Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes with a Tall Crown

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes with a Tall Crown is filed under Chocolate and built around cake flour sifted, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and baking soda. Plan on 12 cupcakes.

Count on 45 minutes of prep, 20 minutes of cooking, about 1 hour from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

For the Cupcakes

• 2 cups cake flour sifted
• ½ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups butter softened
• 1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (~3 large bananas)
• ¾ cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the Buckeye Filling

• ½ cup powdered sugar + 2 tablespoons
• 6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter I use Jiff
• 2 tablespoons butter room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Reese’s Peanut Butter Icing

• 6 tablespoons butter unsalted
• ½ cup evaporated milk
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 oz Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted

How the cooking goes

Make the Buckeyes

1. First make your Buckeye filling. It will freeze into balls while we make the cupcakes.
2. Whip together all ingredients in a bowl until the mix looks even and mixture is dry yet holds together. You might need to add additional powdered sugar. Roll into 1-inch balls, place on sheet pan and freeze until you are ready to use them.

Prepare Cupcakes

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Line 12 muffin tins with liners. You double up on the liners just to make sure the cupcakes stay moist.
2. Sieve the first five ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and keep it to one side. You measure the flour by spooning flour into the baking cup directly from the bag until it is slightly mounded. Level with a sharp knife. Do not tap cup or in any way compact your flour.
3. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
4. Put eggs and vanilla; beat until the mix looks even.
5. Alternately add dry ingredients and the milk; beginning and ending with flour mixture. You did 2 additions of milk and 3 of the flour mixture. Mix only until the mix just comes together. Be careful not to over mix.
6. Turn through bananas and chips only until banana is distributed throughout batter.
7. Portion enough batter into each tin to reach half way up the liner. Press a buckeye ball deep into each tin but not deep enough to reach the bottom. Cover the balls with the rest of the batter. They should be about ¾ full. Bake at 350° F for ~20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out with only some crumbs attached. Make sure that you didn’t just hit a chocolate chip because melted chocolate can make your muffins appear underdone. We don’t want that!
8. Allow to cool 5 minutes in the tins. Remove to a wire rack to cool until it is no longer warm.
9. When your cupcakes are almost cool, start making your icing.

For the Icing

1. Blend butter, milk, peanut butter chips and salt in a heatproof bowl; cook over a pan of simmering water (bain marie) until butter is melted and mixture is hot to the touch. Stir frequently.
2. Cool. This step only takes about 15 minutes, especially if you stir it frequently. You want the peanut butter mixture to be very thick. So thick that it will not drop off your spatula.
3. Gradually add in powdered sugar and beat until thick enough to pipe. You will want it to hold stiff peaks.
4. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. If you plan on piping your frosting as tall as mine in the photos, you will want to double this recipe, but you think it’s too much. If you were simply going to eat them, you would have used less.

After it comes off the heat

Let the pan settle before you slice, so the crumb stays together. Cover leftovers once they are cool.

If you want another plate from Chocolate, open Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Whipped for Cakes and Chocolate Pecan Pie Cooled Before Slicing.