Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These are pretty awesome! The icing is really, really, really yummy!  The cake is a basic chocolate cake recipe that I adapted.  The icing is a peanut butter buttercream,  which I adapted from a basic buttercream recipe, and is super light and fluffy.  It is the best part by far!  I made these for a  friend's party, so I went with mini-cupcakes, but you could easily make this in any form.  

Dark Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup melted bittersweet chocolate

1/2 tsp cinnamon

      Heat oven to 350 degrees F and prep your pans (line cupcake tins or grease and flour your choice of pans).

    In a large mixing bowl sift or whisk together dry ingredients.  Make a well in the middle of well incorporated dry ingredients for the wet ingredients.  Add milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs; mix until completely incorporated.  Add the boiling water and mix well.  The batter will be thin and it may take a bit to incorporate the water.  Just be patient and keep stirring.  Next add the melted chocolate and stir until completely incorporated. 

 

     Pour the batter into your prepared tins and bake.  Time will vary depending on the tin.  Check it after seven minutes if you are making cupcakes, and after fifteen if you are making cakes.  The cake is done when a toothpick (or butter knife) come out clean after being inserted into the middle of the cake. 

    Let the cake cool completely before icing.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing

2 sticks of butter at room temperature

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup peanut butter

  Whip the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes).  Add peanut butter and continue whipping until light and fluffy.  Scrape down sides as needed throughout process.  Start off with a 1/2 cup of peanut butter and add more to taste, up to 1 1/2 cups total.  Gradually mix in powdered sugar at a low speed.  Once the sugar is fully incorporated, add the vanilla and mix on high speed until fluffy.  You can add more peanut butter if you think you need to now.  Once the icing is fluffy enough, ice your cake as you choose.  Then enjoy the deliciousness!!!

Gradually

   

     In a large mixing bowl sift or whisk together dry ingredients