Ina Garten's Chocolate Cupcakes with the best PB icing EVER, and Lost Blogging Opportunity.

Yesterday we went to the Children's museum that's about an hour from our house. I was so excited, because I was going to take lots of pictures and blog about it.....until I went to find my camera. Where's my camera? Can't blog without my camera! It's nowhere to be found so I called hubby. "Do you know where the camera is?" "Yea, I've got it with me to take pictures of the race." Okay. What-ev-a. So, blogging opportunity lost. Oh well.


Instead we'll talk cupcakes. I'm always on the look out for cupcake (and cake) recipes that are tried and true and come out great every time. Eventually, I want to open my own bakery/cake shop and sell my baked goods. I also would like to go back to school and become a pastry chef, but with 3 kids at home, and one firefighter, that's just not gonna happen anytime soon.

So on to the cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing to die for. This is seriously good stuff. I have made these several times, and they always turn out great. This time though, I was in a hurry, so they didn't turn out as good as they usually do. I've found that if you let everything come to room temperature, it really makes a difference. I've always skipped this step before, but take the time and do it, the results are just so much better!


I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten. I've made several recipes of hers, and everthing has turned out great. The peanut butter icing really makes these. It calls for heavy cream, but I forgot to buy some, and only had 2% milk. It still tasted wonderful. Like lick the bowl wonderful. But you'll never catch me licking a bowl. I may do that from time to time, but you'll never catch me! These cupcakes turn out moist and fudgy and just darn good. One little inconsistency in the recipe is the yield. It says it makes 14-15 cupcakes but I got 20 out of it,and had some batter left over. She does note in the recipe that she uses a regular ice cream scoop. This just looks like way to much batter to put in a cupcake pan, so I use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop it out. So keep that in mind when you make these. You may want to double the icing recipe also, as there's just barely enough to cover the cupcakes and if you're like me, I like a lot of frosting on top. Hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing (makes about 20 cupcakes)

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) at room temperature

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract1 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 un-sweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Peanut Butter Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and two sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes.

Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs one 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 (one 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 and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

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

1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla 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.