I originally developed the peanut butter cake recipe for my friend Shoshana and she’s made the recipe several times both with and without my help. I tend to use my kitchen scale when baking because it’s easier to be consistent when baking by weight and I actually find it easier. No scoops to mess with and no remembering how many scoops of something you just added to the bowl. However, not everyone is on board with that approach to baking and the last time Shoshana made this recipe she struggled with converting the 2.5 ounces of peanut butter powder (PB2) into a volume measurement.
I actually made these for a Memorial Day gathering and realized that it was the perfect time to figure out a volume measurement for the PB2. Drum roll please… it’s about 1 cup. I also realized that I don’t use the frosting recipe that’s part of the original post anymore either, so I thought it was time to post a new recipe for these cupcakes. If you read my blog and you haven’t tried these you might want to – they may be one of the most popular desserts that I make.
Peanut butter cupcakes
Ingredients
- 4 ounces or 1 cup sifted (or scant cup unsifted) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2.5 ounces or about 1 cup peanut butter powder (PB2)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup canola or grape seed oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup boiling water
Directions
- Line a muffin tin with liners and preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the sugar, flour, peanut butter powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix on low. Add the eggs, oil, and milk and mix well.
- Reduce the speed to low and mix in the water. The batter will be soupy. Fill the cups about 3/4 full with batter (works best if you transfer the batter to a spouted cup or bowl).
- Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then move the cupcakes directly to the rack and bake any remaining batter (I usually end up with about 16 cupakes).
- Wait for the cupcakes have completely and then frost them.
Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 egg whites
- 1 1/4 stick butter
- 4 ounces chopped dark chocolate
- 4 tbs cocoa
Directions
- In a double boiler (you can use a metal bowl set over a small pan of simmering water) melt the chocolate with 1/4 stick of butter. Stir occasionally until smooth and then sift the cocoa over the top and stir it in thoroughly. Set aside while you prep the egg whites.
- Place sugar and egg whites in the metal bowl of an electric mixer and set over a pan of simmering water (do not let the pan touch the water). Whisk until mixture is hot and the sugar dissolves. It will increase in volume as you do this.
- Move the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high until cooled and stiff peaks have formed, about 7 minutes.
- With the mixer running, add the remaining butter, one piece at a time, until completely incorporated. Continue whisking until a light, fluffy cream has formed. Stir in chocolate/butter mixture until well combined.
- You can use this to frost free-form or transfer the frosting into a pastry bag to pipe onto the cake.
*Do not use chocolate chips for this – they have stabilizers added that prevent them from melting smoothly. Use a high quality bar or bulk chocolate, such as Callebaut.
chocolate cream sounds heavenly…I think your grandpa would have loved the peanut butter though. 🙂