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This is the best combo - swirled chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter buttercream!

There is only one thing better than chocolate and peanut butter right now.

This is the best combo - swirled chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter buttercream!

Gluten free cheerios!!! You’re probably laughing at me.. but I haven’t had cheerios in 8 years. It was a sad, long, cheerio-less time. When General Mills announced they were making gluten free cheerios, it was a great day, almost as good as the day Ryan asked me to marry him :)

I’ve been stalking the cereal aisle like it’s my third job (first job = nanny and second job = blog). Even if we were just at the store a few days ago and we were there again picking up something else, we had to walk down the cereal aisle. I even resorted to calling grocery stores to see if they had them.

One weekend we were at the store and I told Ryan I was just going to peak down the cereal aisle to see if they had them, I looked quickly and I couldn’t find them. I told Ryan I couldn’t find them as he was walking down the aisle, he took a second glance and TA DA!! He found them! I proceeded to hug the box while we finished our shopping and I opened it literally right after we walked out the door. Cheerios have never tasted so good.

This is the best combo - swirled chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter buttercream!

To get to the point, I’m in this honeymoon period with cheerios right now (I just found the apple cinnamon ones this past weekend!!!) so nothing compares to them.

But I’m sure in a few months, the novelty will wear off and chocolate and peanut butter will regain their #1 spot as the best thing ever.

This is the best combo - swirled chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter buttercream!

Let’s talk about how to swirl the cupcake batter and how to swirl the buttercream.

For the batter – alternate between the chocolate and peanut butter batter when adding it to the muffin pan. Use a skinny knife to swirl the batter together on the top. I don’t like sticking the knife down too far because that can lead to the tops looking wonky.

For the buttercream – I’ve tried all the methods for swirling buttercream frosting and the one I like best and happens to be the simplest is the “put one buttercream on one side of the piping bag and the other buttercream on the other side of the piping bag”. Genius. The trick is to try to get the same amount of buttercream on each side so they come out evenly together.

Now, who’s ready for some chocolate & PB?!

This is the best combo - swirled chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter buttercream!
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

By: Beth
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Peanut butter and chocolate are swirled in both the cupcakes AND the frosting!

Ingredients 

Chocolate Cupcakes

  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ½ cup flour
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • tsp salt
  • ½ stick butter, room temperature (1/4 cup)
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 2.5 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 tbsp melted chocolate, cooled

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

  • ½ cup + 1 tbsp flour
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2.5 tbsp peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ tsp vanilla

Chocolate Buttercream

  • 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening
  • ¾ cup cocoa
  • 2-2.5 cups powdered sugar

Peanut Butter Buttercream

  • 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening
  • ¾ cup peanut butter
  • 2-4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions 

Chocolate Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
  • In a small mixing bowl, combine the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently mix using a spoon.
  • In a larger mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla, lightly beat.
  • Add in the sour cream and melted chocolate, mix by hand using a spatula.
  • Add half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, do not dump it in, rather take spoonfuls of the flour mixture and gently shake it over the wet ingredients, as if you were sifting in the flour. Fold in the mixture until no flour remains. Repeat with the other half of the flour, folding it in and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate everything. Set aside.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

  • In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the peanut butter, oil, and brown sugar, beat together using an electric mixer. Add in the egg and vanilla, beat again. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating between the two and mixing by hand until everything is incorporated.
  • Begin to add the batter into the pan, alternating between chocolate and peanut butter. Fill the cupcake liners almost completely full with batter.
  • Place the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Allow the cupcakes to cool for about 3 minutes in the pan, then take them out and allow them to cool upside down on a cooling rack. This will help create cupcakes with a dome top.
  • Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding the frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream

  • In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and vegetable shortening, beat using an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the cocoa powder, and gently mix by hand with a spatula.
  • Begin to add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing by hand first, then with the electric mixer. Continue adding powdered sugar until the frosting tastes good to you.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

  • In a mixing large bowl, combine the butter and vegetable shortening, beat using an electric mixer until fluffy.
  • Add in the peanut butter, beat using electric mixer.
  • Begin to add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing by hand first, then with the electric mixer. Continue adding powdered sugar until the frosting tastes good to you.

To frost the cupcakes

  • In a piping bag fit with a wilton 6B piping tip, do your best to add chocolate buttercream to one side of the bag and peanut butter buttercream to the other. Push the buttercream down into the bag. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes, starting on the outside edge and working your way into the center, progressively stacking the frosting as you get to the center.

Nutrition

Calories: 712kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 435mg | Potassium: 285mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 657IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg
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About Beth

I believe that everyone should have a go-to dessert to bring to parties! With hundreds of recipes, I'll help you find yours!

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39 Comments

  1. OMG, look at these handsome bad guys! They look gorgeous and I bet taste fantastic. Count me on, please. There’s one problem, Beth – I’m trying not to bake anything dangerous. But if you send me a few cupcakes, I’ll forgive you:)

  2. Beth, your both is just exploding! These cupcakes not only look extraordinary but your photos are absolutely incredible! What a talent. 

  3. Yay for GF Cheerios, so glad you found them :) And these cupcakes are beyond adorable! I love that gorgeous swirl!

  4. These are just beautiful! I love how the bottom are swirled. And peanut butter is my favorite so I know I would just love these.

  5. Mmmmm, these chocolate PB cupcakes look absolutely divine and droolicious. Loved your stunning pictures too! :=

  6. These are just too pretty!  Love the swirl in the cupcake and the frosting!  And there isn’t much better than chocolate and peanut butter!!!

  7. Beth, since you are gluten free, do you not get to taste any of these baked creations such as these cupcakes you make? I was looking for gluten-free options on your blog, but it seems your baked goods are made with wheat flour. Do you have any recipes for sweets that use gluten-free flours?

    1. Hi Kristina! Great question! I use an all purpose gluten free flour as a one for one substitute. I’ve been jumping between brands, sometimes using local brands, but right now I really like the new Pillsbury All Purpose Gluten Flour! If you get a high quality gluten free flour, using that as a one for one substitute should be no problem!

  8. Made these today and they were good but my chocolate batter was super thick which caused them to be a little dry. Nothing a good amount of ice cream couldn’t overcome :o) but just wondering if all the amounts above are correct since my batter seemed overly thick?

    Great recipe though I totally enjoyed them!

    1. Hi Sarah! The batter will be thicker, definitely not runny at all, but scoop-able with a cookie scoop. Is it possible that you over baked them? We tested our chocolate cupcake recipe 6 different times and we truly love this one!