As I stated before, the “chocolate stout” cake/cupcake is my favorite as far as chocolate goes. It’s so effing delicious. So this is a quick variation from the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes I made a few weeks back. This time, we’re using peanut butter 😉
I’ve tried a few peanut butter buttercreams, and the most popular one online is from Ina Garten. I love her, she’s one of hands down favorites on The Food Network, but I’m not feelin her peanut butter frosting. I mean, it’s not disgusting at all. It’s delicious, but it’s just too “peanutty” for me, if that makes any sense. To me, it tastes like peanut butter taken out of the jar and slathered on a cupcake. I didn’t fall in love with it, so I kept looking for a lighter one that would give me just enough peanut butter flavor without being too heavy. I found this recipe and saw that it was adapted from the famous Baked cookbook, so knew I had to try it. Unlike Ina’s recipe, this one uses less peanut butter, so it’s milder and easier to eat without feeling like you just swallowed a sock.
The chocolate stout cupcake recipe makes about 24 (or 2 dozen) cupcakes, and this peanut butter frosting recipe says it’s enough for 24 cupcakes but I found that to be false if you’re using a piping bag and decorative tips. Maybe if you were just slathering it on with an offset spatula, you’d have enough, but I had to add an additional cup or so of powdered sugar just to make it stretch. The good thing about this recipe is that it is customizable, so if you need to add another cup of sugar, it won’t really affect the outcome. Just play around with it, but always start with the smaller amounts first.
The actual cupcake is insane, trust me on this. It’s fool proof and easy to do, and sooo chocolatey without being too sweet or artificial. I have a lot of leftover Guinness in my fridge, so I’ll be busting out different chocolate cupcake variations over the course of the next month or so.
Feel free to top these cupcakes with Reese’s miniature cups, or Reese’s Pieces…or even stick a tiny pretzel thru it, it’ll be delicious. Enjoy 🙂
Cupcakes are cooling
Buttercream is being made…
how cute??
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
- Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Guinness stout
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line 24 cupcake cups with liners.
- Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined.
- Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine.
- Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined.
- Divide the batter among the cupcake liners.
- Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes.
- Cool the cupcakes on a rack.
Peanut Butter Buttercream
- Yield: enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes
Description
Adapted slightly from Buttered Up and Baked cookbook by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafto.
Ingredients
- 1 8–ounce block cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural, commercial brand)
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix together cream cheese, butter and peanut butter with electric or hand mixer until well combined. Add icing sugar, vanilla, and sea salt, blend until well combined and frosting is smooth and creamy. Evenly frost on top of cupcakes. Decorate with peanuts if desired. Cupcakes and frosting can be made one day ahead, stored in airtight container at room temperature.
Resha,
I tried the peanut butter buttercream frosting recipe along with my own chocolate cake recipe. My youngest brother, who is a peanut butter and chocolate fanatic, told me that it was the best cake that he ever had. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, didn’t care for the peanut butter frosting. It was just too peanut-butter for her. I might use a 1/3 cup next time I make the frosting. Also, for those of you that may have had difficulty scraping the peanut butter from the measuring cup, try spraying it first with cooking spray. Worked like a charm for me. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Resha, Do you think unsweetened cocoa can be used instead of the Dutch process cocoa powder?
no. there are stark differences between regular unsweetened cocoa and dutch processed cocoa. i know it’s confusing, but it’s good to keep both on hand. i buy my dutch processed cocoa from King Arthur Flour. it’s like $10 for a pound, and it’s incredibly good stuff, just in case you can’t find it in the grocery store (because my local Wegman’s doesn’t seem to carry dutch processed…womp)