Only good things can come from this…
I may have mentioned my slight obsession with the orgasmic combination that is chocolate and peanut butter once or twice before.

Yup. I said orgasmic.

Don’t believe me? Bake my Snickers and Peanut Butter Muffins and you’ll soon see what I’m talking about.

Anyway, weird food fetishes aside, when I spotted that my local Sainsburys was stocking the great American treat that is Reese’s Pieces (kind of like peanut butter smarties for anyone that’s never experienced their wonder), I could hardly contain my excitement. I began plotting this mornings baking adventures almost immediately.

Behold the yumminess…
The recipe for the cupcakes themselves comes from the Primrose Bakery book. I also used their recipe for milk chocolate icing but as I wasn’t impressed with the finished product at all (it should have been perfectly smooth and glossy, it was kind of lumpy and uninviting) I’m going to suggest Nigella’s chocolate ganache instead. Far superior in my opinion, and an incredibly versatile recipe to have in your baking repertoire. I do think that chocolate butter icing would be a little too much with these, but you may think otherwise.

You will need:

75g unsalted butter, at room temperature
130g smooth peanut butter (although I used chunky and it was fine)
190g dark brown soft sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract
120g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
60ml semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 160c(fan)/180c/350F/gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tray with cupcake cases.

2. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter, sugar and peanut butter until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition, and then stir in the vanilla extract.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Add 1/3 of the flour to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in 1/3 or the milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour mixture and milk have been added.

4. Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them about 2/3 full, and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until slightly raised and golden brown. They’re cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre of one of the cakes comes out clean. Here are mine all ready to go in the oven…
5. remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 minutes before carefully placing them on a wire rack to cool. Once they are completely cool they’re ready to be iced and decorated.

For the chocolate ganache icing you will need:

150ml double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
150g dark chocolate

Warm the cream, vanilla extract and butter with the chocolate, chopped into small pieces, and bring to the boil in a thick bottomed saucepan ( a non-stick milk pan would be perfect), by which time the chocolate should have melted. Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth and thickened. Let cool a little before you use it but you want it still runny enough to ice with. Don’t forget to top your cupcakes with the Reese’s Pieces while the icing is still wet, otherwise they won’t stick.

Mmmmmm! I can’t wait to have my second cupcake with a cup of tea later. Are you tempted ladies? Any chocolate and peanut butter fans out there?

Loveaudrey xxx