Vegan Treats for Two: Chocolate Peanut Butter BLOB Cupcakes

These are ugly. I know.


I was trying to do a dramatic thing with the peanut butter cup on top but this just looks odd and creepy! That's OK, these cupcakes don't care that they're not going to win any beauty contests because they know they're delicious. They are little chocolate cakes filled and topped with an obscene amount of creamy peanut butter frosting, then drizzled with chocolate ganache and STABBED with shards of peanut butter cups. They have been STABBED and they are bleeding chocolate! Let's be honest, it does look like I stabbed them. Voodoo cupcakes?

They were going to be called "Peanut Butter Bomb Cupcakes," but bombs are awful things and I changed the name to "Peanut Butter Blob Cupcakes." Because they look like blobs.

BLOBS.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Blob Cupcakes for Two


For the chocolate cakes:

30 g sugar
18 g vegetable oil or melted coconut oil at room temperature
20 g vegan milk (plus more later)
30 g all purpose flour
4 g dark cocoa powder (Dutch process)
1/16 tsp salt
1/16 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
20 g vegan milk
1/4 tsp white vinegar

1. These baking directions are for the Cuisinart TOB-60. You'll probably need to experiment with your toaster oven settings to get the best results. More on that here: How to Bake Perfect Cupcakes in a Toaster Oven. Preheat the toaster oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) and spray two cupcake liners with cooking spray. Place the liners in a small muffin tin. For the Cuisinart TOB-60, preheat the oven on the WARM function so that only the bottom heating elements are activated.

2. In a small bowl or coffee cup combine the sugar, oil, and milk and whisk vigorously for at least 30 seconds.

3. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and add the salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

4. Fold everything slightly until you end up with a somewhat lumpy batter. Take care not to over mix the batter at this point! No more vigorous whisking or beating.

5. Add the rest of the milk and vinegar and fold gently again until everything is incorporated. Try not to over mix the batter.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake on the WARM setting for 12 minutes, then switch to the BAKE setting and bake for an extra eight minutes at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C.) If you're using a different toaster oven you may be able to use the BAKE setting from the start.

7. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Let them cool down completely at room temperature before you continue with the frosting.


For the peanut butter frosting:

30 g shortening*
30 g smooth peanut butter
10-15 g powdered sugar, sifted
5 g vegan milk (about a teaspoon)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract


1. Weigh the shortening into a small, narrow bowl or cup and beat it for about a minute or until it looks smooth.

2. Add the peanut butter beat for a few more seconds.

3. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 30 seconds or so.

4. Give it a taste and add more powdered sugar if needed. I like 10 grams of powdered sugar in this frosting, more than that and it's too sweet, but you may like it sweeter.

5. Beat in the milk and vanilla extract. Your frosting should be fluffy now!

6. Now that the cupcakes are at room temperature you're ready to frost them. If you want to hollow out the centers and fill them with frosting like I did, use an apple corer to remove a bit of cake from the center of each cupcake and then use a small spoon to fill the cake holes with a bit of frosting. This is optional. You could just go straight to frosting the cupcakes. Plonk the frosting on top of the cupcakes and use a little spatula, or a non-serrated knife, or the back of a small spoon to smooth out the peanut butter frosting.


For the chocolate ganache:

20 g semi-sweet chocolate chips
10 g vegan milk

1. Combine the chocolate chips and milk in a small microwave-safe bowl. I like to use a glass bowl or cup so I can keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't bubble up in the microwave.

2. Microwave on high for 15 seconds. Stir. Microwave again if necessary for 10 more seconds. Stir. Repeat if necessary until the ganache is smooth and silky.

3. Let the ganache cool down completely before spreading it on the cupcakes. Pop it in the fridge for a few minutes until it's a bit thicker and spreadable. Check it every five  minutes so it doesn't get too stiff in the fridge.

4. Use a small spoon to drop the ganache onto the peanut butter frosting. Do a test drop first and see how far down the frosting it runs. Pop it back in the fridge for a few more minutes if it's too runny.

5. If you want to plonk a peanut butter cup on top of the cupcake, do it now while the ganache is still gooey!


RECIPE NOTES:

. Feel free to use proper cake decorating tools and pipe the icing on with a pretty decorating tip. I can't be bother to go through all that trouble for only two cupcakes!

. I use Spectrum Organics shortening which is Colombian palm oil. If you can't find a shortening you're comfortable using, you can always replace it with coconut whipped cream, Just gently fold the peanut butter into the whipped cream instead of beating it in. The peanut butter can curdle and get grainy if you beat it into the whipped cream. Keep the cupcakes refrigerated if you're not going to eat them right away!


GENERAL NOTES:

. Check out my blog post about baking cupcakes in a toaster oven.

. All the ingredients are weighed, even the liquids, and I'm using the metric system. Grams are more convenient than ounces or cups when it comes to baking tiny batches of things. I use a digital scale which has a handy "tare" button that lets me reset the weight after I add each ingredient.Screw you, unreliable cups and tablespoons! Except for baking soda and salt and all those tiny pinches of things. For those I use my tiny 1/8 tsp from my set of Wilton measuring spoons. How do you measure 1/16 tsp of salt and baking soda? I eyeball it using half of an 1/8 tsp.

. I bake everything in a Cuisinart TOB-60 toaster oven. You may need to experiment with your toaster oven to get the best result.



Would you like to see a little step-by-stepper of the ugleh blobs?





These also look horrid if you just plonk a whole peanut butter cup on top. Less stabby, but still... BLOBS.


Ugly blob. Delicious blob.

I know that so far I've only shared cupcake recipes for this Vegan MoFo theme of Vegan Treats for Two. It's just that cake is my favorite thing! Tomorrow I'll bring us some cookies for a change. Unless I don't and I bring us more cake instead. That could happen! :)



Comments

  1. I actually think the ones with the whole PB cups look kinda striking! Delicious in any case.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kelly! :) At least they don't look all stabby, I suppose! :P

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Thank you! Can't beat that flavor combo! :)

      Delete
  3. More cake! More cake! More cake! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I almost did ONLY cake for MoFo, but then I thought maybe not everybody out there is a big cake nut like me. But now I see you are too! Cake nuts of the world, unite! :)

      Delete
  4. I love the peanut butter cup shards! They look like dramatic peaks.
    Such a classic flavour combination, I love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wanted dramatic peaks! I think I would have liked their appearance better if they hadn't had the drippy chocolate. But then they wouldn't have had drippy chocolate!

      Do you know what I usually stick on the top instead of peanut butter cups when I make these? The bit of cake that I carved out of the cupcake! Can't let cake go to waste! That is if I manage not to pop it in my mouth and eat it as soon as I carve it out.

      Delete

Post a Comment