Peanut butter and chocolates are my nemesis. I love peanut butter so much that I eat it by the tablespoon straight from the jar – so much for being a dietitian. This is why I banned myself from buying peanut butter unless absolutely necessary.

Two weeks ago my friend gave me a jar of peanut butter and to save myself from “inhaling” it, I’ve decided to make peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate ganache. Because peanut butter are quite dry and very dense, the tricky part is for the cupcakes to remain moist. So I’ve turned to one of my favourite ingredients – buttermilk. You can get buttermilk from the store or you can make your own. I don’t see much difference honestly so I usually make up my own buttermilk using full cream milk and white vinegar. When the cupcakes were baking in the oven, the whole house smelt like peanut butter – absolutely divine. Once the cupcakes were cooled, I made chocolate ganache and spread it over the cupcakes – an absolute matchmake in heaven.

Nutrition per cupcake (makes 12)

Ingredients for the cupcakes

1. 160g plain flour
2. 1 tsp baking powder
3. 150g peanut butter
4. 80g unsalted butter
5. 100g brown sugar
6. 2 large eggs
7. 1 tsp vanilla essence
8. 120ml buttermilk
9. 50g dark chocolate chips

Ingredients for the ganache 

1. 200g dark chocolate (I used 70% Lindt)
2. 50ml full cream milk
3. 20g unsalted butter
4. 0.25 tsp salt

Directions

Preparation time: 15min
Baking time: 20min or when the muffins turn golden brown

1. Using a mixing stand, cream the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy
2. Add in 1 tsp of vanilla essence
3. Lower the speed of the whisk and add in the eggs one by one
4. Add in the flour and buttermilk by alternating between the two
5. Mix in the chocolate chips
6. Divide the batter equally into the muffin tin
7. Place it into the oven to bake for 15-20min or when the skewer comes out clean
8. Leave the cupcakes to cool

To make the ganache

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in the microwave in bursts of thirty seconds. Make sure that you don’t over do it if not the chocolate would separate
2. Add in the milk and salt and stir gently with a wooden or silicon spoon until a nice smooth ganache is formed
3. Spread the ganache over the cooled cupcakes

There you have it! Peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate ganache!