These are the best moist chocolate cupcakes, filled and topped with a peanut butter frosting, and drizzled with a homemade fudge sauce. Incredibly good! Make these, and you’ll be a rock star!
Baking is very therapeutic for me. Those who hate to measure are (in my own theory) those who say they hate to bake. I don’t mind measuring ingredients. The problem is, I have minimal self-control when it comes to not eating what I bake.
When I first spotted this recipe, I almost skipped reading about it. Peanut butter, you see, isn’t my favorite ingredient. Sure, a PBJ sandwich sounds great with homemade jam. I do enjoy a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup treat every so often. Otherwise, peanut butter isn’t something that triggers a food lust within me. My husband loves peanut butter, and so I decided to bake this treat just for him. (Selfishly, my plan was that I’d be able to resist these.)
The first step in making the cupcake batter requires a hot fudge sauce. Most likely (if you’re a baker) you have the items in your pantry: flour, dark cocoa powder, salt, sugar, butter, milk (or water, but I chose whole milk) and pure vanilla. If you scrutinize photos (which I’ve been known to do on occasion), I added the pat of butter at the beginning. Then, I realized it’s added at the end– and I pulled it out. Whisk the ingredients together with the hot milk (or water) and whisk until it thickens. Then add the pat of butter and vanilla, off heat.
I don’t own a double boiler. Usually, I set a bowl over a low-simmering pot of water. This worked out well, however.
The sauce thickened in about five minutes. It’s divine, and it makes a lot more than you need for the batter. Vanilla ice cream would be excellent with this sauce…
The squeeze bottle works well (but drizzling with spoon can work)… slowly…
Come to mama!
Done and done!
The chocolate cupcake recipe has some very stiff competition, because I am in-love with my Moist Chocolate Cake recipe. How do you eat your cupcake? Do you pull off the bottom and put it on top– and eat your cupcake like a sandwich? Just curious… as that’s how I do it. I want an even ratio of frosting to cake, you see.
Well, look! I won’t have to do that with this frosting technique I have frosting inside, and on top. Oh dear, my sweet tooth is throbbing and at full attention. I have to taste this…
TASTING NOTES: Wow! The cake is incredibly moist. It’s baby soft, and tender, and the chocolate flavor is spot on. The frosting? I’m toast. Really, this is not what I had planned expected. It’s phenomenal. Seriously, I’m diggin’ the peanut butter and chocolate combo. I’m in serious trouble, here. My plan to bake a resistible dessert was foiled. I took most of the cupcakes to the office and they were gone in a nano-second. I had some very happy peanut butter and chocolate lovin’ co-workers. Winner!
This cupcake has altered my ho-hum attitude about peanut butter. Yes, I’d make this again…and again…but only for potlucks or bake sales. I can’t have them in my kitchen, or I can’t promise that I’d have any kind of self-control. You need these in your life. Even if just once…
Peanut Butter Filled Hot-Fudge Drizzled Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
FOR THE HOT FUDGE SAUCE:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup whole milk scalded
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE CUPCAKES:
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream plus 1 tablespoon
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cups dark cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cups homemade hot fudge sauce
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM:
- 1/2 cups Butter Softened
- 2/3 cups peanut butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar you may need 1 more cup
- 1 tablespoon milk have 1-2 more on hand
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Begin by making the hot fudge sauce. You will need 1/4 cup of it for the cupcake batter.
- For the homemade hot fudge sauce:
- Combine sugar, cocoa, salt, and flour in a bowl or pot over a double boiler. Bring milk to a boil in another saucepan or in the microwave. Gradually add hot liquid to sugar mixture. Stir constantly until mixture thickens.
- Once it has reached the desired thickness, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Drizzle over cupcakes and store the rest of the sauce in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
- NOTE: I ended up pouring this into a squeeze bottle, which made drizzling it over the cupcakes easier, and then could be poured over ice cream. Loved it!
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream.
- Sift dry ingredients together and then add to the wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth, then swirl in fudge sauce.
- NOTE: This batter can be easily hand mixed, but I used a stand mixer.
- Line a muffin tin (12 count) with liners and using a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to each cup. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool before frosting.
For the frosting:
- Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar with mixer on low speed and gradually add milk and vanilla extract. Add a pinch of salt and mix until frosting is smooth. If too thick, add more milk; if too thin, add more sugar.
- Put the frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a tip. Poke a hole in the cupcake with the pastry tip and fill the cupcake. Then frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.
- Drizzle the cooled fudge sauce over the cupcakes. Be prepared for some very happy cupcake eaters!
Notes
Nutrition
These are totally out of control! haha, they look so delicious 🙂
It's posts like this that make me want to start baking! These are gorgeous!!! I can taste them just looking at your picture! YUM!
wow….lovely recipe
These do sound deadly Debby.
I both need and want to run as far away from these as possible. They look amazing.
Wow, these look amazing! They're making my mouth water. I've got to try these out!! This is a great recipe 🙂
I feel the same way about PB. Actually I like PB, just don't love it with chocolate- I think it's the salty.sweet aspect of it that I don't love. But PB and jam? yes please!
All that being said, I want one of these cupcakes, because I"m hoping they'll change my mind about that flavor combo. They really do look delicious.
On another note, I wanted to ask you a question about the Mississippi Muda cake that you made not too long ago. I was wanting to make it, googled it and realized that it was the same recipe you made. You mentioned that you would add sour cream or oil to it to make it more moist. Does it need oil or sour cream to make it moist or were you just wanting to play around with the recipe? Also the sauce…do you recommend I make it a day ahead of time? Do I refrigerate it or just leave it out covered on the counter at room temp?
Thanks love! I look forward to hearing your suggestions!
Monica
I have no words. I just want one of those cupcakes, now. 😛
Wow!
Nice! I love filled cupcakes–peanut butter makes it all the better. 🙂 Your pics are mouthwatering!
Is there anything better than chocolate and peanut butter? These look incredible. Soooo good!
AMEN. To the whole post! WOWsers. The funny thing is I bought those cupcake wrappers too and JUST USED THEM LAST NIGHT. Can't wait for you to see… post coming soon, but you beat me to it 😉 forget september, I'm coming over!
I love PB too! These cakes look divine. I think I'd eat that fudge sauce with a spoon.
Oh my goodness, what a wonderful sounding cupcake. Who could possibly resist it.
Oh my goodness, these look delicious! Chocolate and peanut butter are my favorite.
Deb,
These are beautiful! and I love peanut butter with chocolate. Though they do sound deadly!
Omg, these look sinfully delicious! Thanks for the great recipe and for stopping by!
Oh Debby – You are killing me with these cupcakes. It's that fudge sauce over the top that makes these stand out above the crowd. oh yes.
My husband is the peanut butter lover in our house and he would go crazy over these. They are so pretty, who wouldn't?
Have a lovely weekend Debby. It’s nice to be able to get out and visit old friends again.
Sam
These are beautiful…I can't think of a better way to celebrate National Peanut Butter Day…unless it is eating them! Oh my, Debby!