Last week was Jason’s birthday. I wanted to make cupcakes so they could easily be shared, and who doesn’t love the classic pairing of chocolate and peanut butter? I adapted my brownie recipe into one that is more cake like, but with the chewy dense brownie characteristic. I like that in a cupcake.
You know what else I like in a cupcake? A surprise middle.
peanut butter chocolate cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes
1/2 cup agave
1 can pumpkin (15oz)
2 eggs (Ener-G egg replacer)
3 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup ap flour (gluten free)
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
peanut butter for cupcake filling
Combine agave and pumpkin – add egg and vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder, add to sugar mixture. Fill muffin cups half way, place 1/2 tablespoon peanut butter in center, fill muffins with remaining batter.
Bake @ 350 for 30-35 minutes* or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
*These cooked in 30 minutes in my oven; a reader made them and while they turned out well, it took 50 minutes in his oven.
Cool completely before frosting.
peanut butter frosting
peanut butter
powdered sugar
water
I started out with 1 cup peanut butter and 2 cups powdered sugar. Added water to thin slightly, whip by hand until completely smooth. Add powdered sugar to desired consistency – I wanted the frosting to hold a swirl.
While these cupcakes were for Jason’s birthday, something exciting is happening today that just may need it’s own dessert.
I am honored and excited to be a contributor with gojee – a new recipe site launching today! Gojee, named for the Himalayan berry, is a cooking site showcasing recipes from home cooks. Gojee can recommend recipes based on food you already have, and you can link to a grocery market loyalty card.
I am thrilled to be among amazing company – gojee has hand picked many great recipes from exceptionally talented people! I already have many saved as favorites, and have met some new friends as well. I hope you will visit – we are all very excited today!
{ 78 comments… read them below or add one }
I love cupcakes with surprise middles
These look perfect for a birthday!
Happy bday to Jason!!!! and congrats on your collaboration with Gojee! <3 so excited for you!
These cupcakes look incredible!!
Happy belated birthday to Jason!
The cupcakes look like *the* burner, especially with the filling! 
I’ll check that new site!
Looks very cool! And you’re on page one of the contributors!
(At least as I checked it.)
I love the addition of pumpkin in these! So clever!
Mmm, I love the peanut butter surprise in the center! So fun.
You are definitely doing what you’re meant to do. How do I know? *Because you’re doing it! * Congratulations on your new gig!!! LOVE that picture of you, and certainly noticed you are the first one listed
Leave it to me to notice something like that. HA!
Happy belated b-day to Jason…the Spa Bettie husband I almost met…BAH! Who needs teeth anyway? LOL! Those cupcakes look amazing! I’d take a big bite in the middle just to get all that peanut buttery goodness out of there STAT!
xoxo!
Ok those look fantastic and I’m not even a chocolate lover. I guess it’s the PB speaking to me
And congrats my friend. How awesome!!!
gojee weeeee!! congrats kris. I am not surprised though, you are amazing!
Congratulations on gojee! You definitely have one of the most attractive food blogs out there. Today’s cupcakes are no exception!
Oh my god, these look unreal!!! Congrats on the gig with gojee, so cool!
Congrats on the gojee collaboration, you fit right in with all of them!!! Such a fun site, and gorgeous pics! I have bookmarked many recipes already, and love the idea of finding a recipe based on ingredients on hand! Thanks for sharing and congrats again, Kris!
Happy Birthday to Jason, his cupcakes look incredible!
Is there a way to print out this recipe? Thanks. Mary
Congrats on being featured on Gojee. I actually just came across your site through Gojee today and am SO pleased I did. If for no other reason than these cupcakes, which look fantastic.
hello, Rivki! thanks for the gojee congrats – another reason I love it is that it puts me in touch with new blog friends like you!
hope you have a great weekend!!
Congrats on Gojee!!!!!! That’s awesome!
And a surprise middle?! That is so me! I mean, cupcakes should have tons of frosting on top AND in the middle. Makes me so much happier
thanks, Averie! I was pretty excited about gojee… and YES to the frosting – I consider cake just a vehicle for more frosting, really.
have a great holiday weekend!!
Peanut butter + chocolate = yum.
Even better that they’re gluten free and I can make them for my gf friends!
hi Betty – indeed you can – I hope they enjoy!
The cupcakes look perfect! Great combination and perfect surprise in the center! Congrats on the site! I will definitely check it out!
thank you Sarena! I was pretty excited about it… hope you all have a great weekend! <3
Ummmm you know my address right? You can send some of those this way (PLEASE!) haha
ha. yep… if I knew a cupcake would hold up, you’d have one on it’s way to you! XO have a FAB weekend, dear!
Cruel! What a fabulous-looking post, at a time when I’m in a nut-butter free country and *fixated* on PB and chocolate! Happy birthday + 7 to Jason and BIG congrats on Gojee! I can’t think of anyone whose recipes I’d rather see there—the Jalapeno popper sandwhich is my fave comfort food!
oh, I’m SO sorry, Stephanie!! I did it to you once with that bread – now these. I’ll lay off for a while, and perhaps think of something you DON’T like…
OK, first of all (!!), those cupcakes look so amazing and they are GF & vegan! You’re a genius, my friend, so it’s no surprise to me that you are part of something fresh and new with other amazing cooks and recipe creators. I’m so excited for you and Gojee! What a fun name, too.
xoxo
isn’t gojee a fun name? I thought so too…
thanks for the shout out on my cupcakes today – very sweet. Happy Birthday to Bird-Dad. hope you all have a great holiday weekend! xo
Oh my lord those look sooooooooooooooo good!
now I want chocolate peanut butter!!!
hi Tara! thank you… they were pretty epic and made the birthday boy happy
hope you have a great holiday weekend! <3
that filling looks perfect!
thanks, Brandi! it was just plain peanut butter for the filling – Mmm!
PB n’ Chocolate? What’s not to love?
Have a good weekend.
thanks, Tiff – you too, enjoy the holiday!
Those are gorgeous! And the pairing of peanut butter and chocolate is a timeless classic.
thanks, Janetha!
nothing beats choc + pb, right? hope you guys have a great holiday weekend!!
You gluten free bakers make me so happy… and wish I could find gluten-free flour in my supermarkets so I could join in on the fun y’all are having with these!
These cupcakes not only look beautiful, but the ingredient list makes me want to give them a shot. Thanks for sharing!
thanks, Erin! you cannot find any gluten free flours? I’m so sorry… you could make almond flour / almond meal from raw almonds if you have a food processor…
I hadn’t seen any in the stores around here, and when I went grocery shopping last week, I stumbled upon some! So that’s good to know… and it’s also good to know about the almond flour/meal from the raw almonds with a food processor.
Thanks!
oh, GOOD, I’m so glad it’s available to you! but yes, pretty easy to make your own too
(the almond meal is not as fine as flour, but it’s useful for many things!)
These look good….just wondering what “ap flour” is though?
Hi Jackie! sorry, ap is all purpose flour
Thanks!
When you say can of pumpkin what size are you describing??? Want to make these for my birthday this week!
- Samantha
http://flavorator.blogspot.com/
Hi Samantha – sorry, I’m going to edit the recipe & add the size, so thank you! the small / “normal” size of pumpkin – I think they are 15 ounces?
Oh my word. Love this combo!
No butter in the frosting? Interesting! I use butter in my PB frosting but would love to cut it out
hi Gina! yep, I this was kindof an experiment… I even had earth balance in the fridge, I just wanted to try it, and it worked! I just kept adding and stirring (thus the no measurements…) and got it to a great consistency! it stayed firm and in peaks, and was TASTY!
Congrats on Gojee!
The cupcakes look amazing—I am definitely a fan of surprise middles…and the peanut butter/chocolate combo. Dense and chocolate-y….mmmmm!
Love your pics, as usual. Hope you have a fabulous day, Kristina
Congrats on being a contributor for the new site – I’ll have to check it out!
These look yummy – it’s funny because a year ago I’d read recipes with brown rice flour and agave and think “what the heck?!” but now those are staples in my pantry. I think I’ve become 80-90% gluten free, and try to replace granulated sugar for agave whenever possible.
These look wonderful…..I lo0ve peanut butter and chocolate together. Thank you!
isn’t it the best combination?
What an exciting day! Congratulations on the new gig! Oh, and chocolate and peanut butter!? Best combination on the face of the planet! Those look awesome.
thank you, Krista! I’m excited
and YES indeed – chocolate and peanut butter were MEANT for each other!!
oh wow…. so BEAUTIFUL!!!!
next on my list.
cocoa…
sigh….
but my list IS getting shorter LOL
and CONGRATS ON GOGEEEEEEEE – you are so deserving – yay!
yay for shorter lists, assembling, and people coming to YOU for recipes!!
XXO! hope your weekend is wonderful, my friend!
1) Those look soooo scrumptious!!!!
2) Congrats on the new recipe site, sounds great!
hi Val!! thank you, and Thank You!!
hope you’re enjoying a great weekend!
I keep hearing amazing things about Gojee! Congrats!
Those cupcakes look delicious…I also love a more dense chocolate cake, so this sounds great.
thank you Lenore! I’m pretty excited to be a part of gojee… and YES to the cake – I love a dense cake!!
YUM, these look amazing. I’m one of those people who strongly believe that chocolate and peanut butter belong together! I love your muffin wrappers – so cute!
thanks! I have a few fun muffin / cupcake wrappers – makes a cupcake THAT much more fun!
ahhhhhh dont do this to me!!!
these look amazingggggggg.
thanks, Shannon!
hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!!
Woo Hoo! Congrats on Gojee! I’m very excited for you and will be checking it out. Have a great 4th!!!
thank you, Roz – gojee is pretty cool, I know you’ll love it! I already have many recipes favorited, and have used it with the ingredient search many times already!
hope you are having a great holiday weekend also!!
pb and chocolate = best.combo.ever.
indeed. agreed!!
HOLY MAMA! These look INCREDIBLE! I mean, really really incredible! You are SO talented with the photography and, of course, the food!
Love the simplicity of these.
thank you!! after our lovely friend Kris tweeted, I went to look for your cupcakes
you have some awesome ones, my favorite was the COOKIE.
I confess that I like these sooo much better than the jalapeno poppers “stand.”
Yum!
xo,
Shirley
ahh, okay, Shirley, I know what you like now!
I understand, until just a couple years ago I didn’t like anything spicy or any hot peppers. I still don’t like things that are SO hot that it overpowers any flavor and I CRY, but jalapenos are flavorful to me. I know they are not for everyone, though. XXO!
drool drool drool drool – love choc/pb together! Mmm! And congrats on being a contributor – so exciting!
thank you SO much, I was really excited!
I mean this in the nicest way but I hate you!!! I am throwing my mouse at the computer in utter jealousy right now. This cupcake is precisely what I wanted to make for my dad’s birthday this week. But 4 failed batches later, I had to give up. How did you learn how to do all of this?? (and by “this” I mean bake GF/Vegan). Man. Okay, jealousy leaving now. These look absolutely delicious and they sound like they actually taste like a cupcake. Lucky
oh, trust me, Cara, there have been MANY failed attempts in my kitchen! the vegan is not too difficult, flax or chia really do well as egg replacers, and the Ener-G powder was my first egg replacer! gluten free is the more difficult challenge, and I still have results that aren’t exactly as expected.
these cupcakes were good – they were more dense, like a pound cake, but that’s okay because we both like that!
the ‘normal’ cake crumb and texture is more difficult to achieve with gluten free methods, but I keep trying!
yes, all of the desserts in your parade look tasty, this has to be my favorite, nothing more classic than choc pb!!
I made these for a birthday party today and they were delicious! I love the texture, more like a brownie or a chocolate pound cake? the frosting was easy and fun to work with too – I never knew it could be!
made these for a party last night – made them mini – everyone approved! thank you so much, this is a delicious cake!
{ 4 trackbacks }