Best Ever Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I've been looking for a good chocolate cupcake recipe and I think I found it.  This one is chocolaty, moist, and overall just delicious.  If you like the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, you will love this frosting.  I couldn't get enough of it.  I won't tell you how many days in a row I had one of these cupcakes...

{ Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.  Find it here }

Ingredients:
- 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee
- 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup good quality cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Peanut Butter Frosting Ingredients:
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- Chocolate sprinkles for decorating, optional

Directions:
1.  Several items need to be at room temperature before baking.  make sure to set these out ahead of time.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners (16-18).

3.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Combine with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

4.  Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (Use 1 scoop of a standard size ice cream scoop for each cupcake). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

5.  Frosting:  Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

6.  Frost each cupcake and enjoy! I used a piping bag with a Wilton 1M frosting tip.  

* Makes 16-18 cupcakes.

Weekend Kitchen: Pink Prosecco Cake

When Katrina posted a recipe for Champagne Cake on her blog, Chic Little House, a few weeks ago, I knew it would be the perfect cake to make for my sister's birthday.  She loves pink and champagne and sparkling wine, so I knew she would love this! 

 

The original recipe is from the book, Booze Cakes, written by Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone

Ingredients (for cake):

- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup butter (unsalted) at room temperature 
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 6 egg whites
- 2 cups Champagne, Prosecco, or Sparkling Wine of your choice 
- 2-3 drops of red food coloring

Ingredients (for Pink Posecco Frosting):

- 1 cup butter (unsalted) at room temperature
- 8 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 -3 Tablespoons Champagne, Prosecco, or Sparkling Wine of your choice 
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 drops of red food coloring.

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (I bake with my oven on convection, so I baked at 325 degrees).

2.  Grease and flour (2) 9" cake pans and set aside.

3.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Add butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat for 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Continue to beat and slowly add in egg whites a small amount at a time, stopping a few times to scrape down the bowl. Add in the vanilla.

4.  Mix in flour mixture and Champagne, alternating between the two, beginning and ending with the flour. Completely mix in the ingredients before adding more.  Add 2-3 drops of red food coloring, or enough to achieve desired color of pink.  Mix thoroughly until food coloring is incorporated into batter.

5.  Pour batter into pans and bake 35 minutes, or until a toothpick when inserted in the center comes out clean.

6.  Remove cakes from oven and cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Flip over to remove from pan onto cooling racks.  Do not frost cake until it has cooled thoroughly.

Frosting Directions:

1.  Place butter in mixing bowl and beat for one minute.

2.  Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth.  Add Champagne, milk, vanilla, and continue to beat until smooth.  Add 2-3 drops of food coloring and beat until all of coloring has been incorporated into frosting.

3.  Frost cake and enjoy!

My thoughts on the recipe:

- The original author says to only use a sweet champagne for this.  I have to disagree.  I used a dry Prosecco (we're Italian, come on - I had to use Prosecco!) and the cake tasted delicious. 

- The frosting is EXTREMELY sweet.  I am a frosting person, but this was really, really sweet.  Another reason I think a sweet champagne may have been too much for me in the cake batter.  The frosting has plenty of sweetness for the entire cake!  I only did a light frosting on the sides of the cake and had quite a bit leftover. 

 

 

Weekend Kitchen: Candy Corn Fudge

It's the last week of October.  Can you believe it?  I can't!  I feel like it should be the last week of August!  I was going through my blog archives this weekend and came across this recipe (originally posted here in October 2011).  I thought I'd re-post it because it seems like the perfect treat to make this week for Halloween. I just love how festive it looks and it's delicious too.

 

I found this recipe while browsing through Woman's Day Magazine.  Click here for the original recipe.

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Ingredients:

- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar

- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

- 3 cups white chocolate chips (about 18 oz)

- 2 cups mini pretzels or broken pretzel pieces

- 1 cup dried cherries or cranberries

- 1 cup candy corn

 

Directions:

1.  Line an 8- or 9-in. square pan with 2 sheets of parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides.

 

2.  Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes; beat in the vanilla.

 

3.  Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave according to package directions.

 

4.  Add the melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Fold in the pretzels and cherries (or cranberries). Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and top with the candy corn.   To make the fudge look a little prettier, I also added more cranberries and pretzels to the top.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.

 

5.  Using the overhangs, transfer the fudge to a cutting board and cut into 1-in. pieces. Serve in mini cupcake liners, if desired.  Keep refrigerated.

 

Tasty Tuesdays: Coconut Lime Bars

 

 Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

 

On Sunday, my sister and I had our Mom over for dinner for Mother's Day.  For dessert, I made these delicious lime bars.  My Mom & I thought they were delicious.  My sister isn't a huge key lime fan, so her favorite part was the crust.

 

{ Original recipe from Martha Stewart Living.  Find it here. }

 

Ingredients:

Crust:

- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more, softened, for pan

- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

- 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar

- Rounded 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

- 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut

- 3 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

 

Filling:

- 3 large eggs, room temperature

- 2/3 cup granulated sugar

- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

- 2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice or regular lime juice

- 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar, for dusting

 

 

Directions:
 

1.  Crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom and 2 sides of pan with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang; lightly butter the parchment.

 

2.  Combine flour, brown sugar, and salt in a medium size bowl and stir until combined. Add butter; use a pastry blender until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add coconut and white chocolate, and combine, just until mixture holds together. Transfer mixture to pan, and pack down firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake until crust is deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and reduce heat to 300 degrees.

 

3.  Filling: Whisk together eggs and granulated sugar in a bowl, then whisk in flour. Gently stir in lime juice (do not whisk or stir vigorously or batter will become foamy).

 

4.  Pour filling over hot crust, and bake until filling is set, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

 

5.  Run the tip of a knife along the 2 sides of the pan not lined with parchment, then remove from pan by lifting with parchment overhang. Transfer to a cutting board, dust with confectioners' sugar, and cut into 1-inch squares.

What did you cook this week?

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Tasty Tuesdays: Yogurt Coffee Cake

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I made this delicious coffee cake over the holidays to serve when a friend came to visit.  I thought it was delicious!  The cake is very simple and straightforward to make.

{ I found this recipe on Pinterest.  The recipe is based on one by Ina Garten, but was modified by Maria, or Two Peas and Their Pod.  Find her recipe here. }

Ingredients:
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

- 3 large eggs

- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

- 1 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt (I use 0% plain Chobani)

- 2 1/2 cups cake flour ( I used regular, all-purpose)

- 2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the streusel:

- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

For the cream cheese glaze:

- 3 ounces softened cream cheese

- 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

- 2/3 cup powdered sugar

- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

- 3 tablespoons milk, or enough to make it a glazing consistency

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Set aside.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and yogurt. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

3. For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.

4. Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

5. Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. To make the cream cheese glaze, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and milk. Beat until smooth and until you have a glaze consistency. Drizzle cream cheese glaze over cooled cake and serve.

I will definitely make this again.  It would be perfect for a breakfast party or brunch.  I enjoyed having the leftovers around too - the cake was good for a few days after I made it.

What did you cook this week?

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Tasty Tuesdays: Feta, Chive, & Sour Cream Biscuits

 

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I've been cooking again and it feels so good - I missed it!  I made these biscuits over the holidays to bring to a family Christmas get-together.   The original recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs - Joy the Baker.  See the recipe right here.

Ingredients:

- 3 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 tablespoon sugar

- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes

- 1 egg, beaten

- 3 tablespoons cold water

- 3/4 cup sour cream, cold

- 1/3 cup chopped chives

- 3/4 cup big crumbles of feta cheese

- 1 egg beaten for egg wash

- coarse sea salt, cracked black pepper, and smoky paprika for topping

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or Silpat mats) and set aside.

2.  In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and black pepper. Cut in butter, using a pastry cutter, until mixture resembles a coarse meal. In another bowl, combine egg, sour cream, and water. Beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft and dough. Add the chives and feta. Place dough on a pastry mat and knead the dough together. The mixture will come together in about 10 to 15 kneads.

3.  Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or glass.  Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps. Place biscuits on baking sheets.  

4.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and paprika. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm. These biscuits are best eaten the day they’re made, but will last up to 2 days.

{ Yield:  20 biscuits }

I loved these biscuits.  They tasted bast right out of the oven.  I recommend eating them right away!  They didn't taste quite as good later in the day when I brought them to my party.

What did you cook this week?

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Tasty Tuesdays: Cinnamon Rolls

Welcome To Tasty Tuesdays!

I am posting another recipe from my archives this week.  At this point I don't know if I'll be cooking until December!

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Last month while out in Arizona on vacation, my sister, brother, and I made cinnamon rolls. And not just any cinnamon rolls, but The Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. Yum. These were delicious and I am wishing that I had some next to me right now!

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Ingredients:

- 1 quart Whole Milk

1 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup Sugar

2 packages Active Dry Yeast

8 cups (Plus 1 Cup Extra, Separated) All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder

1 teaspoon (scant) Baking Soda

1 Tablespoon (heaping) Salt

Plenty Of Melted Butter

2 cups Sugar

Generous Sprinkling Of Cinnamon

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Maple Frosting Ingredients:

1 bag Powdered Sugar

2 teaspoons Maple Flavoring

½ cups Milk

¼ cups Melted Butter

¼ cups Brewed Coffee

⅛ teaspoons Salt

{Baby Sister and World's Cutest Brother getting the dough started}
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1. Mix the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a pan. Scald the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in both packages of Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for a minute. Then add 8 cups of all-purpose flour. Stir mixture together. Cover and let rise for at least an hour.
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2. After rising for at least an hour, add 1 more cup of flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir mixture together. (At this point, you could cover the dough and put it in the fridge until you need it – overnight or even a day or two, if necessary. Just keep your eye on it and if it starts to overflow out of the pan, just punch it down). At this point, we put our dough in the refrigerator and came back to it in the morning.
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3. When ready to prepare rolls: Sprinkle rolling surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1/2 to 1 cup melted butter over the dough. Now sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
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{Pouring on the melted butter}
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{We used a pastry brush to spread around the butter. Look at that crazy bed head on World's Cutest Brother!}
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{Time to add the sugar...}
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{...and the cinnamon}
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4. Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.
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5. Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a seven inch round foil cake or pie pan. Then begin cutting the rolls approximately ¾ to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.
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6. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Let the rolls rise for 20 to 30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes.
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World's Cutest Brother took a scrap of dough and decided to make a few mini cinnamon rolls...
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He was quite pleased with himself.
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{Seriously, how cute are those little rolls???}
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Fresh out of the oven:
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7. For the frosting, mix together all ingredients listed and stir well until smooth. It should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Go crazy and don’t skimp on the frosting.

Our finished rolls with frosting:
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Notes:
- Pioneer Woman recently posted tips on making her cinnamon rolls. To see that post click here.
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- Our dough didn't seem to rise very much. Not sure what happened but they did rise while they baked and tasted delicious to us!
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- We cut the recipe in half. Although, the recipe listed above is Pioneer Woman's original recipe.
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- Because we cut the recipe in half, our rolls were a bit smalled than hers. I didn't realize this at the time, but the recipe says to divide the dough in half before rolling out. Well, we did divide ours in half, but didn't need to because we had cut the recipe in half! Because of that, our rolls were smaller.
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- We ended up with four pans of rolls. We baked two while we were there and put two in the freezer for our trip out there in December. Our Dad is under very specific instructions to not bake the rolls without us!
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What did you cook this week?

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1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post
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