Chocolate Cake Ball Stuffed Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Hey, before I tell you about these awesomeamazingyouwon'tbelievethem cupcakes, I wanted to let you know that I was a guest poster today over at Something Swanky! I'm talking about using Curves in PicMonkey and another little helpful commenting/HTML tip. Go check it out!

And now, on with your show...

I work out every day. I mean I stuff Almond Joy candy bars in crescent rolls for breakfast. I kind of need to exercise.

Usually I go to the gym, where I embarrass myself in a Core class or I read 50 Shades of Grey on the elliptical and try not to blush.

{Side note: have you read that book? Oh my. It's...intense. And I don't quite understand why everyone is so thrilled about a book where a girl chooses to be in an abusive relationship? If it wasn't for the good...stories...I'd probably have stopped reading. Just kidding... I'm so excited I'll be discussing this at a book club. That night should be interesting. There better be lots of cocktails.}

I've been really enjoying running, which is a lot for me to say because my running is a lot like Phoebe's. {If you have no idea what that means, well...can we even move on from there?}

I can't do it more than a couple times a week, as I have an old lady body with old lady knees and ankles and a bad lower back thanks to being pregnant with Jordan. (I swear, it's all been downhill since I had a kid. What the heck is up with that?)

{Speaking of kids ruining your body, when I'm at the gym and see the clique of 12-pack ab moms at the pool in their teeny tiny bikinis with three kids apiece, I want to cry. Or maybe go and poke them and look for their alien not-from-Earth marks. Because, seriously, how is that possible?}

I really enjoy running outdoors, although my geriatric knees don't allow it as much as on a treadmill. Nevertheless, I strap on my running shoes a few times a week and head out, jamming to I'm Sexy and I Know It.

And every single time right when I get sweaty and out of breath and I feel like I'm ready to die because I'm running a 12 minute mile, an old dude passes me.

The same old guy. Every time. He's gotta be in his 80s. All hunched over and running.

Faster than me.

It's humbling.

But then I remind myself, he's probably an alien too. And then I feel better.

Also something that makes me feel better?

Doing this:

This idea is totally copied from the awesome Love From The Oven. The second I saw her cupcake ball stuffed cupcakes, I knew that I had to make them at some point.

And when I had decided that I would make 70 cake pops for the teachers at school, made the cake, crumbled it and mixed it with frosting, only to remember that I hate making cake balls and pops because it's way too time consuming and I get bored way too easily, luckily I remembered this recipe and realized all that mashed up cake and frosting had somewhere else to go besides inside my tummy.

So I used peanut butter cake. And chocolate frosting. And a mini peanut butter cup for decoration.

You wonder why I need to exercise.

Chocolate Cake Ball Stuffed Peanut Butter Cupcakes

by Crazy for Crust

Cupcake recipe from Redbook Magazine, October 2005. Inspired by Love From The Oven.

Ingredients

For the Cake Balls

• Cooled chocolate cake
• Chocolate or Vanilla frosting

For the Peanut Butter Cupcakes

• 1 ¼ cups flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup whole milk

For the Frosting

• 3 sticks butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• ¾ cup cocoa
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
• Mini Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped, for garnish

Instructions

Make the Cake Balls

1. Crumble your cake into a large bowl. Add about ¾ can of frosting for an entire 9x13” cake. You can adjust your amount accordingly. You will not need an entire cake for these cupcakes, but you can freeze cake ball mixture if you have leftover. Otherwise, if you don’t want to freeze leftover, start with about ¼ of a cake and ¼ cup of frosting.
2. Form into 1” balls and freeze until ready to use in cupcakes.

Make the Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line muffin cups with liners (about 18).
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using a stand mixer, beat together brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Add peanut butter beating until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add milk. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until combined, do not overmix.
4. Place about one tablespoon of batter in each muffin cup. Place a frozen cake ball on top and add another tablespoon of batter. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the cupcakes begin to brown and spring back when touched. Let cool completely before icing.

Make the Frosting

1. Beat butter with a hand mixer until soft. Slowly add cocoa and beat until mixed. Slowly add powdered sugar. Mix in vanilla and just enough heavy cream to get your desired consistency. Frost cupcakes and top with a mini peanut butter cup.

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Enjoy!

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