Monday, October 11, 2010

For the love of Peanut Butter! (Peanut Butter Cupcakes)

oct 1
Have I ever before mentioned how our little family embraces everything peanut, especially when it is paired with chocolate?
Well, we do.  It was a pre-requisite to be in our family.
I set out to find a perfect chocolate cupcake recipe, and went to the most dependable gal on planet earth when it comes to recipes for tasty things (Ina Garten) and I not only found a chocolate cupcake recipe, but an amazing peanut butter frosting recipe.
Now, let me first say that the cupcake recipe, I wasn’t head over heels for.  It wasn’t nearly as moist as her other cake recipes are, maybe I should tweak it just a little bit, I dunno, but I used my favorite boxed (gasp!) mix for these bad boys.
(Fav boxed mix by the way is Betty Crocker Triple chocolate fudge mix, I sub the oil for a stick of butter and decrease the water to 1 1/4 cups instead of 1 1/3.)
The frosting was divine!
Merrill, who is expert taste-tester, and aficionado of peanut butter/chocolate combos, gave this treat two thumbs up (with his mouth full).
Peanut Butter Frosting
(so she calls it “icing”..  whatever..)
  • 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
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
And then pipe (or smear) it onto something yummy (like chocolate cupcakes), and prepare to enter heaven.
P.S. I also topped my cupcakes with some chopped nuts, just to let people kinda know what was in them.  Oh, and it looked cute too.

4 comments:

Rachael said...

Yumm,yumm... Have you tried her easy cheese danishes with puff pastry dough? They're divine.

mandi said...

Ohhh! There is this fun little place in town called 25 Main and they have yummy cupcakes. Including one called Peanutbutter Cup[cake]. I l.o.v.e it. Really. Thanks for sharing this. I'm going to bookmark it and hopefully make it. eventually :]. AND - I love those cupcake wrappers. I saw them on Chockylit a few years ago and they're still on my wishlist. I just don't know if I want to be tempted with so many cupcake wrappers... It's quite a large order.

Mindy said...

I bought the liners (they are really large nut cups) from my local craft store at 25 for $3 (if I remember right). They are my favorite. I don't even need to use my muffin tin! A big plus, the cake doesn't even stick thanks to that waxy coating on the inside.

Emily Cheney said...

mmmMMM! That cupcake looks delicious!

Also, Congrats on being part of the JS.com CT!