Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

If you're a fan of peanut butter cups (who isn't!?), then get ready for your next obsession!

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes are packed with rich chocolatey goodness and topped with the kind of frosting dreams are made of—a silky buttercream infused with our Peanut Crème Praline White Chocolate Spread. It's everything you didn't know you needed in a dessert. 

The cupcake base is a moist dark chocolate made with special dark cocoa powder and our Vanilla Bean Paste to balance out the flavors. If vanilla were a fashion statement, our Vanilla Bean Paste would be haute couture. Forget the bland, artificial stuff—this paste is packed with real vanilla bean specks, adding a rich, aromatic depth to every bite.

This frosting isn’t just frosting—it's smooth, velvety, sweet and the perfect compliment to the chocolate cupcake base. Our Peanut Crème Praline White Chocolate Spread brings a creamy sweet peanut butter flavor that melts in your mouth. Warning: you will be tempted to eat it straight from the bowl. 

The best part of this recipe is that it brings the delicious nostalgia of everyone's favorite childhood (and lets be real, adulthood too) treat. 

Ingredients

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tbs. special dark cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbs. Amoretti® Vanilla Bean Paste
• 1/2 cup hot water

Peanut Butter Buttercream

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup Amoretti® Peanut Crème Praline White Chocolate Spread + more for drizzle
• pinch of salt 

  
  

Directions

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. and line a cupcake tin with liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix to combine.
3. Add your egg, buttermilk, oil and, Amoretti® Vanilla Bean Paste into the dry ingredients and mix well until smooth.
4. Add your hot water into the batter and combine. Batter will be very thin. 
5. Fill the cupcake liners to about half way full and then bake for about 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. 
6. Allow cupcakes to cool for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack to finish.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream your butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add in the Amoretti® Peanut Crème Praline White Chocolate Spread and a sprinkle of salt, mix until smooth.
3. Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing on a low to medium speed  until the frosting is fluffy and completely smooth. 
4. Transfer to a piping bag with your prefered tip, and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. 
5. Garnish with a drizzle of Amoretti® Peanut Crème Praline White Chocolate Spread.
6. Serve and enjoy! 

Notes

• if you don't have buttermilk you can make it by adding 1/2 a tbs. of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1/2 a cup of whole milk. If you don't have that, you can also substitute for regular whole milk in its place. 
• If your Amoretti® Peanut Crème Praline White Chocolate Spread is too thick or stiff to mix into your frosting or drizzle on top of the cupcakes, you can microwave it for a few seconds to reach desired consistency. If it's hot, allow it to cool for a minute or two before adding to frosting or drizzling on top.