Peanut Butter Cupcakes (with marshmallow frosting)

If you grew up on this classic sandwich of peanut butter and fluff you are going to love these peanut buttter cupcakes with marshmallow frosting and so will everyone who knows you! Peanut butter cupcakes filled with a peanut butter mousse and topped with a toasted marshmallow meringue frosting!

So growing up, one of my favorite go to sandwiches was a fluffernutter. So perhaps it should have been a no brainer that I ended up moving as an adult to where fluff was born.

I think it was fate.

I think it was also fate that I make this cupcake. My inner child did a serious happy dance when I bit into this cupcake. 

So let’s talk more about the recipe, so you can get to making it ASAP. 

How To Make These Peanut Butter Cupcakes

First let’s start with the cupcake. A peanut butter cupcake. I started with my go to vanilla cupcake recipe and added peanut butter to the batter.

Pro Tip: Just be sure not to use natural peanut butter because it may incorporate too much oil into the batter. 

Start by whisking together your dry ingredients- cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then cream your butter to lighten and have it increase in volume for 3 minutes. You need to use softened room temperature butter in order to properly aerate the mixture. Here are 3 ways to soften your butter quickly.

Once the butter has been creamed, add in your 2 cups of sugar a 1/4 cup of sugar at a time.

Then add in your eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Make sure the eggs are room temperature. To do this quickly, add your eggs to a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.

Pro Tip: Give your eggs a light whisk before adding to the mixer bowl to prevent the mixture from curdling. 

Then stir in the peanut butter. And in a seperate small bowl, combine the buttermilk and vanilla.

You will add the buttermilk and dry ingredients alternately beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Then scoop your cupcake batter into the liners. Be sure to fill 2/3 to 3/4 full to leave room for expansion and so the cupcakes don’t sink after baking. Overfilled cupcakes are one reason why cupcakes sink in the middle. 

I thought this cupcake could use a little extra peanut butter, so I decided to make a peanut butter filling. This filling is no bake, and totally rocks. It’s so creamy and delicious. If you are new to adding a filling to a cupcake, then read my post on 4 ways to core a cupcake. Two of my favorite tools to fill a cupcake is probably the melon baller or apple corer. 

How To Make 7 Minute Icing (Toasted Marshmallow Frosting)

Now for the toasted meringue frosting. This frosting is easier than it looks. This frosting comes together in 7 minutes. So guess what the name is. Yup, 7 minute frosting.

I used this frosting for my lemon meringue pie cupcakes as well.

First start  by heating your egg whites, sugar, water and corn syrup in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. I use my stand mixer bowl for this step.

You need to whisk this mixture now for 6-7 minutes. I like using my stick blender for this step and save myself the intense arm workout. You could also use a hand mixer for this step as well. After about 7 minutes, you will take it off the heat, add in your vanilla extract then beat on high for additional for another 1-2 minutes until stiff peaks form. 

So now once your cupcakes are cooled, filled, and the frosting is made time to pipe the frosting. I used my French star tip for these cupcakes. And now for the super fun part! Toasting the frosting! I recently purchased my new kitchen torch and I am loving it! It’s so much fun to use! 

If you don’t have a kitchen torch you can put your cupcakes in the oven on a cookie sheet, and set the oven to broil. But be careful! Don’t walk away! Your cupcakes will go from toasted to burnt to on fire before you know it! 

Tips For Making These Peanut Butter Cupcakes

• Make sure to measure your flour correctly by scooping and leveling. Here is a tutorial on how to measure your flour correctly.
• This recipe uses cake flour which helps to create a light and fluffy cupcake. If you use all purpose flour it will change the texture a bit. You can also make your own cake flour.
• Make sure your eggs, buttermilk, and butter are at room temperature.
• The recipe calls for buttermilk. Do not substitute regular milk because it will alter the balance of the ingredients due to the acidity in the milk.  You can also make your own cake flour

What Egg Whites Are Best For Meringue?

It used to be that room temperature older eggs were best because they whipped up faster than cold newer eggs. But with stand mixers doing the work today, then colder newer eggs are best.

Cold new eggs will create a more stable foam.

To Make These Cupcakes You Will Need:

• Cupcake Pans 
• Cooling Racks
• Cupcake Liners
• Piping/Pastry Bags
• Ateco Tip – French star
• Stand Mixer or Metal Bowl– you just need a heatproof bowl in order to make the frosting
• Hand Mixer or Stick Blender– to make the frosting (yes I own them both, my hand mixer is cranberry and my stick blender is purple of course)
• Kitchen Torch
• Dry Measuring Cups and spoons

For Help In Making and Decorating Cupcakes Check Out These Posts:

15 tips for perfect cupcakes

6 reasons why your cupcakes are sinking in the middle

#1 Must Have Tip For Perfectly Domed Cupcakes

6 Cupcake Decorating Supplies You Need To Decorate Like A Pro

How To Swirl Frosting (3 ways + a video!)

Ultimate Guide To Baking Cupcakes At Home

Ultimate Guide To Making The Best Buttercream Icing

Ultimate Guide To Decorating Cupcakes For Beginners

Cupcakes 101: 10 Tips To Bake Perfect Cupcakes (Life As A Strawberry)

How To Bake Perfect Cupcakes (Handle The Heat)

For More Cupcake Recipes Check These Out…

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes

Rainbow Cupcakes

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

Surprise Heart Inside Cupcakes

Boston Creme Pie Cupcakes

Peanut butter cupcakes with marshmallow frosting

A peanut butter cupcake filled with a no bake peanut butter mousse filling and topped with a toasted marshmallow frosting!

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: cupcakes

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 22 minutes

Servings: 30 cupcakes

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

For The Cupcakes

• ▢ 3 cups cake flour
• ▢ 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ▢ ½ tsp. salt
• ▢ 16 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature
• ▢ 2 cups sugar
• ▢ 5 large eggs at room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup peanut butter
• ▢ 1¼ cups buttermilk at room temperature
• ▢ 2 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the peanut butter filling

• ▢ 1 cup confectioner sugar
• ▢ 4 ounces softened cream cheese
• ▢ 1/2 cup peanut butter
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon milk

For the Marshmallow Frosting

• ▢ 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/3 cup cold water
• ▢ 2 egg whites
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• ▢ pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 1 tbsp corn syrup

Instructions

For the Cupcakes

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
• Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and creamy in color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for one more minute.
• Add the sugar to the butter mixture, ¼ cup at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add in your peanut butter and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 15 seconds longer.
• Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full (you will likely have batter left over after filling 24 wells.I managed to make a full 3 dozen cupcakes) Bake 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the peanut butter filling

• In a stand mixer bowl, using your paddle attachment combine all ingredients and mix to combine. You can also do this with a hand mixer in a mixing bowl as well. If all you have is a whisk, make sure your ingredients are room temperature and use those muscles! Keep refrigerated until ready to use! Once your cupcakes are cooled, remove the center and fill with the peanut butter mousse.

For the frosting

• Combine the egg whites, sugar, water, and corn syrup in a large stainless steel bowl or any other heatproof bowl. Use an electric handheld mixer to beat the ingredients together until well combined. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Continue to beat on medium-low speed for 3 minutes. Turn the speed up to high and beat for 3-4 minutes or until soft peaks begin to form.
• Remove from heat, add the vanilla extract, and continue beating on high until the frosting is thick and spreadable, about 1-2 minutes. Cool to room temperature and use immediately. Pipe onto your cupcakes with a piping bag and pastry tip (I used a French star tip, but any tip will do.) Then lightly torch the frosting with a kitchen torch. Alternately, you could place them in your oven (put them on a cookie sheet, and no closer than middle rack) and set to broil but keep a really close eye one them otherwise they will burn!

Notes

• Make sure to measure your flour correctly by scooping and leveling. Here is a tutorial on how to measure your flour correctly.
• This recipe uses cake flour which helps to create a light and fluffy cupcake. If you use all purpose flour it will change the texture a bit. You can also make your own cake flour.
• Make sure your eggs, buttermilk, and butter are at room temperature.
• The recipe calls for buttermilk. Do not substitute regular milk because it will alter the balance of the ingredients due to the acidity in the milk.  You can also make your own cake flour
• Do not use an all natural peanut butter, it contains too much oil. 

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