Chocolate and coffee and Reese’s…oh, my! Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? If you think the title is awesome, you should taste the cupcakes! No fooling, these are the best cupcakes I’ve ever eat warm out of the oven…while the peanut butter cup was still gooey. And they’re fabulous when they’re cooled and frosted with dark chocolate ganache, too. That’s dark chocolate ganache with the extra peanut butter cups melted in. You heard me. Wipe the drool off your chin, and I’ll tell you how I made them. It all starts with a cake mix, so it’s easier than you think.
Dark Chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup-Cakes:
• One Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix
• One cup of your leftover morning coffee (room temp)
• 1/3 cup Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Syrup
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 jumbo (or extra-large) eggs
• One 12-oz. package of miniature Reese’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Preheat your oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat everything but the peanut butter cups together with a mixer for 2-3 minutes, until everything is combined and fluffy. Place 24 cupcake liners into muffin pans. I like to use an ice cream scoop to make sure each cupcake is the same size. Once filled, unwrap the miniature peanut butter cups and press one into the top of each cupcake, just until level with the top of the cupcake batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remember, the peanut butter cup will be in the center, so you may want to test the cupcake closer to the edge. Once done, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pans. Remove from the muffin pans and place them onto baking racks to cool completely.
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache:
• One 11.5-oz. bag of Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips (63% cacao)
• One cup of heavy whipping cream, just brought to a gentle boil
• The leftover peanut butter cups (I had 10 leftover from above)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of powdered sugar, as needed (read instructions below)
In a large mixing bowl, combine the chocolate chips and leftover peanut butter cups (unwrapped, of course). Pour the hot whipping cream over the chocolate and allow to sit and soften for 3-4 minutes. Using a mixer, slowly beat the chocolate and cream until mostly combined, then turn the power up to high and beat until smooth. Turn the mixer speed back down to low and slowly add powdered sugar just until the ganache starts to thicken. Remember, ganache thickens some on its own, so you don’t need to mix too much sugar in. I say mix it up, let it sit for 30-45 minutes, then decided if you want it thicker or not. If you’d rather dip the tops of your cupcakes into the ganache, you can omit the powdered sugar all together. The ganache without the powdered sugar will give you a glossy chocolate glaze. The ganache with the powdered sugar will give you a thicker, spreadable frosting that will not be glossy. It’s really just a matter of personal preference. I used the powdered sugar and made mine thick so I could really pile it on. Either way, make sure your cupcakes are completely cooled before frosting. There’s only one last thing you’ll need for these: a really big glass of cold milk. I’d share, but these are going to Austin this weekend for my daughter’s birthday. Maybe next time.
Note: Special thanks to my cupcake muse, Jennifer at Jane Deere Blog. She made something similar for her son’s birthday last week, which inspired me to create my own version for my daughter. Thanks, Jennifer! You can see her little masterpieces at: http://janedeereblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/peanut-butter-cup-cupcakes.html
Inside NanaBread's Head 
Looks amazing!
They smell and taste amazing, too! Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. If you get around to making these, drop back in and let me know what you think!
You seriously need to stop posting things like this or the seams on my leggings are going to burst.
Sorry! Better to post it all than to eat it all, right? I wish I could mail you one. They smell as good as they taste. Just curious…which takes up more space in your leggings – one cupcake or a Tremendous Twelve? Cat got your tongue, sir? heeheeheehahahahahasnort!
YUM! I wish I could make these for my nephew who is serving in Afghanistan- can’t send soft things (get crushed/mushed/mooshed/squeezed…you get the drift). He LOVES RPBCs! I’ll make them for him when he comes home next Thanksgiving!
Thanks for posting!
You’re very welcome! Hope he enjoys them, and I hope he has a safe deployment and trip home in November. My thoughts will be with him!
WOO HOOO!!! Can I just say (once and only once – pinkie swear) — MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YUM! I’m going to have to get back to the “protein shake, healthy eating, running my booty off” grind but, MAN AM I GLAD THESE ARE COMIN’ MY WAY!! Love you, Mom!
I just said I was bringing the cupcakes to Austin. I didn’t say I was sharing them once I got there. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Woooooooooahhhhhhhhh!!!!!
Bookmarking these for a special occasion.
What a great response! Something tells me I’d be scraping you up off my kitchen floor if you actually got to try one. Thanks for the giggle. And remember, every day is a special occasion (somewhere).
Oh. My.Goodness. How in the world will you have enough restraint to not eat every last cupcake on the way to Austin? I’d never make it. Reese’s PB Cups are one of the world’s most perfect foods.
I put them in the very back of the car so I couldn’t reach them while I was driving. I couldn’t reach them, but I could still smell them. And it was torture. But they were totally worth the wait. That peanut butter cup in the bottom was like a little golden nugget of deliciousness.
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Yup, that is one tasty looking cake!!! I love the hidden dk choc reeses in the bottom:-) Oh and the ganache…I am in love with all of it!!!
This was the best cupcake, Jocelyn. I made them for a “National Night Out” block party 3 years ago, and my neighbors still talk about them! You’ll have to let me know if you try them. -jeanne