Dreamy cupcakes are always a treat. These vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes are perfect when you are craving a pb cup flavor. Made using creamy peanut butter, rich cocoa powder and more, these cupcakes are perfect for a special event or everyday baking project. Whip up some cupcakes and put a smile on your face!
Get two recipes, one with peanut butter frosting and chocolate cake - and vice versa!..
I realized my blog was very stingy on cupcake recipes, so I think that needed to be changed. And so I'm making my favorite cupcakes for you today peanut butter chocolate.
The cupcakes are made using my special "fruit blend" mixture to help thicken the batter a bit.
Fruit Puree. I actually used blackberries for these cupcakes! But you could use banana, strawberries, blueberries, really any soft fruit that meshes with chocolate-y flavors well. I took the berries, added them to my Vitamix with some soy milk and blended. The thick mixture is great as a sort of egg-replacer to add some body to the cupcakes.
This fruit mixture is similar to adding like a pumpkin puree to pumpkin muffins or apple sauce. But the trick is that you really can use a variety of fruit options - while "apple sauce" is kind of the traditional way to replace eggs. I really liked the blackberry puree. I think a basic banana would be super with the peanut butter flavor.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes (two ways!)
vegan, makes 12 cupcakes (each recipe version)
Chocolate Cupcakes
1 ½ cups white flour, organic
1 cup sugar, organic
½ cup vegan butter, melted
½ cup non-dairy milk (soy milk)
⅓ cup water + 1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup blendable fruit (berries, banana, apple sauce)
*I used blackberries!
Peanut Butter Frosting
⅓ cup creamy peanut butter (salted)
⅓ cup vegan butter, chilled
1 cup powdered sugar, organic
a few drops vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoon non-dairy milk
(Switcheroo Version..)
Peanut Butter Cupcakes
1 ½ cups white flour, organic
¼ cup rolled oats
1 cup sugar, organic
1 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
⅓ cup peanut butter
½ cup non-dairy milk (soy milk)
½ banana, mashed
⅓ cup water + 1 teaspoon flax seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Chocolate Frosting
2 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (salted)
¼ cup melted chocolate chips, vegan
⅓ cup vegan butter, chilled
¾ cup powdered sugar, organic
a few drops vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoon non-dairy milk, room temperature
Directions:
1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
2. Fruit puree: In a blender, add the non-dairy milk and your fruit. (For fruit, you can use a variety of fruit options - banana, berries or even traditional apple sauce.) Blend until smooth.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry cupcakes ingredients. Using a mixer, blend in the remaining ingredients including the fruit blend.
4. Grease or line your cupcake tins and fill with cupcake better.
5. Bake cupcakes at 350 for 16-20 minutes or until tops begin to toast up.
6. Cool cupcakes. Whip up the frosting.
7. Frost cooled cupcakes with a frosting tip to swirl. Serve!
Shelly Reece says
All I have to say is holy f*cking s*** these are the best cupcakes I've ever made. So tasty, And they're vegan!!! Wow! Great recipe.
Pri says
um language?
Jamie Robinson says
I LOVE <3 the peanut butter icing. It tastes like the middle of a Reece's Pieces and pre vegan those were my favourite! Thanks for the recipes!
Kathy Patalsky says
So glad you like it!
Zofia Klar says
And also, could you use something like coconut oil instead of vegan butter?
Kathy Patalsky says
You can,but the frosting will ever less temperature stable. Coconut oil frosting gets very hard in the fridge and tends to melt faster at room temp
Olivia Wilson says
I used vegetable shortening which is mostly coconut oil and it worked really well!
Zofia Klar says
This looks lovely! I was wondering if you could use a flax egg (blended flax seed with water) instead of the fruit puree, and if it would still work well - and if yes - what would the proportions be? Thank you!
Liz Slesinski says
These cupcakes look absolutely beautiful! For the icing is there a type of milk that works the best- soy, almond, coconut, etc? Thanks!
Kathy Patalsky says
I like soy or coconut for the creaminess
Nicole says
Can the white flour be substituted for quinoa flour or any type of other flour? Thanks!
Oscar_de_Jarjayes says
Can I sub vegan butter with coconut oil?
karen says
Im using this recipe to do a 3 layer cake. can i use the frosting in this recipe for my center layers? if so, will it stay moist and firm but not too firm.....?
Christina says
These worked really well. Really moist and delicious. I have tried lots of vegan recipes with varying success and these worked first time. I used spelt flour as I'm not great with wheat. Thank you!
Nicole says
So yummy!! My frosting was very runny.... Any suggestions? I must be doing something wrong.
disqus_iAQl8ANm6e says
Do I need to blend the flax seeds or do they go in whole? Can I use vanilla almond milk?
Gillian says
Alright, thanks!
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes
Gillian says
Yes, I should egg replacer or yes, it's okay to omit and use nothing else?
Thanks for clarifying!
Kathy Patalsky says
Oh sorry! Thought you asked if you could omit and substitute with an egg replacer. You basically need to sub in something in place of the flax, you could use a variety of egg replacers if you feel comfortable making the substitution.
Gillian says
Just thought I'd update and say that I replaced the flax seed & water with the equivalent of one egg using my egg replacer and they turned out perfect! In addition, the first three "test" cupcakes I baked tasted a little too fruity so I shaved one block of bakers chocolate into the batter and it did the trick!
Gillian says
Can I omit flax seed? What could I replace it with? I have egg replacer
Kathy Patalsky says
Fridge but let thaw a good 20 minutes or so before eating.
Illyria Kelly says
Should I store these in the refrigerater or at room temperature?
Kathy Patalsky says
Yup!
Bonnie Owens says
Can I use chia seeds in place of the flaxseeds? I'm trying to avoid another trip to the store. Thanks!
Catalina Linkava says
These cupcakes look wonderful! Perfect since I just bought a few boxes of flour and extra peanut butter. I hope my cupcakes would turn out as lovely as these.
Guest says
These cupcakes look wonderful! Perfect since I just boxes of flour and extra peanut butter. I hope you my cupcakes would turn out as lovely as these.
Kathy Patalsky says
Yippee! Thanks for reporting back, glad you liked them!!
Dani says
These are by far the best cupcakes we have ever eaten! Made the chocolate cupcake with the pb frosting.I have already shares this recipe!!
Kathy Patalsky says
So great to hear! 🙂 No, whole wheat would work, but you may need an extra splash of liquid to thin out a bit with ww. If you can, try half whole wheat and half white. thanks for reading and for the sweet comment!
LiveWithCompassion says
Hi! I'e been visiting your site regularly now for several months. I was a strict vegetarian for years but have been making the switch to a full vegan and couldn't be happier about my decision. Your site has helped me so much to learn how to cook...I never knew how before this! I love cooking now so much and enjoy eating too much! 🙂 It's amazing how much better food is when its good for you and no one was hurt/killed to produce it. I hope that you continue this site for a long, long time, especially as I am now working on learning how to bake! My absolute favorite recipes of yours are the Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispy Bars, Senate Bean Soup, and Spicy Broccoli Cheddar Soup. My husband isn't even a veg but loves your site as well. I didn't mean to be long-winded but I thank you for always keeping up with the site as you continue adding new recipes.
I am trying these cupcakes tomorrow night and can't wait to taste peanut butter frosting for the first time. Would whole wheat flour be a bit "too much" for the cupcakes?
Food, pleasure, and health says
what a great idea to replace with fruit purees. I use mashed bananas a lot for bread or muffin recipes but never tried for cupcakes. Will have to try it. the frosting looks equally delicious 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
Yes, just be sure to stir almond butter well if it has separated from oils.
hannah says
could i substitute almond butter for the pb?
Regina says
I am very excited to try these for my birthday on Sunday! Yippee!!!
Lindsay @ the Live-In Kitchen says
I think vegan baked goods are the best because they turn out so moist! These look so good!
imakoala says
Okay thank you! I will be trying these soon 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
I used vanilla but either works!
imakoala says
These look delicious! What type of soy milk did you use? Original or vanilla - unsweetened?
slywlf says
Oh. My. Goodness! I was drooling at the pictures long before I got to the recipe(s) - YUM - can't wait to try these 😉
Kathy Patalsky says
It reacts with the baking powder. Acts as an acid. Can sub with citrus juice or omit if needed.
Louise Collins says
Curious about the role of the apple-cider vinegar, does it perform a specific function in the recipe?
Heidi Ruohola says
Yes, please! 😀
tandmj says
Found your blog while looking for dessert recipes for my 6yr old son who has severe egg allergies. We eat pretty clean right now... but your recipes are an inspiration to eat even cleaner!!
The Vegan Cookie Fairy says
Oh wow. The ultimate combo, couldn't be more perfect!
Christina says
This is such a dynamite combination! LOVE these two flavors together.
Jennifer says
Cupcake perfection. Yum!