Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes

24 regular cupcakes 350 degree oven

200 gram bar of Valrhona 61% cocoa (any good brand will do)
3 sticks butter
2-1/4 cups sugar
8 eggs1-1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

1. chop chocolate and transfer into the bowl of a standing mixer.

2. add butter to the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. stir until chocolate melts and butter is combined.

3. remove from heat and stir in sugar. let mixture cool for 10 minutes.

4. beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.

5. add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each

6. sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until blended.

7. scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

Mint Butter cream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon all natural peppermint extract

1. beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.

2. add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and peppermint extract, beat until combined.

3. add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.

Note: I tried to keep the mint flavor subtle and not too overpowering. I recommend starting on the light side with 1/8 teaspoon or less and tasting to get the flavor you want.

It is a all or nothing recipe lol..but the end results are worth it! I promise
Michelle S.

Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, very soft
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 cup ripe banana, mashed (2 large)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line 16 holes of a cupcake tin with muffin liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy.
Beat in peanut butter.
Add in the eggs one at a time, followed by the bananas.
With the mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
Evenly distribute batter into 16 muffin cups. (fill about 3/4 full)
Bake for 16-18 minutes, just until a tester comes out clean.

The cupcakes will be very lightly browned.Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Makes 16 cupcakes.

This recipe came out so good I can hardly believe it!I am so glad that it worked I played around with two different recipes to come up with this one and I love it! The banana and peanut butter really work well together and neither is overpowering. They are nice and dense and hold together nicely. Alone with a cup of coffee they would be delicious...but you know me I need to make them even sweeter so I am going to try a cream cheese frosting and I will update this post later to let you know if it worked.

UPDATE: The cream cheese frosting was a perfect touch of sweet to these cupcakes.
The recipe I used follows:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar.
Store in the refrigerator after use.