Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

I made these for C’s 20th birthday!!!!! Don’t worry, I made him more than just 4 cupcakes. I was just too afraid to bring too many outside in case of a crow attack. Those birds are always out to get me.

Some of you might remember me mentioning him before. For those of you who don’t know who I am talking about, he made some appearances here and here. He is one of my bestest bestest BESTEST friends. I can always count on him to be there for me. He’s such a great listener. I’ll never forget the time when I broke up with my 2nd boyfriend(ish) and he was there to listen to me cry, cry, complain and cry for hours, weeks, months and sadly 1.5 years. When we hang out we always end up just talking for hours and hours and it feels completely effortless. It’s surprising how we haven’t ran out of things to talk about yet 😛 

We have this tradition for celebrating each other’s birthday. Right at midnight on his birthday, I would go to his house ARMED WITH DESSERT, this point is very important because dessert is a very integral part of this friendship. And he does the same for me when it’s my birthday. It’s a good thing that we only live 4 blocks away from each other, otherwise it’d be a bit hard to carry a cake with candles and drive at the same time. 

In previous years, I made him a malted chocolate cake (biggest fail ever) and a normal chocolate cake. This year I made him peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes because I just found out that pb+chocolate is his favourite flavour combo even though we’ve been friends since we were 9 years old! 

Looking at pictures from his last birthday makes me feel a bit sheepish. My cake decorating skills were mediocre at best. 

Whoops, caught ya mid-chew.

He was a good sport and enjoyed what I made him anyway. At least that’s what he told me.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1 cup strong black coffee OR 2 teaspoons powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3. Bake 18-20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
approx 2 tablespoons milk (I used skim, but I wouldn’t recommend it) 

How To:

1. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and cream on medium for 2 minutes.

2. Slowly add in sifted icing sugar, scrape down sides of bowl as needed. 

3. Add vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk, beat until incorporated. Add last tbsp of milk if icing is too thick.

4. Beat on high for a couple of minutes until frosting and smooth and fluffy.

Milk Chocolate Ganache

1 cup heavy cream
8 oz milk chocolate chips (I swear by Ghirardelli’s Natural chocolate chips)

1. Heat heavy cream until it just begins to simmer, then take it off the heat and add in chocolate. Wait a minute or so before stirring the two together. 

2. Let cool at room temperature. 

source: Frosting adapted from My Baking Addiction