Two Penny Recipe: Peanut Butter Cream Filled Cupcakes

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and what better way to show some love to your sweetheart than baking them cupcakes! Not only is it a cost effective gift, it's also straight from the heart. This year, skip the greeting card store and fire up your oven with these delicious, piece of (cup)cake treats!

First and foremost, you'll need to bake chocolate cupcakes - 18 of them, give or take. Here's a fantastic recipe if you'd like to make yours from scratch, otherwise store bought box mix will do just fine. I used Devil's Food cake mix, but if you prefer plain 'ol chocolate, go for it. Here's how mine looked once they cooled:

While your cupcakes are cooling, you'll need to make the 2nd and 3rd components - peanut butter cream filling and chocolate ganache. (Yes. I know, it's getting heavenly in here!) Let's take it step by step:

Peanut Butter Filling

• 1/2 cup of peanut butter (not the natural kind, it won't hold up during mixing)
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

Add the softened butter and peanut butter to a clean bowl. (It's helpful to use a stand mixer, but a hand mixer will work too.) Beat on medium low for 2 minutes, until the butter and peanut butter are well blended. Add the vanilla and beat for another minute. Add the sugar in 1/4 cup batches, mixing thoroughly each time. Once all of the sugar is combined, beat on medium for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the mixture becomes fluffy.

Filling the cupcakes:
Add your peanut butter mixture to a pastry bag fitted with any tip you prefer. I used a standard star tip, but any tip will work. Stick the tip of the pastry bag into the cupcake till you hit the bottom. (I know this seems intimidating, but I promise, it's very easy once you do the first one!) Pipe peanut butter mixture through the bag into the cupcake (you'll know it's working when the cupcake bulges out, ever so slightly). Stop when you get to the top of the cupcake. When all is said and done, your cupcakes will look like this:

In case you were worried this cupcake wasn't rich enough, it's time... yes, it's time to frost it with ganache! Ganache is tremendously easy to make and you can play around with it until you get it to the consistency you like.

Chocolate Ganache Icing

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 teaspoons powered (confectioners) sugar

Break up the chocolate and add it to a bowl. Try your best not to devour it. In a small saucepan, heat up the heavy cream until it juuuust comes to a boil. Add the hot cream to the chocolate and stir until completely melted. Add the sugar (to taste). If you're feeling daring, feel free to add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, but it's purely optional.

Important Ganache Tips!

1. The cream HAS to be hot. If it's not, your chocolate will seize and even Harry Potter won't be able to repair it for ganache use. Don't toss it though, it's still edible!
2. The more you stir/whip your ganache, the more you will change the texture. Here's a nifty tutorial from Savory Sweet Life.

Frosting the Cupcakes:Once the excess peanut butter filling has been scraped off the top of your cupcakes, you can simply dunk the tops into the ganache and swirl them about until they are coated. They will then look like this:

If you're making these for your Valentine, I recommend adding hearts or sweet messages to the tops. Or, serve them sans decorations. The glorious, glossy ganache will surely impress!

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