Chocolate Cupcakes With A Twist

These are not your ordinary cupcakes, there is a secret hidden inside. Within the chocolate cake there is a creamy marshmallow filling which is a substitute for your frosting. This recipe is another original from Martha Stewart and her famous Cakes cookbook, helped me successfully pull this recipe off. From Martha's book I learned that, "Cocoa powder gives baked goods a deeper, rounder, flavor than when made with solid chocolate alone" (316). Using cocoa powder can give a milder and darker color really bringing out the flavors in a recipe. This original cupcake recipe only makes about 12 cupcakes so I decided to double the recipe so I would be able to have more to share.

Ingredients:  

1 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for pan

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (12 tablespoons or 1 1/2 blocks)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups marshmallow cream

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat two 12 standard muffin cups with cooking spray, then dust with cocoa, tapping out excess. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using a mixer, beat in eggs, buttermilk, oil, and 3/4 cup water on medium until smooth, about 3 minutes.




Dry Ingredients

Liquid Ingredients

 

2. Divide batter among cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes and let cool completely.

3. In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter on high until fluffy, 3 minutes; fold in marshmallow topping. Transfer to a zip-lock bag and cut off one corner to make a 1/2-inch opening.

*Transferring the filling is difficult so here are some easy steps you can follow:

 -Fold the top of the bag over into a cuff and hold with one hand. Fill the bag about half way with the filling, filling it too much will make it more messy. Unfold the cuff, twist the top, and push the frosting towards the tip. I recommend snipping the corner of the bag for easy use (Stewart 323).

4. With a melon baller, or small scooping tool, scoop out the center of each cupcake base and set aside (these pieces will plug cupcakes after filling). Hollow out each cupcake a bit more, throw away the crumbs. Fill the cupcake with the peanut butter mixture and place the plugs back in. You can refrigerate these for up to a week in an airtight container. To serve, dust with confectioners' sugar.

 

 

 

Recipes like this will take patience because they are very time consuming. In the end you won't regret it because it tastes delicious! For my first time making these cupcakes I am happy to say it was successful and fun to do. It was a new way to make cupcakes and something I had never done before. I would highly recommend to anyone who likes chocolate and peanut butter!
As someone who always likes to try new things, what are some of your favorite and unique recipes?
Stewart, Martha. Cakes. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2013. Print.