Peanut Butter Stuffed Hot Fudge Cupcakes

Yum. The name alone had me drooling. I had to try them! The chocolate cake is so moist and delicious, it's probably my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe I've ever made. I mean, it is just THAT good. And obviously, the addition of peanut butter doesn't hurt anything.

I think one of the key reasons why the cupcake is so moist is that you include some homemade hot fudge into the cupcake.

It makes the cupcake process a little longer, but it also makes a lot of extra hot fudge that lasts up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. So, if you don't want to just eat the leftover fudge with a spoon (or on ice cream, I suppose), and instead make MORE cupcakes, the baking process is significantly less the next time with the fudge already prepared.

Another bonus to this moist, soft cake is that when filling the cupcakes, it's not necessary to scoop out a hole first. You can just poke the piping tip into the cupcake and fill it right up! Then add some more to the top for some frosting!  And don't forget to drizzle some more of that hot fudge on top!

Delicious! This cupcake was definitely a crowd pleaser.

Peanut Butter Stuffed Hot Fudge Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

{recipe slightly adapted from Tasty Kitchen}

For the hot fudge:

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup boiling water or scalding milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine sugar, cocoa, salt and flour in bowl of double boiler. Bring water or milk to a boil in another saucepan or in the microwave. Gradually add hot liquid to sugar mixture. Stir constantly until mixture thickens
2. Once desired thickness is reached, remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Use fudge in cupcake batter, as directed (see below), and then to drizzle over baked cupcakes. Store the rest of the sauce in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

For the cupcakes:

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup homemade hot fudge (see above)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter and vanilla and mix until combined. Stir in sour cream.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add to wet mixture and mix until batter is smooth. Gently mix in fudge sauce.
4. Fill cupcake liners with batter about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean from the center. Cool cupcakes in pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

For the buttercream:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar (plus a possible additional 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon milk (have 1-2 extra tablespoons on hand)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Cream butter and peanut butter together in bowl of electric mixer. Add powdered sugar with mixer on low speed. Then gradually add milk and vanilla extract. If too thick, add more milk; if too thin, add more sugar.
2. Put frosting in pastry bag fitted with a tip. Poke a hole in the cooled cupcake with the pastry tip and fill the cupcake. Frost tops of cupcakes as desired. Drizzle with hot fudge sauce.