, put peanut butter cups into the freezer for a few minutes.)