Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Forget peanut butter cups! These chocolate peanut butter cupcakes are the peanut butter and chocolate lover’s dream, with peanut butter inside the chocolate cake swirled into the frosting on top!

This peanut butter-filled chocolate peanut butter cupcake is a chocolate and peanut butter lover’s dream. It is rich, moist, and as light as can be. If you are a fan of desserts, try my homemade cupcake recipe. 

These moist chocolate cupcakes are a chocolate lover’s dream come true! The rich chocolate flavor explodes in every bite. They’re the perfect thing for special occasions. Even if you’re a beginning baker, you’ll love how easy it is to decorate the moist cupcakes with homemade peanut butter buttercream. 

As unassuming as they appear, they hold a secret. Nestled inside the chocolate is a spoonful of creamy, smooth peanut butter. This is one surprise I don’t mind finding in my dessert. So, this delicious recipe is perfect whether you’re a peanut butter lover or a chocoholic. 

Why You’ll Love Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

• Tastes like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
• Luxurious creamy peanut butter frosting. 
• Stunning color. 
• A hidden surprise. These decadent chocolate cupcakes are filled with creamy peanut butter. 

Ingredients

The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.

Cupcakes 

• All-Purpose Flour 
• Cocoa Powder 
• Baking Soda 
• Baking Powder 
• Salt 
• Sugar 
• Vanilla
• Margarine or Butter 
• Eggs
• Whole Milk 
• Peanut Butter 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Frosting 

• Unsalted Butter 
• Confectioners’ Sugar 
• Heavy Cream 
• Cocoa Powder 
• Peanut Butter 

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

This will quickly become your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. Here’s how to make the best cupcakes you’ve ever made. 

Cupcakes: 

• Step One: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
• Step Two: In a large bowl, cream sugar with butter until light and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after adding each egg. Add vanilla.

• Step Three: In another bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
• Step Four: In small batches, add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, alternating with the milk. Make sure to start and end with the flour mixture. Beat until well combined.

• Step Five: Scoop batter into the prepared cupcake tin, about 3/4 full.
• Step Six: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick comes clean from the middle of a cupcake.
• Step Seven: Let the cupcakes cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, scoop out the center of each cupcake with a spoon or cupcake scooper.
• Step Eight: Spoon peanut butter until it reaches the top of the cupcake.

Frosting: 

• Step Nine: Cream the butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl. Add the powdered sugar. Slowly add the whipping cream and continue to mix until the frosting holds a stiff peak (this may take several minutes). If it’s not holding a stiff peak after several minutes, add more powdered sugar if necessary.

• Step Ten: Evenly divide the frosting into two bowls; in the first bowl, add the cocoa powder and mix well. In the second bowl, add the peanut butter and mix well.

• Step Eleven: Scoop the chocolate frosting into a pastry bag with a large frosting tip. Mash the frosting with the back of a spoon while it’s in the pastry bag. Turn the pastry bag.
• Step Twelve: Scoop the peanut butter frosting into the same pastry bag and mash it with the back of a spoon in the pantry bag.
• Step Thirteen: Twist the open end of the pastry bag until the frosting begins to come out. Frost the cupcakes.

Equipment Needed

If you want the best results when making the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes, I suggest grabbing a few critical pieces of equipment.

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• Mixing bowls
• Stand mixer with a whisk attachment and paddle attachment
• Piping bag and tips 
• Muffin pan 
• Cupcake liners 

What to Serve with Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These frosted cupcakes show off beautifully! Serve them with your favorite dessert recipes like these. 

• Mayonnaise Cake 
• Twinkie Cake 
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie 
• Cake Mix Coffee Cake 
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread 

Variations and Substitutions

• Make mini cupcakes. Pour the batter into mini cupcake pans. 
• Fill them with chocolate ganache. The melted chocolate will make the perfect filling. 
• Top with peanut butter marshmallow fluff. This will make it extra fluffy and creamy. 

Storage Instructions 

First, ensure your cupcakes are thoroughly cooled before applying frosting. Then, frost them and place them in an airtight container. You can store your cupcakes on the counter at room temperature or in the fridge. 

If you store your cupcakes in the fridge, you can set them out on the counter and allow them to warm up before you serve them. This will help bring back the moist and light texture of the cupcakes. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes Tips and Tricks

• Make sure you get stiff peaks when you make the frosting. If you have been mixing for a while and are not seeing stiff peaks, add more powdered sugar. Do small amounts at a time to slowly reach the right consistency. If you do too much, you risk making it too thick. 
• If your frosting is too thick, add a splash of milk to make it creamier. This is a trial-and-error process, but anyone can make frosting and succeed.
• Add the chocolate frosting and the peanut butter frosting to plastic wrap before you place it in the piping bag. This will make it easier to add to the bag. 

What are the Different Types of Cocoa Powder?  

There are eight different kinds of cocoa powders. Here’s a quick summary of them. 

• Natural Cocoa Powder – This kind is Tart, bitter, and astringent. It is not alkalized and is called unsweetened cocoa powder. 
• Dutch Cocoa Powder – Alkalized with potassium carbonate. It has deep, earthy flavors. 
• Red Cocoa Powder – Like Dutch, it has a higher pH and a bittersweet flavor. 
• Double-Dark Cocoa Powder – A blended cocoa powder with a dark chocolate flavor. 
• Triple Cocoa Powder – Unique to King Arthur Baking, is an all-purpose cocoa powder. 
• Bensdorp Dutch Cocoa Powder – It has a deep chocolate flavor from Holland. 
• Black Cocoa Powder – This is cocoa powder dyed to look darker, like the ones in Oreo cookies. You’ll also see this sold as dark chocolate powder. 

Add-Ins

Add some mini chocolate chips or even some peanut butter chips. You don’t have to add anything extra if you don’t want to, but some baking chips can add more flavor to the cupcakes.

Can I Make It Into A Cake?

Yes, this is a great recipe to make into a cake. Instead of pouring the chocolate cupcake batter into a cupcake tin, pour it into a round or square cake pan. The baking time will change, too. But the best part about this recipe is that the frosting tastes delicious on top – whether it’s a cake or a cupcake. 

Why Are My Cupcakes Dense?

You must measure everything precisely. If you have too much flour or dry ingredients, your cake could be very dense. Next time, add a little more wet ingredients to give it more moisture. 

Can I Add Filling? 

I put peanut butter in the center of each cupcake. I am a huge peanut butter fan, and having that extra peanut butter in the center is a treat to bite into. If you don’t want the added peanut butter, feel free to leave it out, and don’t stuff the cupcakes. 

Cupcake Recipes

• Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes | These scream fall in all things. Love pumpkin pie? Then your heart will skip a beat over these light, delicious cupcakes. 
• Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes | Banana and chocolate work well together. This recipe is no denying it was meant to be a treat. Whip these up for a birthday, after school treat, or midnight snack. 
• Snickerdoodle Cupcakes | This cupcake gives you the flavors of the famous snickerdoodle cookie. It is one of my favorite recipes for fall to make. 

You’ll also like these Valentine’s Day Cupcakes, Snickerdoodle Cupcakes and Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes.

Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, Facebook at Simply Stacie, TikTok @simplystacierecipes or Pinterest at @simplystacie and let me know how you liked this recipe and my other recipes.

Rate this Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Created by Stacie Vaughan

Servings 18

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Forget peanut butter cups! These cupcakes are the peanut butter and chocolate lover's DREAM with peanut butter inside the chocolate cake and swirled into the frosting on top!

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Cupcakes

• ▢ 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 ½ cups cocoa powder
• ▢ ½ tsp baking soda
• ▢ 4 tsp baking powder
• ▢ ¼ tsp salt
• ▢ 3 cups sugar
• ▢ 2 tsp vanilla
• ▢ 1 ½ tbsp margarine or butter softened
• ▢ 4 large eggs
• ▢ 2 cups whole milk
• ▢ 1 cup peanut butter

Frosting

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 4 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 4 tbsp heavy whipping cream
• ▢ ½ cup cocoa powder
• ▢ 4 tbsp peanut butter

Instructions

Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together sugar with butter until light and creamy. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing after adding each egg. Add vanilla.
• In another bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In small batches, add dry mixture to wet mixture, alternating with milk. Make sure to start and end with the flour mixture. Beat until well combined.
• Scoop batter into the prepared cupcake tin, about 3/4 full.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean from the middle of a cupcake.
• Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Scoop out center of each cupcake with a spoon or cupcake scooper.
• Spoon in peanut butter until it reaches the top of the cupcake.

Frosting

• In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add in the powdered sugar. Slowly add the whipping cream and continue to mix until the frosting can hold a stiff peak (may take several minutes). If it’s not holding a stiff peak after several minutes, add in more powdered sugar, if need be.
• Evenly divide the frosting into two bowls, In the first bowl add the cocoa powder and mix well. In the second bowl, add the peanut butter and mix well.
• Scoop the chocolate frosting into a pastry bag with a large frosting tip. Mash the frosting with the back of a spoon while it's in the pastry bag. Turn the pastry bag.
• Scoop the peanut butter frosting into the same pastry bag. Mash the peanut butter frosting with the back of a spoon in the pantry bag.
• Twist the open end of the pastry bag until the frosting begins to come out. Frost the cupcakes.

Equipment

• Hand Mixer
• Mixing bowl
• Muffin pan

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Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 583kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 297mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 60g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course Desserts

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

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