Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

Cupcakes	Peanut Butter Icing
50 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder 240 ml Boiling hot water 175 g All purpose flour 2 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 113 g Unsalted butter, at room temperature 150 g White sugar 2 Eggs 2 tsp Vanilla extract	110 g Confectioners' sugar 220 g Creamy peanut butter 70 g Unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1/4 tsp Salt 80 ml Whipping cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Lightly butter, or line 15 muffin cups with paper liners. In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and mix only until incorporated. Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.
Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16 - 20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pan, and allow to cool completely before frosting.
Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

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