Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Cupcakes: Step by Step

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Heat the oven to 180°C / 355°F and line a 12-hole muffin tin.

   Mark done

2. Beat 115 g butter, 100 g peanut butter and the brown sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

   Mark done Start 3 min timer

3. Fold in the flour, baking powder and salt alternately with the buttermilk. Fill the cases two thirds full.

   Mark done

4. Bake for 22 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely.

   Mark done Start 22 min timer

5. Beat the buttercream butter, peanut butter, icing sugar and milk until fluffy. Swirl onto the cupcakes and drizzle with the melted chocolate.

   Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

What Can Go Wrong

1. Use a stabilised smooth peanut butter.
2. Do not overfill the cases.
3. Frost only when completely cool.

Ingredient Swaps

• Out of buttermilk? The usual stand-in is a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar stirred into 250 ml of ordinary milk and left five minutes; it is thinner than cultured buttermilk, so a batter may need a little less of it.

Good to Know About Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Most home versions come out dry and crumbly, and the fix is to add enough fat and moisture to offset the dryness of peanut butter. Peanut butter is a very dense ingredient, and in a cake it absorbs liquid, so a batter that looks right on the spoon can bake into something dry and heavy. A generous amount of buttermilk and oil balances it.

The cake is made from both peanut butter and butter, creamed with brown sugar for a molasses-like depth. Brown sugar is moister than white, which helps keep the crumb soft. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until the batter is smooth. Use a standard smooth peanut butter rather than natural, since the natural type separates in the batter.

Fill the cases two thirds full. Peanut butter batter is thick and rises less than a plain sponge, so it is tempting to overfill, but that produces cupcakes with cracked, sunken tops. A measured scoop gives even portions and keeps the baking time consistent.

Beat the buttercream from butter, peanut butter and icing sugar, with a splash of milk, until fluffy. Swirl it on once the cupcakes are completely cold. A drizzle of melted dark chocolate and a few chopped roasted peanuts on top add a contrast of textures.

To Go With It

Cold milk · Coffee · Hot chocolate · Fresh bananas

Keeping Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Keeps in an airtight container for 3 days.

Questions People Ask

Peanut Butter Cupcakes Nutrition Facts

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Your own rating out of 5

5 stars★ 4 stars★ 3 stars★ 2 stars★ 1 star★

Your note

Save note

Private to you: notes and ratings are saved in this browser only, are never sent anywhere, and other readers cannot see them.