CAKE

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup coffee, room temperature or slightly warmer
• 12 mini peanut butter cups, unwrapped (I used Trader Joe’s dark chocolate cups for extra decadence.  If you’re making mini cupcakes, you’ll need to get the actual mini bite sized peanut butter cups.)
• (optional: about 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips for drizzling)

FROSTING

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 cup whole milk (it’s a little lighter in fat than heavy cream so the frosting doesn’t feel as heavy)

Instructions:

1. Pre­heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners.  For this recipe I used fluted black liners to mimic the look of a peanut butter cup but literally any kind will work.
2. In the bowl of stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, beating well, and add in vanilla.
3. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  If your cocoa is a little lumpy, be sure to sift it first. In a different bowl, stir together buttermilk and coffee. Add dry ingredients to creamed butter mixture in thirds alternately with buttermilk/coffee mixture, beating well after each addition.

   

4. Fill liner with batter on top of the peanut butter cups until they are about two-thirds full (I used a 1/4 measuring cup to make it an even fill. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely (if you skip this step, your hidden PB cups will stick to the liner which is so, so sad).

   

5. In the meantime, while the cupcakes cool, prepare the frosting. Beat together, in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, peanut butter, butter and vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar gradually with the milk and salt. Beat until the frosting comes together and has the desired consistency – for a stiffer or looser frosting, add more powdered sugar or milk respectively until you’re satisfied with the results.
6. Once cooled, top with frosting (I used the Wilton 1M tip) and drizzle with melted chocolate if you choose to do so!  To melt the chocolate, put chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts until the chocolate is liquid enough to drizzle. I used a condiment bottle to make this as painless as possible.