Do you love peanut butter? And chocolate? And more peanut butter? And candy? Well, this cupcake might just blow your mind.
Today marks Day #2 in the Five Days of Halloween Candy Cupcakes. Yesterday, I featured a more adult-oriented NERDS cocktail cupcake, but today I have a treat that is for all you peanut butter fans. I bring you the Butterfinger Cupcake.
Inspired by the Peanut Butter Obsession cupcakes we make at Sweet T’s, I decided this cupcake should have a mousse filling and buttercream packed with chopped candy bits. The Butterfinger candy bar’s texture is perfect for this, since the slightly crunchy inside flakes nicely when chopped.
So, on to the details. I hope you’re ready.
The Butterfinger cupcake consists of a chocolate cake, filled with a light and airy peanut butter mousse with chopped Butterfinger candy, topped with a peanut butter buttercream with more chopped candy, and finished with a chunk of Butterfinger and a chocolate drizzle. If you don’t love peanut butter and chocolate, this isn’t the cupcake for you.
One thing that’s cool to note: The Peanut Butter Obsession from Sweet T’s uses Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, which are a bit on the salty side, making it a great sweet and salty cupcake. However, this Butterfinger cupcake, while containing some salt, is not what I would describe as salty. The focus is really on the nuttiness of the peanut butter and richness of my mocha cake.
Check back in next week as I post 3 more Halloween Candy cupcakes, all of which I baked for today’s Cupcake Friday. The fun thing about today is that taste testers don’t know what I’ve brought in, so a lot like Halloween trick-or-treating, they’ll come by and pick their cupcake flavor based on what I have (I’ve already encouraged them not to dawdle!)
Ingredients
Directions
Start with the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
Heat the heavy cream (I did this in the microwave for 40-60 seconds--be careful, you may need to stop it several times so it doesn't bubble over), then pour over the chocolate.
Let the chocolate and cream sit for approximately 10 minutes before stirring to combine. Let it come to room temperature.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center. Line cupcake pans with papers.
For the cupcakes, combine flour, baking soda, salt and sugar, whisking to blend; set aside.
In a heavy-bottomed, medium pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat. Once melted, add the coffee and whisk together. Add the espresso powder and cocoa--gradually--whisking to combine. The mixture should come to a simmer, but not a boil. You want it to thicken.
Once thickened, cool the cocoa mixture for about 10-15 minutes (the freezer is handy here).
In your stand mixer, whip together the eggs and buttermilk. Add the vanilla.
Once the cocoa mixture has cooled, slowly add a little bit of the mixture to temper the eggs, whisking constantly. Add the remaining mixture, whisking to combine (this might best be done by taking the bowl off the stand mixer and whisking by hand, then putting it back on to the mixer for the dry ingredients).
Add the dry ingredients in 3-4 stages, mixing well to combine.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about halfway full. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. When done, transfer tins to wire racks to cool 5 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
For the mousse, mix together the peanut butter, sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form.
Divide whipped cream in 2. Put first portion into the peanut butter mixture and whip to combine.
Take the second portion of whipped cream and gently fold into the peanut butter mixture.
Fold in the chopped candy.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, core them and fill with the peanut butter mousse.
For the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar, beating to combine.
Add the peanut butter and vanilla. Gradually add the remaining confectioners sugar and cream.
Add the chopped candy, mixing until combined, then prepare your piping bag.
Because there are chunks of candy in this frosting, you need to use a fairly open tip. I used an extra large round tip.
Pipe the frosting on, place the Butterfinger garnish on top, then drizzle with the chocolate ganache.
October 26, 2012 at 12:11 pm
So that just happened.
My head said, “You should probably wait to eat this cupcake until after lunch.”
My stomach said, “It’s lunch somewhere.” and at 9:30am I wolfed down some butterfinger inspired magic.
It was delicious! Chocolate cake was dark and moist. The peanut butter frosting with flecks of butterfinger was so good I would have eaten it alone. Then the little surprise nugget of pb filling. YEAH!
I liked how the moistness of the frosting/filling took some of the chew out of the butterfinger bits. Kept it from getting stuck in my teeth as they do when you eat them straight up.
Another A+!
October 26, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Thanks Julie for a top-notch review! I agree that by breaking up the candy into the filling and frosting that you get the great flavor without having to chisel it out of your teeth.
I’m interested to hear what you have to say about your other cupcake (keeping it a surprise for now)! I’ll have that post up next week