Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing

Show: Barefoot ContessaEpisode: Working Lunch

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (193)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(193)

Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
14 to 15 cupcakes

Times:

Prep: 15 min
Inactive Prep: 10 min
Cook: 25 min
Total:: 50 min

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Ingredients

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
Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows
Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 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 and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

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

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.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
Veeronica newtown sq, PA 11-03-2009
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Love Love Love
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've been making this cupcake recipe since I purchased your Barefoot Contessa at home cookbook almost three years ago. It's... my go to cupcake recipe and everytime it's a hit no matter what the occassion is.Read more
recipe Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
Joelle Guntersville, AL 10-14-2009
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PB Icing recipe
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I had never made icing from scratch before. Initially I was extremely distraught, the peanut butter icing was to be the icing... for the 'buns' on a hamburger cake I was making for my sons birthday. The pb icing was very greasy when I was mixing it, I had popped my butter in the microwave to hurry along the 'room temperature" process. I'm sure that was probably a mistake. It was a greasy gooey, very DENSE mess. I kept checking the recipe while my hubby continued to blend it. It finally turned lighter and fluffier. While it tasted excellent. It was not the right choice for this particular cake. The 'hamburger patty' kept sliding off the bun initially, due to the greasieness of the peanutt butter icing. I finished it and popped it in the freezer, and it stiffened up and was a HUGE HIT. Whit my son and everyone else. Read more
recipe Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
Kallie McMinnville, TN 10-13-2009
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YUM!!!!!!!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Great!!! My family and co-workers enjoyed every bite.
recipe Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
Casey Atlanta, GA 10-04-2009
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Rich and delicious!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I loved these cupcakes as did my coworkers. I made them for a birthday party at work and they disappeared quickly! I... would give them 5 stars, but I did encounter the dryness problem that others complained about (and I followed directions exactly) For me, this problem was corrected when I refrigerated them in a covered container overnight and set them out approx 1 hr before serving. The cupcakes were noticeably more moist when they were served at work the next day. In the future, I would use a tad less of the flour/cocoa mixture and I believe that would correct the problem. The peanut butter icing was amazing (I used half/half instead of heavy whipping cream and was pleased with the results). It is important to follow the directions here exactly. When the icing looks fluffy and creamy, stop mixing and you will find it is easy to spread. Finally, the ice cream scoop method worked well for me and I ended up with 19 cupcakes without any overflow issues. I topped the cupcakes with orange and brown sprinkles to give them a Halloween look and omitted the salt peanut topping.Read more
recipe Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
Gea Lakeland, TN 09-25-2009
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Amazing Cupcake!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I tried this recipe today for the first time and they are wonderful! They came out perfect and moist and extremely rich (I... don't have a big sweet tooth so I am sensitive to the richness factor) so make sure to have a big glass of milk on hand! If you love peanut butter cups you will LOVE this cupcake. The recipe is pretty simple and straightforward, not sure why others have had problems, it might be due to not having all of the dairy ingredients at room temperature? That step should not be skipped and I really think it contributes to the success of the recipe, It's a must try! Read more
recipe Chocolate Cupcakes and Peanut Butter Icing
S ny, NY 09-24-2009
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Used this frosting with Ina's "Beatty's Chocolate Cake' recipe
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This frosting got excellent reviews and Beatty's Chocolate Cake recipe got only excellent cake reviews. So I took the PB... frosting here and used Beatty's Chocolate Cake for the chocolate cake portion. Together this made a moist decadent combo. The PB frosting tastes like the inside of a reese's shelled candy. I halved the cake recipe but kept the frosting as is and it produced 12 cupcakes. If you want 24 cupcakes, double the frosting recipe here. A few tips: for Beatty's Chocolate Cake, I used 1/3 brown sugar to substitute for white; ONLY fill 2/3 of cupcake liner; use natural cocoa as the recipe calls for baking soda. CheersRead more