Because chocolate and PB were meant to be together…

*Sorry, no SMS this week.  Jaime of Good Eats ’n Sweet Treats chose wonderful Bee Stings, and you simply must check out her wonderful blog (Seriously, not only is the blog itself cute, but you should see the stuff she bakes!  Jaime equals pure awesomeness.) and all of the other SMS’ers.

Allison being a diligent whisker. 

The phone call went something like this: “Elyse, I want to bake.  I’m coming over to bake.”  Short.  Sweet.  To the point.  So, I asked Allison what she wanted to bake.  I should’ve known that such an assertive gal would have a ready answer, “Something with chocolate and peanut butter.”  Well, how could I refuse?  Chocolate and peanut butter?  I knew Allison and I were friends for a reason!

 Allison pouring batter like a champ.

Allison arrived in Berkeley, and I put her to work.  First, we made chocolate cupcakes.  Talk about a super simple recipe!  The cupcakes came together so easily; no mixer required.  We even threw a few peanut butter chips into the mix for good measure.  The cupcakes turned out wonderfully moist with a tender crumb.

While the cupcakes were baking, we beat together marshmallow fluff and peanut butter to make an ooey, gooey, delicious (and sticky) filling.  After pulling the cupcakes from the oven, we carved out the tops and popped little balls of the peanut butter filling into the holes.  The PB-marshmallow mixture is super easy to handle; you can just roll it between the palms of your hands and stuff it down into the cupcake.

Then, we whipped up a marshmallowy, Swiss meringue-inspired frosting.  Fluffy and light, this frosting is the perfect counterpart to the super chocolatey cupcake.  We used an ice cream scoop to assure that each cupcake got a good amount of frosting love, and then, we smooth the whopping dollop out with a knife.

Frosting a cupcake and avoiding the camera (above, below).

Of course, the cuppies were topped with three mini-PB cups (from Trader Joe’s).  Overall, the baking day was a complete success!  Allison is certainly a good luck charm in the kitchen, and heaven knows, sometimes we need a little luck in the kitchen.  The cakes rose.  The frosting fluffed.  What more could I ask for?

*Don’t forget about the coconut flour giveaway.  You can leave a comment on THIS POST until 11:59pm PST on Wednesday, June 3.

Chocolate Cupcakes

From Birthday Cakes

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup warm water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup PB chips, coated in flour

(1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners (*I got more than 12 cupcakes from this recipe.).

(2) In a medium sized bowl, whisk the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.  Set aside.

(3) Dissolve the cocoa in the warm water.  Using a whisk, beat in the eggs, oil, and vanilla (by hand) until well combined.  Gradually whisk in the dry ingredients just until the batter is evenly mixed.  Fold in the PB chips.

(4) Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them three-quarters of the way full.  Bake until toothpick comes out clean, approximately 25-30 minutes.  Let cupcakes cool on wire rack before filling and frosting.

(5) Carve out the top of the cupcakes with a knife.  Fill the indentation with 1/2 tsp ball of the PB filling (see recipe below).

(6) Using an ice cream scoop, place 1 dollop of fluffy frosting on each cupcake (see recipe below).  Using an offset spatula or a butter knife, smooth the frosting out.

PB Filling

1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth

1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Beat the two ingredients together until the mixture becomes clumpy in consistency.  Use to fill the cupcakes.

Fluffy Frosting

From Birthday Cakes

3/4 cup sugar

3 large egg whites

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

(1) In a double boiler, combine the sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, and salt over low heat.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.

(2) Remove from heat and stir in the extract.  Let the frosting cool completely before frosting cupcakes.

 Yep, that about sums it up.