recipe: chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting

decided to make some cupcakes last night for work today... if i'm eating poorly in the new year, everyone should eat poorly in the new year (or eating fantastically, however you want to look at it).  i had made this peanut butter frosting from Brown Eyed Baker before when i made peanut butter ice cream cupcakes and LOVED it. so creamy, light (tasting : ) , and perfectly peanut buttery and sweet. i didn't have a go-to chocolate cupcake base recipe, but after i lot of time trying to find a PLAIN chocolate cupcake recipe saw a solid one at Bakerella. 

ingredients list (for 12 cupcakes): 

cake: 

- half of (18.5) pkg dark chocolate cake mix

- half of (3.4) pkg instant chocolate pudding

- 1/2 cup sour cream

- 1/4 cup warm water

- half of 1/3 cup vegetable oil (i don't know what half of 1/3 equates to...!)

- 2 eggs

- 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

icing:

- 1 cup confectioners' sugar

- 1 cup creamy peanut butter

- 5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract

- 1/4 tsp kosher salt

- 1/3 cup heavy cream

to make cakes: preheat oven to 350 degrees. prep cupcake pan with baking cups. in large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and mix 2 minutes on medium speed, then 3 minutes on medium-high. stir in chocolate chips. spoon into cupcakes pans, then bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

to make icing: place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla & salt in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. mix on medium-low speed until creamy, then add in the cream and beat on high speed until mixture is light & creamy. 

ice the cakes & decorate them up.

***

LOOOVE these. i dropped a mini reeses PB cup into the middle of the cupcake batter for an extra hit of PB. the cupcakes themselves tasted like gigantic peanut butter cups. they are so messy to eat (i had PB on my nose, mouth, and chin), but that makes it all the better. these weren't my cutest cupcakes (i put the wrong tip on the icing bag and couldn't get a handle on it), but they tasted yum so it's OK. 8.5********~.