chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with salted butterscotch peanuts

Sometimes the most delicious things, are not the most beautiful.

But who says no to a moist bittersweet chocolate cupcake, loaded with peanut butter and cream cheese icing, a glaze of oozing salted butterscotch caramel, and a sprinkling of toasted peanuts.

These beauties were enjoyed in the wake of a beautiful evening, spent with friends by the outdoor pizza oven, nestled alongside the tranquil lake, where pizzas, hot off the stone, were passed around, and relished.


Look! I finally made the Shaved Asparagus and Mushroom Pizza with that beautiful white sauce base. And it was blimmin’ awesome – thank you Sonia.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Salted Butterscotch Caramel Cupcakes
Recipe from Baking = Love
Makes 16 – 18

Chocolate Cupcakes

100g butter
60g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 175˚C. Line standard- sized muffin pan (cups have 1/2-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.

2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar and vanilla, and whisk until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk;
whisk in sour cream, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogenous and thick.

5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

Peanut butter cream cheese frosting

60g butter, softened
100g cream cheese, room temperature (make sure it’s not the spreadable stuff or low fat).
250g icing sugar sifted
1/3 – 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese and beat to combine.

2. Add the icing sugar a cup at a time, beating in between each addition.

3. Add 1/3 cup peanut butter and beat to mix. Taste and add more to get to how peanutty you like it – I’m a peanut fiend so used more like ½ cup.

Caramel Peanut Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar
25 g salted butter
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup salted peanuts

1. Melt brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan stirring constantly over medium heat.

2. When melted together, add cream and stir to mix. Let the mixture bubble for about 1 minute (stirring). Take off the heat and stir through salted peanuts. Let the sauce cool.

3. Spoon the caramel peanut glaze on top of the frosted cupcakes. If the caramel sets and is no longer oozy, microwave for 10 seconds to soften.

Assembling the cupcakes

1. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with the nozzle of your choice.

2. Spoon some caramel peanut glaze over the frosting, bits oozing down the side only add to its appeal.

3. Cupcakes will keep for around 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temp before serving. Best served with friends.

15 thoughts

  1. I think they’re beautiful…maybe it’s your photography :)

    Peanut butter is so magical, I’ve only grown to love it in the last few years but am making up for lost time.

    A pizza stone would be wonderful – I can never quite recreate what it does to the dough using just the oven.

    • Oh thank you Laura.

      Isn’t it just. Especially with cream cheese. Or chocolate. Or well, jam.

      Pizza ovens are out-of-this-world. We have the plans for it wayyy in advance to build one when we have our own house!

  2. These looks delicious – after making peanut butter cream cheese icing once I’m hooked but this recipe would take them to a whole new level! I love wood fired pizza and became the proud owner of a bbq/oven for Christmas and it makes our Friday pizza night into a real treat.

  3. OMG, I am so envious of your pizza oven! What a beauty! If I had one of those, I think I’d be making pizza every day… ok, maybe every second day.

    Your pizzas are absolutely mouth watering and I’m really happy you enjoyed my shaved asparagus and mushroom combination. Thanks for the link love, btw!

    As for those cupcakes? Oh my… :swoon:

    I don’t know how it is that you think they are not beautiful. They look DECADENT!

    Gorgeous pics, scrumptious food. Looks like a win to me! :)

  4. Goodness me you have interesting ideas about ugly things. These look perfectly, drippingly, sweet/salty-ly (yes, I made that word up) AMAZING!

    Keep the posts about ‘ugly’ things coming, I say!

  5. Ahhhhh so stoked you liked the cupcakes!! I reckon yours are gorgeous what are you talking about??? :) Am very jealous of your pizza oven. Shaved asparagus and mushroom pizza? Be still my beating heart! xox

    • Thanks Nessie – such a fantastic recipe! I know – we are so blessed to be able to use this pizza oven. It’s at our friend’s house, to which we are moving into very shortly (bring on the pizzas!).

  6. These look way too scrumptious to be called ugly! ;-) I (mentally) drooled over these cupcakes when I first saw them on Nessie’s blog but I’m close to drooling again! And that picture of the pizza… is terribly hunger-inducing!

  7. Pingback: Broccoli Goat Cheese Pizza « While Chasing Kids

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>