It was a real bakerella Sunday at my home. Not satisfied with just one variety, in addition to the Vanilla Cupcakes, I made these rich decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. I admit very humbly to my lack of self control when it comes to baking. But there comes this immense joy when I see my loved ones eating and more importantly, relishing what I make. Last night I made this wonderful Spinach, Avacado and Goats Cheese salad with Herb and Garlic infused ciabatta. My mouth was watering while I was making it, and while I fed it to all my parents friends who were over for a relaxed homely meal. Recipe follows soon! Untill then, feast on these glorious cupcakes.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes (adapted from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Joy of Vegan Baking)
Ingredients:
1. ½ cup peanut butter of choice
2. 1 ¼ cup milk
3. 1 ripe banana, mashed
4. I vanilla bean, split and insides removed and retained
5. 2 ½ cup all purpose flour, sifted
6. 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
7. 3 ½ tsp baking powder
8. 3 tbs unsweetened coca powder
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180*c. Line one normal sized and one mini cupcake mould tray. This recipe makes 12 normal sized and 12 mini cupcakes.
2. With an electric hand mixer, in a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, milk, banana and vanilla. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt & cocoa). The recipe calls for a LOT more baking powder than custom. But when you see the end result, you know exactly why! What comes out of the oven is a rich, dense, crunchy cupcake, yet soft and airy.
3. Mix in the dry ingredients to the wet, and ensure it mixes well. The batter is tough and thick, and you may need to use a spoon to mix by hand. But don’t worry- that’s how it’s meant to be!
2/3rds full
4. Using a ice cream scooper, fill the batter up to 2/3 of each liner and bake for 20-25 minutes. Once doon, leave to cool in the moulds before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Frost with any frosting of choice- I used the chocolate frosting that I made for the Vanilla Cupcakes, and even some cream cheese frosting from the Red Velvet recipe. You can experiment with the frostings, or have it without any at all!
Feedback:
1. I used Skippy’s Peanut Butter which was wonderful, and added a nice chunkiness to the cupcakes.
2. When mixing the batter, add one cup of the dry ingredients into the wet at a time, to ensure that the batter mixes well. This batter thickens as you add the dry ingredients, so make sure you add it in bit by bit.
