Recipe 06 - Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

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 Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
 -Recipe-

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES
  • ½ cup Hershey's specialty dark cocoa powder (or other natural cocoa powder)
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup dark brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup vegetable or canola oil
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 16 Reese's peanut butter cup miniatures (not "minis"), plus more for garnish if desired
DARK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ⅓ cup Hershey's specialty dark cocoa powder (or other cocoa powder)
  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
FOR THE CUPCAKES
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line cupcake tins with paper liners. This will make about 16 cupcakes. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together until combined.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil, and buttermilk together until smooth. Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir very briefly just to get the liquid mixed in then repeat with the remaining wet ingredients. Stir just until combined. This will only take a few stirs. Make sure to stir as little as possible as you can make tough cupcakes if you overmix.
  4. Spoon a small amount of the batter into the liners, filling just about ¼ of the way full, and then set a peanut butter cup in each liner. Do not press the peanut butter cup all the way to the bottom. Spoon more batter over top the peanut butter cup making sure to only fill the tins about ½ way full.
  5. Bake for 18-19 minutes, or until the cupcakes are set and spring back slightly when pressed in the middle. Allow to cool completely on wire cooling racks before frosting.
FOR THE FROSTING
  1. In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until very creamy.
  2. Add cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, cream, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. You can add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick.