Chocolate brownie cupcakes with peanut butter frosting

I'm not going to lie to you. This recipe was picked because it seemed wasteful to throw out the leftover peanut butter frosting from the coke cupcakes. But it also sounded delicious and that's good enough for me.

These cupcakes are almost entirely chocolate, and contain no raising agent, so they are dense and sticky. They crack beautifully on top and I think are yummy enough and pretty enough to serve on their own. I thought the frosting was good, but a bit weird since the cake contains toasted walnuts and the icing has peanut - the two flavours are surprisingly different. M says he likes these ones better than the coke cupcakes based purely on the icing: he doesn't get the salt thing with the peanut butter.

I'm glad I made some of these in miniature size - they're pretty rich, and I wouldn't want to give the kids a big one. But the peanut butter frosting balanced out the sweetness of the brownie so, as an adult, it was easy to eat a whole grown-up sized one. They are tasty without the icing - the gooey centre is yummy, and somehow all the chopped walnuts seem to end up there.

What I liked the most was that when I forgot that a batch was in the oven (only for about 4 extra minutes, but when baking time is only about 15, that's a lot), they weren't over cooked - the nice chewy bit around the edges was a bit thicker, but the centre was still soft and moist.. and the middle bit sunk a bit too, so it could hold a bit more icing - often a winner in my books.

Really, it is just a chocolate brownie baked into a cupcake shape. But you know what? That's OK with me. I'd have them with or without the icing, and it might be my new go-to brownie recipe.

Credit where credit's due: the recipe for the brownie cupcake is from http://www.epicurious.com/, and the frosting as per the coke cupcake post.

Savory cupcakes: is this a thing?

It's early in my cupcake journey... I mean, i've been making them for a while, but usually stuck to old favourites unless i've had a reason to search out something new. But now I'm making them in a more serious manner, I've realised that this amount of sugar could lead me and my family to an early grave (or at least some serious sugar hangovers).

I think I need to at least explore the idea of savory. I don't believe that just because something is baked in a cupcake/muffin pan, it automatically becomes a cupcake/muffin. And is there really such a thing as a savory cake? I've googled a bunch of stuff, trying to find the answer (i know google has the answer there somewhere), but I've not found it yet. I've found heaps of stuff that looks delicious and that I probably will make, mostly because cupcake-sized savory foods make excellent lunch-box foods, and I've recently begun the first of many school-lunch making years ahead of me.

But really, savory cupcakes. Is it a thing, do they exist, or am I kidding myself into thinking that this blog is anything more than a means to a sugary end?

What's going on here?

As a stay at home mum of three aged 4 and under, obviously I have a lot of spare time.

So I've decided to track down delicious recipes - mostly cup cakes - and try them out. This blog is where I plan to try and describe the level of ease and deliciousness of each one.

There might be pictures, and if I'm feeling slack, the review might come from a guest taster, probably my husband. If I need a confidence boost, I'll ask G, and he'll say each one was the most bestest cake ever...he's handy like that.

Coca cola cupcakes with salted peanut butter frosting

I think we can all deduce from the title that these are not a particularly healthy cupcake. They fall firmly in the 'sometimes' category.

That being said, they are freaking delicious. I could eat them every single day for a week and not be sick of them.

They are surprisingly not-very-sweet, given the coke and the amount of sugar in them, and the peanut butter adds a really yummy creaminess to each mouthful. I think the cake:icing ratio is important - not enough icing would make for a less satisfying cake.

The little sprinkle of sea salt on top (just to help the heart attack get here sooner) is a nice tangy detail, and really, who doesn't love sprinkles?

Would I make them again? Absolutely yes, but they can't become my go-to cupcake since so many people have nut allergies. This is a big problem for me, since I like to bake, eat a little, keep a litle for home and send the rest to kindy or M's work. Peanuts make this a stay-at-home treat, and I don't need a dozen of these sittig around my house.

On the other hand, the cake is so moist and delicious that perhaps another batch, with a different kind of icing, warrants a taste test.

Credit where credit's due: recipe is from http://www.sprinklebakes.com/.