Anna's Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These are actually called 'Reese's Peanut Butter Cupcakes' but I've named them after my friend Anna who first made them, and gave me the recipe and is a whole load of unfulfilled baking talent in one little person. Anna can bake, won't bake. Oh occasionally, a couple of times a year, just enough to leave you wanting more, she'll churn out a spectacular coconut and raspberry cake (that she just 'threw' together from two different recipes) or chocolate filled cookies or these amazing cupcakes but it is only usually after months of begging, pleading and threatening then resorting to throwing a tea party (and asking everyone to bring something) before she'll actually bake. My hope is that she'll read this and be guilted into baking for me once a week. Okay, okay, once a month.


These are really lovely! The recipe is actually by Gizzi Erskine and was featured in a sunday paper as part of a 'We heart SATC' feature (so you know they're going to be good!) The cupcake is chocolate flavoured with bits of Reese's cups in them and the frosting is peanut butter flavoured ... yum! 


Makes: 18 (I found it made 12)
Prep time: 15 mins
Calories per cupcake: 328 (Why you need this info I have no idea! But they've supplied it, so I'm giving it)
Fat per cupcake: 21g (All you need to know is I took out all the calories and fat before I wrote down this recipe so no need to worry about that ;D)


Ingredients
170g softened butter
170g golden caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
170g self-raising flour
3tbsp cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder
3-4tbsp milk
1tsp vanilla extract (I use flavouring so I used 2 tsps)
6 Reese's peanut butter cups or 1/2 Snickers Bar, chopped into small pieces


For the peanut butter frosting
200g peanut butter
170g icing sugar
150ml full-fat cream cheese


To decorate 
Reese's Peanut Butter cups or peanuts (I used 3 Reese's cups, chopped up)


1 - Preheat the oven to 170ºC/325ºF/Gas Mark 3.
2 - Put 18 Cupcake cases in the holes of 2 Yorkshire pudding or muffin tins
3 - Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk for around 5 minutes, or until pale and creamy.

4 - Whisk in the eggs, one by one. you may find the mixture curdles a little when you pop in your last egg but it should come together again when you add the flour.
5 - Sift over the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder and stir in. Loosen the mixture with the milk and the vanilla extract. You want the batter to fall off the spoon easily - if you think it's too thick, add another tbsp on milk.

6 - Stir in the chopped Reese's Peanut Butter cups or Snickers. Divide the mixture between the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. You can check this by sliding a skewer into the cake - if it comes out clean, they're done.

7 - Leave the cakes to cook in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer them carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.

8 - To make the peanut butter frosting, beat the peanut butter with the icing sugar and cream cheese for a few minutes, or until smooth

There are no rules when it comes to icing a cupcake except to pile it on thick, so whether you want to use a knife or piping bag, give them some shape or make them smooth, the choice is yours. Decorate with chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or peanuts.