Thursday, September 11, 2008

Peanut Buttercups with Peanut-Penuche Icing


I don't bake cupcakes very often; I'm not really sure why. Probably because I only have one muffin pan and I'm too lazy to bake them in batches. I also don't see what the big deal is about Sprinkles Cupcakes. Sure, they have a lot of flavor combinations, but they don't taste that good. Plus I've seen much better cupcakes created by all the wonderful bakers who participate in Cupcake Hero every month.


I came across this recipe when I was craving something sweet, made with peanut butter. It's a peanut butter cupcake filled with chocolate, then topped off with a peanut-penuche icing. Penuche is a fudge-like candy made by boiling brown sugar, milk, and butter. My free sample of "chocolately" TCHO chocolate (courtesty of Blake Makes) was perfect in this recipe.


My only problem was that I misread the recipe instructions and thought I was supposed to place the chocolate in the middle of the batter. Turns out you're supposed to fill the muffin pan half way, add the chocolate, then fill it three-quarters of the way to the top (placing the chocolate in the top third of the batter). This mistake caused my chocolate to be pretty close to the bottom of the cupcakes by the time they were finished baking, instead of closer to the middle.


This recipe is supposed to yield twelve "Texas-size" cupcakes. I'm not sure how big a "Texas-size" muffin pan is supposed to be, but I used my molten cake pan for these and got six super big cupcakes and then four "regular" sized ones with the remaining batter. (Next time I'll just make the regular sized ones - the others ones were huge.)


Sometimes I'll bake something, turn around, and find that it's almost all gone, consumed by my husband before even I realize what has happened! One of the perks of making baked goods with peanut butter is that my husband hates peanut butter in anything except for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So I learned early on in the relationship that if I wanted to keep him out of my sweets, all I had to do was bake with peanut butter :)

Well, I failed miserably this time. I gave him one bite of my cupcake and he immediately came back, claiming the rest of mine! Now if that doesn't say anything about how good these are, I don't know what does!


The cake itself is incredibly moist, but it's the icing that makes these special. It's a sweet, fudgey, peanut buttery icing. I iced my cupcakes while the icing was still a bit warm, so instead of sitting nicely atop the cupcakes, it oozed over the edges. Still totally edible and incredibly delicious, but a little messy - so if you want cupcakes that don't require a fork for consumption, I'd recommend letting the icing cool for a few minutes first.

If you like peanut butter, you have to try these. (Even if you don't, you might still like them - look at my husband). I even had one coworker ask me if I would make these again for her birthday. I happily agreed, then asked her when her birthday is. She replied, "March." I laughed. They must be good if I'm getting a request over six months in advance :)

This is also my submission to the September Tasty Tools event, featuring bakeware.

Peanut Buttercups with Peanut-Penuche Icing
from The Pastry Queen, by Rebecca Rather

Cupcakes
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky (I used smooth)
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3.5 ounce bar bittersweet chocolate, cut into 12 squares (I used TCHO "chocolatey" chocolate; you can also substitute chocolate chips if needed)

Peanut-Penuche Filling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky (I used smooth)
1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar

To Make the Cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat 6 Texas-size muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or Baker's Joy. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed for about 30 seconds. (Don't worry if there are a few sugar lumps.) Add the butter, peanut butter, milk, and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute on medium-low speed. Add the eggs and beat for 1-1/2 minutes on medium-high speed. Fill the prepared muffin cups with batter halfway to the top. Place 2 squares of chocolate in the middle of the batter and add more batter to fill the muffin cups three-quarters of the way to the top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (mine were ready at 28 minutes), until the tops of the muffins are light brown and a toothpick stuck into the middle comes out with no crumbs clinging to it. (A bit of melted chocolate from the center may show, but that doesn't count.)

Cool the muffins for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan. Let them cool on racks at least 5 minutes longer before frosting.

To Make the Icing:
Combine the butter, peanut butter, milk, brown sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook for 1-1/2 minutes without stirring. Take the pan off the burnder and cool about 30 minutes (do not let it sit longer than 30 minutes or the icing will not mix smoothly). Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until the icing is creamy and of spreading consistency, about 1 minutes. Ice the cooled cupcakes immediately. (If you let it cool for a bit first, it's less runny and easier to spread across the top.)

Tightly wrapped, the cupcakes will keep for 2 days at room temperature and up to 3 weeks frozen.

Tip: Dealing with peanut butter or other sticky ingredients such as honey or corn syrup can be a royal pain, especially when moving them from measuring cup to batter. A light coating of cooking spray on the inside of the measuring cup will allow peanut butter or any other sticky ingredient to slide out much more easily.

Yield: 12 Cupcakes

40 comments:

  1. Woah woah woah, those look too good to be true. Oh man!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your photos are unbelievably gorgeous! I love peanut butter so these will definitely be enjoyed in my house!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those look to die for! You can't go wrong with PB and chocolate!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That chocolate in the middle and that icing, wow! I'm not surprised even a non-peanut butter lover liked it! They are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Why would anyone want to buy cupcakes when they are so easy and so much better when made at home? One of the great things about home baking is the advantage of being able to make baked goods in small batches and to our own specific tastes. Your gorgeous, gooey cupcakes are certainly a testament to that fact!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think I like the dripping icing over the top! Looks pretty, and really, who can have a problem with messy if it tastes this good?? These look really amazing...I can't wait to try them. I can't resist anything with peanut butter...and chocolate just adds to its appeal!

    ReplyDelete
  7. WHOAAA!!! PENUCHE IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE!! No one ever knows what it is! I'm SOOOO happy to see it being used! It makes me want to make a batch right now!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! those look so good, it's no wonder your hubby came back for more!

    ReplyDelete
  9. We are huge peanut butter lovers! I love everything about this recipe, from the chocolate middle and filling and icing!! I'd probably have to make minier (regular) sized ones though. One texas sized is probably equal to half a layer of a layer cake!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You SHOULD bake cupcakes more often - look at those beauties!! :0)

    ReplyDelete
  11. OMG, my sweet tooth is aching because I'm unable to lick the screen and taste that peanutty goodness! That looks ridiculously amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  12. wow my mouth is really watering. these look delicious jaime!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think you made the right choice slathering on that yummy frosting while it was still warm. It just makes the cupcakes and your photos look irresistibly DELICIOUS!

    I've never had peanut penuche...can't wait to give it a try!
    ~ingrid

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, sweetie, it's perfectly understandable why the hubby went crazy on these - I'm drooling over here!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Bravo, beautiful job Jaime, they look like an explosion of peanut buttery goodness, a.k.a peanut butter lava cake:) Thank you for posting randomly, we all appreciate it:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Just the thing to satisfy my peanut addiction.

    ReplyDelete
  17. These look amazing! I love the peanut butter and chocolate combination, so I'm sure I would love this I should also get this cookbook because it seems like there are so many great recipes in it :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. First of all, thanks for the comments on my blog! I have to say that I am really impressed that you never eat the dough! I wish I had the strength to stop myself! The PB-cups look really and truly AMAZING!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Whoa - peanut butter and chocolate is my absolute favorite combination.

    So I am totally bookmarking this recipe!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi, I have the Pastry Queen cookbook. If you don't you might enjoy it. The cupcakes look delish and I love love peanut butter! The Texas size pans make pretty big muffins. You are right about that.

    Thanks for stopping by again. Sorry you didn't care for the big whopper pieces. Boo Hoo. We'll keep sharing notes.

    ReplyDelete
  21. like the rest of the world, i'm a fan of the chocolate-peanut butter combo, but i don't think peanut butter gets the spotlight often enough! you've done the marvelous ingredient justice here, especially in that icing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. OH MY GOSH! My mouth is watering just looking at the pictures. These look and sound beyond amazing! :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I, myself, am also completely fed-up with the boutique cupcakes of the world. Not too long ago, I was walking past my local cupcake shop, and was struck by a craving for some chocolate buttercream. I gotta say, I was thoroughly dissappointed. The frosting on my cupcake was too sweet, and definately didn't contain butter (wrong mouth-feel), and the cake was prefab. Ughhh!
    SO thanks for these real cupcakes! They look friggin' delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Please excuse the drool. I want one RIGHT NOW!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I've been here twice now, just drooling, to overcome to manage an intelligible comment. I'm making these ASAP.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh my, those look out of this world. I am bookmarking these for my peanut butter loving hubby.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love the first photo! I think it looks even better with the icing dripping down the sides--definitely enticing, and I'm not usually gaga over peanut butter desserts.

    ReplyDelete
  28. These look fantastic! And yes I understand totally about your husband , I have one like that too! I know when he eats something he normally doesn't eat that I've got a winner on my hands and this recipe is a winner! Thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I've been on a total pb kick lately too - not sure why, but it is just so good! Your cupcakes look awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh my caramel on cupcakes. So indulgent that I feel like running on a treadmill already.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Okay, I'm seeing this TCHO chocolate everywhere! I need to get my hands on some!

    These Peanut Buttercups sound AMAZING... ly good. ZOWIE!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Oh my gosh, I saw these and just HAD to make them, and I don't bake that often. They were absolutely amazing, so thanks!

    P.S. My chocolate sank to the bottom too, & I put it in the top third...

    ReplyDelete
  33. These look delicious!! I still have 3 kinds of TCHO chocolate I need to make something with.

    ReplyDelete
  34. What a dessert! These look so scrumptious!

    ReplyDelete
  35. omg. peanut butter and chocolate together is my weakness. i have to make this!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Peanut butter & chocolate...topped with more peanut butter?? PERFECT!! These look fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  37. These look absolutely yummy and tempting!!!Gloria

    ReplyDelete
  38. These are ridiculously mouth-watering. I'm dyin' here.

    ReplyDelete