Fudgy brownie cupcakes covered in creamy peanut butter frosting.
What is happening?? Has it really been over a MONTH since my last peanut butter recipe?!?? So shameful.
Let’s just make up for that disgrace with an over-the-top, yet completely simple brownie cupcake. The cupcake itself is so fudgy and rich, that I could almost just eat it plain. But I knew these fudgy brownie cupcakes were the perfect canvas for peanut butter.
This frosting! Be still my heart. I originally planned to top these fudgy brownie cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, but let’s be serious. I immediately reached for the peanut butter jar after the cupcakes cooled. It’s a simple frosting recipe, really. And my secret ingredient is the heavy cream.
Trust me on this. Heavy cream is a frosting’s dream come true. It creates the smoothest, fluffiest frosting on earth. Plus, it makes the frosting so easy to pipe or slather on the cupcake. And yes. It is impossible not to swipe a taste from the frosting bowl.
If you’re loving this spin on brownies, be sure to try my brownie cupcakes with cookie dough frosting next.
Sidenote: I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to frost these. Feel free to just swirl the frosting on with a knife or use another piping tip. I love the 1M though… it creates pretty swirls like a soft serve ice cream cone!
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Fudge Brownie Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 10-12 cupcakes
- Category: Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fudgy brownie cupcakes topped with creamy peanut butter frosting.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Peanut Butter Frosting
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- chocolate sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Make the cupcakes: Melt butter in the microwave in a large microwave safe bowl. Mix in the sugar until smooth and microwave for about 1 minute. Stir the mixture until smooth again. Whisk in the vanilla and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the salt, baking powder, cocoa powder, and flour. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and stir until completely combined.
- Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 full. Bake in the prepared muffin tin for about 8-10 minutes (mine took a little under 9 minutes). Allow to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: Using an electric handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute until completely smooth and creamy. Add the peanut butter and beat on medium-high speed until the two are combined. Add the confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on low speed for about 20 seconds, then gradually increase to high speed. Beat on high for 1 minute. Frost cooled cupcakes. Top with chocolate sprinkles, if desired.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature. Frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. Decorate/assemble cupcakes immediately before serving. Leftover cupcakes keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 3 days. Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-cup Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bags (Disposable or Reusable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Boxed Mix: You could easily use boxed brownie mix as a shortcut, but you would need to adjust the frosting accordingly since the peanut butter frosting recipe below only makes enough for 10-12 cupcakes.
- Quantity: Depending on how full you fill the muffin tins, you could get anywhere from 8-12 cupcakes. I fill mine about 2/3 full.
There is no guidelines for determining doneness. At 9 minutes, my toothpick came out with batter on it. It took until 18 – 19 minutes before the toothpick came out clean. The cupcakes ended up being very dry. I batter tasted delicious, but the cupcake did not. I also doubled the recipe and only ended up with 17 cupcakes. Will not make again.
Hi Bonnie, we’re sorry you were dissatisfied with this recipe. For future reference, brownies/brownie cupcakes are done when a *few* moist crumbs come out on the toothpick. A clean toothpick will usually mean dry brownies. Hope this is helpful for the future, and thank you for giving this one a try!
These were so good! The frosting was pretty salty so I left out the salt. The frosting would also be great on vanilla or peanut butter cupcakes yum! It was like a peanut butter cloud.
Pretty easy and good. The icing is beyond amazing. One complaint is that the cake is really dense and small. These cupcakes are so rich and you only want to eat one at a time.