Recipe courtesy of Ron Bzdewka

Espresso Dark Brownie Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 24 cupcakes
  • Total: 34 min
  • Prep: 15 min
  • Cook: 19 min
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Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

2 tablespoons finely ground espresso

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

Peanut Butter Fudge frosting, recipe follows

Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Pinch salt

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.
  2. Combine the butter and chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high, uncovered, stirring every 30 seconds, until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. Set aside to cool. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, espresso, and salt in another bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix both sugars and reserved chocolate mixture until well combined. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until each is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add the flour mixture until blended. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake until golden, rotating the pans halfway though, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pans to wire racks to cool completely before removing the cupcakes.
  3. To assemble: Frost the cooled cupcakes with Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting.

Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting:

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, peanut butter, and salt on medium-high speed until creamy. Turn the speed to low and beat in the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Add the cocoa powder and beat until extremely smooth and creamy.

Let's Get Cooking!

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moneyp8484

First of all, these are NOT cupcakes; they are brownies. If you go into baking these with that knowledge, you will not be as disappointed. The flavor was good, but I was not sure when they were done as I was assuming I was baking a cupcake and not a brownie. I did think it was strange that there was no baking soda or baking powder, but I did not want to make any changes to the recipe and mess it up. So, it is possible I overbaked them or underbaked them....not really sure. I had one batch that I baked for 20 minutes that seemed super dense and crispy on the outside, so I baked the second batch for less time. They fell apart when I took them out of the cupcake wrapper. Because they were so dense, I did fill the center with frosting. However, the frosting was also dry. The flavor was very nice, but if you follow the recipe, you will get a crumbly, unspreadable frosting. I had to add milk to make it spreadable. Maybe some ingredients are missing from the original recipe??

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