Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Published Oct. 21, 2025
- Total Time
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes, plus cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ¾cup/96 grams all-purpose flour
- ¼cup plus 2 tablespoons/75 grams granulated sugar
- ¼cup plus 2 tablespoons/83 grams packed dark brown sugar
- ¼cup plus 2 tablespoons/36 grams natural cocoa powder
- ¾teaspoon baking powder
- ¼teaspoon baking soda
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- ⅓cup/80 milliliters vegetable oil
- ⅓cup/80 milliliters buttermilk
- 1large egg
- 2teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1cup/270 grams creamy conventional peanut butter (not “natural”)
- ½cup/113 grams salted butter, at room temperature
- 1cup/123 grams powdered sugar
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- Chocolate pearls, mini chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles, for topping (optional)
For the Cupcakes
For the Frosting
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
434 calories; 27 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 35 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 223 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the cupcakes: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. Divide the batter evenly among the liners.
- Step 3
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one cupcake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 18 minutes. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes then transfer the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely.
- Step 4
Make the frosting: In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the peanut butter and salted butter together until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (The cupcakes and frosting can be made and stored separately, covered at room temperature, for up to 1 day.)
- Step 5
Top the cooled cupcakes with the frosting. Sprinkle with chocolate pearls, if desired.
Private Notes
Comments
Natural PB would separate and you'd be left with a greasy, grainy frosting. both Jif and Skippy have 'natural' PB that aren't blended with trans fat but still homogenized. They usually have natural on the label, but read the ingredient list to be sure. and really, people, if you're going to make cupcakes with almost 30g of fat per serving, balking at peanut butter with added sugar and oil is just silly.@Susan
If you Google "peanut butter frosting using natural peanut butter," you'll find many recipes, which presumably have been successfully tested. On the other hand, you'll also find many admonitions *not* to use natural peanut butter because you'll wind up with a "curdling oily mess," to quote one such.
By “conventional “ peanut butter, you mean Skippy or Jif, with the additional shortening and sugar in it? If you prefer to use an all-natural one like Teddy, what adaptations are necessary?
Batter is much thicker than a normal cupcake, and only makes 9 small cupcakes. The video is about a yellow sheet cake. Somebody at NYT cooking needs to address these issues.
@David The cupcake is the last 5 minutes of the "how to make a yellow cake" video. Like finding buried treasures.
Mini sized cupcakes cooked in 14 minutes
Basically Funny Bones, all grown up!