Chocolate Mud Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

We had a nice Melbourne Cup lunch at work this year and I felt like it was a great opportunity to try a recipe I'd been eyeing off for a while- chocolate mud cupcakes with peanut butter icing and toffee. 

Anything with peanut butter makes me happy and cream cheese in the icing? Definitely a good idea! 

The recipe is originally from taste.com.au



Ingredients
- 200g of butter (if using margarine or another butter substitute add another 30 g or the cake will be dry)
- 200g of dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup of hot espresso coffee (I just added this much water instead)
- 1 cup of caster sugar
- 3 eggs (make sure they are room temperature)
- 1/2 cup of self raising flour
- 1/4 plain flour


Peanut Butter Icing 
- 250 g cream cheese (I made some with soy some with real cream cheese)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 1/2 cups of icing sugar mixture
- 200g of smooth peanut butter


Toffee
- 1 cup of caster sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup peanuts


Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160C and line an 18 hole muffin tin with muffin cases.
2. Mix the butter, chocolate, cocoa powder and coffee (if using) to a sauce pan. Put onto low heat and stir until its melted and smooth. Then take it off the heat and allow it to cool.

3.  Move the chocolate mixture to a large bowl and mix in the sugar and then the eggs. Add the flour (combine and sieve first) and stir until smooth.

4. Add the mixture to the pans and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked. Mine took a little longer than that. Turn them onto a wire rack to cool.

5. Onto the toffee! Lay some non-stick paper on a tray to pour the toffee on. Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan on low heat and stir until sugar is combined. Don't boil the water or it won't work. If any sugar bits get stuck on the side of the pan use a wet pastry brush to push them down.


6. Increase the heat so the water boils and cook until it turns golden brown. Then take it off the heat really quick, it will keep cooking. Don't, under any circumstances, stir the toffee while it's boiling, or guaranteed it will crystallise and your toffee will be ruined :( 

7. Pour the mixture onto the tray and sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the top, then leave the toffee to set.

8. Onto the icing! Use and electric mixing to beat the cream cheese and vanilla, before adding the icing mixture bit by bit. Then add the peanut butter to the mixture and combine with a wooden spoon (not the mixer!)


9. Then its time to assemble the cupcakes! Snap the toffee into bits (my housemates were very helpful in this) and add to the cupcake after the icing. They will stack up on the icing nicely. I had a lot of left over icing and toffee but there are many things that it can be used for!


10. Last step- eat them! Yum!

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