Weekly Winner #5

I’m extra excited today.  Not only is the first week of September down, but my folks arrive in a few short hours for a visit.  So excited!!

But, I digress…the real focus is the cupcakes.  And here they are:

Sour Cream Vanilla Cupcakes

Beer & Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes with Creamy Nutella Frosting

Samoas Cupcakes

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Chocolate Coconut Rum Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling, Whipped Chocolate Ganache & Crushed Pretzel

And the winning cupcake is…….

    

With 19.5 points, the Snickerdoodle Cupcake from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen is the 5th Weekly Winner.  Check out that day here.  And, make sure you check back on September 30th to see this cupcake compete for the September Monthly Champ.

Day 38 – Chocolate Cupcakes with PB Filling, Chocolate Ganache & Pretzels

Happy Weekend all!!!! And, yes, in case you were wondering, today’s title is an abbreviation.  For this:

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling, Whipped Chocolate Ganache and Crushed Pretzels (recipe below from The Stay at Home Chef).  Wow!  What a title, huh?  How could I not try these?!

    

This is a thick, moist, sticky cake.  Tastes like Devil’s Food.  Dark chocolate.  The minis are actually a good representation of the full-size.

         

The peanut butter filling is like melted peanut butter.  Sweet and thick.  You don’t wanna use too much cause it’ll easily overpower the cupcake.

Very creamy ganache.  Very dark, even though it’s semisweet chocolate.

    

So.  Very.  Rich.  Make sure not to overdo the filling or the ganache.  They really overpower the cake, which is sad cause it’s not a weak flavor.  But, the overall taste is really good.  I personally think the pretzel could stay or go.  It’s not really necessary.  It does add a salty crunch, which is nice, but I could just as easily live without it.

Scoring Sheet:

– Cupcake Taste: 4

– Frosting Taste: 3

– Overall Taste: 3

– Appearance: 4

– Ease of Making: 3.5 (the cake is crazy easy, the filling is simple and the ganache isn’t difficult)

– TOTAL: 17.5

RECIPE

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling, Whipped Chocolate Ganache & Crushed Pretzel (recipe from The Stay at Home Chef)

IngredientsChocolate Cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Cream Filling:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 powdered sugar

Whipped Chocolate Ganache:
4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 pretzel per cupcake, crushed

 

For full directions visit The Stay at Home Chef

*Tomorrow: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes*