Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Glaze

Well I know I'm a tad late, but I finally got these pictures uploaded off my camera. I've been awfully busy with photo projects for college but who doesn't have time for cupcakes? Especially when they look like this.

When it comes to flavor combination, peanut butter and chocolate is something that I can't resist. Whenever I see a recipe that combines the two, I have to just tell myself to resist, that I need to try a new flavor. Well this time I couldn't.

This is going to sound really silly, but I've never actually heard of a peanut butter cupcakes. I just haven't ever conceptualized peanut butter in cake form before, so when I stumbled across this recipe in Elinor Klivans book Cupcakes!, I just had to make them.

My dad scoffed at the idea and asked me why I had to ruin perfectly good cupcakes with peanut butter. I just told him that he was going to regret making fun of them when they were done and delicious and he couldn't have any. However, when they were finished and amazing I wanted to show them off so I went back on my word and let him have one and he apologized :)

I think if I made them again though, I might actually fill them with chocolate. I was in such a rush to try one that I poured the chocolate on before it was done cooling, so I couldn't really get much on without it dripping of the edges of the liner. I think filling the cupcakes with just a bit of chocolate and having a thin layer on top would really balance out the peanut butter flavor a bit better.

And without further ado, here is the recipe :)

Peanut Butter with Chocolate Glaze Cupcakes
Recipe by Elinor Klivans from her book Cupcakes!
Makes 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
For cupcakes


1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, room temp

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

For chocolate glaze

1/4 heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS
To make cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin cupcs with paper cupcake liners
Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Mix in egg. Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until batter smooth.

On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Fill each liner with a generous 1/4 cup of batter, to about 1/3 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and are lightly browned and a toothpic inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. There will be cracks on the top. Cool cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on wire rack.

To make chocolate glaze
In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over low heat until the cream is hot adn the butter has melted. The mixture should form tiny bubbles and measure about 175F on a thermometer; do not let it boil.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the milk chocolate and let it sit in the hot cream for 30 secs to soften. Add the vanilla and whisk the glaze until it is smooth and all the chocolate has melted. (Return the glaze to low heat if necessary to melt the chocolate completely, whisking constantly.) The glaze should be thick enough to hold its shape when spread over the cupcakes. If it is too liquid to spread, let it sit at room temp for 5-15 minutes, depending on the temp of your kitchen.

Using a small spatula, spread 1 tbsp of glaze over the top of each cupcake.