Savor the irresistible combination of creamy peanut butter buttercream frosting deliciously piped on top of moist chocolate cupcakes, creating a heavenly treat that's sure to please you peanut butter and chocolate lovers.
Creamy Peanut Buttercream Frosting
Traditional buttercream is absolutely delicious but adding creamy peanut butter to the mixture makes this frosting a peanut butter lover's dream.
It only takes a small tweak to add big flavors of peanut butter to this frosting.
When adding milk to this frosting it's important not to pour all of the milk in at once. I find that I usually don't need to add the full amount. If you want the frosting to be pipable you will want this frosting to be on the stiffer side. To pipe cupcakes, a piping bag and a piping tip are needed.
Ingredients in Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Shortening
- Vanilla Extract
- Confectioner's Sugar
- Peanut Butter, creamy
- Milk - to use as needed to make creamy and pipable
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Moist and Rich Chocolate Cupcakes
These chocolate cupcakes pair perfectly with this frosting and the addition of chopped peanut butter cups throws the flavors of chocolate and peanut butter over the top.
These cupcakes are a favorite of mine to make. They're perfect to make for birthdays and for parties.
They are light, moist, and rich in flavor. Adding instant coffee really bumps up the chocolate flavor and the use of buttermilk makes these cupcakes light and velvety.
If you don't have buttermilk on hand, it's easy to make a substitute! An easy and effective substitute is to use milk (in this case ¼ cup) and add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the milk.
After letting the milk sit for 5 minutes, then it is added to the other ingredients before baking.
This rich and chocolatey cupcake recipe is the perfect match for this peanut butter buttercream frosting.
If you're in the mood for the ultimate peanut butter experience, check out these Peanut Butter Cupcakes. With the combination of this peanut butter buttercream frosting, it's the perfect dessert for peanut butter lovers.
RELATED: Butterscotch Cupcakes
Ingredients in Chocolate Cupcakes
- All Purpose flour - spooned & leveled
- Cocoa Powder - unsweetened
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vegetable oil - helps make the chocolate cupcakes moist
- Vanilla Extract
- Buttermilk - creates lift and moistness in the chocolate cupcakes
- Instant Coffee - to increase the chocolate flavor
- Water
How To Make Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
It's quite easy to make these cupcakes and the trick to preparing the cupcake batter is not overmix the ingredients.
In a large bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a different bowl, beat together room temperature eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients slowly, careful not to overmix.
Combine the hot water with the instant coffee and stir to dissolve. Add the coffee to the ingredients and stir to combine.
Add in the buttermilk until combined.
TIP: A great substitute for buttermilk is to add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to ¼ cup of regular milk. Allow the milk to sit for about 5 minutes before adding it to the other ingredients.
Fill the cupcakes ¾ of the way full and bake in the preheated oven. Check with a toothpick for doneness - the center will come out clean when the chocolate cupcakes are done baking. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
When making the peanut butter buttercream frosting, it is incredibly simple!
Start with softened butter and beat the shortening in until nice and creamy.
Add in the vanilla and the creamy peanut butter.
Slowly add in the confectioner's sugar. It will be hard to mix and using a hand mixer or stand mixer is preferred when making this frosting.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk at a time and beat until you get the creamy texture you desire.
When frosting cupcakes with this frosting it should not be too thick because it will be hard to pipe. It also should not be too thin as it will not stand firm when piping.
📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting (Chocolate Cupcakes)
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs - room temp
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar - packed
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup buttermilk*
- ¼ cup hot water
- 2 teaspoon instant coffee
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- ½ cup butter - softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 cup peanut butter - creamy
- 4-6 tablespoon milk - as needed
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Place cupcake liners in muffin tins.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
- In a separate bowl, beat together room temperature eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Combine hot water and the 2 teaspoon of instant coffee until dissolved. Add to bowl.
- Add in the buttermilk* and stir together the ingredients until just combined. Don't over mix.
- Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ of the way full and bake in the oven for 14-16 minutes. Check center with toothpick to see if they're done. (The center will come out clean.)
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together the softened butter and the shortening until creamy.
- Add in the vanilla and the creamy peanut butter.
- Beat in the powdered sugar, a little at a time. It will be crumbly.
- Add in 1 tablespoon of milk at at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Pipe onto cool cupcakes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
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Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
These cupcakes look out of this world! I just had to pin the recipe, as I need to try them on my next Rainey day baking session! x
Great looking cupcakes with one of my favorite flavor combinations! I love how you topped that creamy frosting with pb cups. OMG, gorgeous recipe!
Love the Peanut Butter Frosting on a delicious Chocolate cake. Good combination and such a unique option too.
Cupcakes is really a best way for kids and you added more to it. These definitely looks so yummy and the frosting on top is very tempting to look at. I'll sure to make these at home for the whole family.
Ok first, I love that I can easily adapt the cupcake recipe to be gluten-free and second, this frosting is incredible and everything not just chocolate cake!
This dish looks super mouthwatering that I am drooling right now. I wish I could eat that right at this moment!
Just looking at these photos makes me drool! That peanut butter frosting looks heavenly, so smooth and so creamy! I wish I could just reach out and grab few of these cupcakes of my screen!
These were really good! Chocolate and peanut butter always makes me happy but I'm pretty sure I'm going to add that peanut butter buttercream to every cupcake now, it's so good!!
I am so happy to hear you liked these cupcakes! And yes, the peanut butter buttercream is sooo good! 🙂
Even though I ma not a very good baker but I cannot stop myself from trying these muffins. I am baking these right now. Will let you know how it went.
Omg these cupcakes are just the recipe I was looking for! Peanut butter and chocolate just go so well together. Can't wait to try this!
Never tried peanut butter in my frosting before but it seems like such a great idea for the chocolate cupcakes. I might add a drop of jam on top instead of chocolate flakes just to make them even sweeter hehe
That sounds like a tasty idea!