Don’t be fooled by the diminutive stature of these cupcakes. They are studly in flavor: chocolate, peanut butter, and tangy orange. My jumping off point for these cupcakes came in at Number 4 on BuzzFeed’s 29 Ways to Honor the Glory of Peanut Butter and Jelly with Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes with Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache from Joanne Eats Well With Others. Joanne’s creation sounds absolutely heavenly, and darn her, they’re beautifully frosted. I strongly dislike (yet admire) people who know how to ice baked goods.
These are decadent treats, so I made them smaller than the average cupcake. If you like bigger/taller cupcakes, make 14 or 16 instead of 18.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Orange “Marmalade” Frosting & Chocolate-Peanut Butter Drizzle
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50
- Yield: 18 1x
Description
Chocolate and orange, chocolate and peanut butter. Matches made in cupcake heaven. Here a chocolate peanut butter cake gets draped in creamy orange “marmalade” frosting and drizzled with additional chocolate-peanut butter love.
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
- 3 tsp. powdered stevia
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (I use King Arthur Double-Dutch Cocoa)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. Cafix coffee substitute powder (or use espresso powder)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. flaxseed meal + 9 tbsp. water (whisk together then let sit for a minute or two)
- 1 small avocado
- 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. peanut butter flavor
- 1 3/4 cups water
Orange “Marmalade” Frosting
- 1 orange, peeled (reserve some of the peel for garnish, if desired)
- 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces, soaked for a few hours
- 1/2 tsp. orange extract
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 7–10 drops stevia liquid (or your favorite sweetener, to taste)
- pinch salt
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Drizzle
- 1 cup vegan stevia-sweetened semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 heaping Tbsp. smooth natural peanut butter
- 2–3 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp. peanut butter flavor, optional
Instructions
Make the cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and lightly spray 14-18 muffins tins with oil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, Cafix, and salt.
- In the bowl of a food processor, blend the flaxseed meal mixture, avocado, and peanut butter – just enough to break down the avocado. Now add the vanilla extract, peanut butter flavor, and water. Process until very smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until well blended.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin tins and shake the pans to level the batter. Bake for about 30 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire racks.
Make the frosting
- In a high-speed blender or food processor, combine all of the frosting ingredients and process
- until very smooth. This will take a little longer in a food processor. Pour the frosting into an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. The frosting will not harden, but will be thick and fairly liquid.
- When the cupcakes have cooled, use a tablespoon to pour frosting over the cupcakes. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator until ready to drizzle with chocolate.
Make the drizzle
- In a double boiler, slowly melt the chocolate, peanut butter, and coconut oil, stirring to thoroughly combine. Remove from the heat and stir in the peanut butter flavor. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator and drizzle them with the melted chocolate mixture. Top with orange peel, if using.
- Store cupcakes in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 18
- Calories: 262
- Sugar: 13
- Sodium: 183
- Fat: 15
- Saturated Fat: 6
- Unsaturated Fat: 8
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 32
- Protein: 6
- Cholesterol: 0
Aha, so now I know what these intriguing looking goodies are! I like the way you’ve decorated them, they look extremely tempting to me.
It’s that shiny chocolate…impossible to resist!
Waw! Waw! Waw! These lovely decorated & drizzled chocolate & PB cupcakes look fantasticly pretty & truly appetizing too!
I love all the yummy flavours in here that you combined beautifully too! 🙂 FABULISCIOUS TOO!!!! 🙂 xxxx
:-p So much flavor in these. Love orange and chocolate together!
Me too! x
Oh wow, the colour of that frosting is stunning and not an artificial colouring in sight. Love it! You have been working hard Annie!
It’s been a crazy few months – peanut butter and jelly on the brain!!
I bet you’re not sick of the combination though, it’s just too good! 🙂
I’m not! Crazy!
oh wow, these look incredible!
Appreciate it :-)!
Your creations always look so good 🙂 do you ever make glutenfree things?
I do every once in a while – and I should more often. Don’t have the experience with the ingredients (read: I’ve had some disappointing failures!) as I do with wheat, etc.
Stunning!
Thanks, Ally! Despite my lack of icing/frosting skills ;-)!
These look incredible! And they have avocado in them – love it!
It’s a great trick, isn’t it? Wish I’d discovered it sooner!
Really inventive recipe and I love the idea of marmelade frosting 🙂
Orange and chocolate…sigh.
my fave! 🙂
These look incredible, especially the pb drizzle
Thank you!
I kinnnddd of want to make that marmalade frosting and then eat it with a spoon.
Becky, I used the leftover in a smoothie :-).
Aaah!
I confess that I am not generally a fan of icing, and since we have had to go GF I have not often baked cakes – but THIS icing makes me want to bake. I bet it would be good on just about anything – or like Becky said – a spoon.
I’m not a big frosting fan either – let’s just get to the cake, please! But a chocolate coating…yes.
These cupcakes sound incredible… so much good stuff in such tasty little packages! Love the marmalade frosting. Chocolate plus orange is one of my new favourites 🙂
I just love when the icing oozes off the side like this!! YUM!
These do look divine. I’ve been baking cupcakes for days, but I’d eat a couple of yours just right now!
I am a cupcake amateur! Just gazed on your beautiful eggplant creations.
Orange and chocolate are my absolute favorite and peanut butter is a close second sooooo Awesome! I thought these were cookies all day just glancing at the pic while driving. Now I see that yummy icing is just swallowing up the mocha cake. So glad you found that peanut butter post last spring 😉
I kinda wondered how peanut butter would go with the orange and chocolate – very pleasantly surprised :-).
I dig that there is no processed sugar in these babies. I have never used the liquid stevia and that frosting is delectable. I come from a family divided on marmalade. I am a marmalade lover. Great job Annie.
Orange and chocolate is such a delightful combination. Loving these cute little cupcakes. I am a life long orange marmalade lover so will definitely have to try these out.
Small enough to just pop in your mouth :-)!
You’re killing me with all these wonderful sweets Annie! Celeste 🙂
Sorry, girl, hehe!
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These look delicious!
Thank you! Chocolate and orange…sigh.
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