Why it works: Buttermilk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Double-dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Position two racks in the lower and middle third of the oven.
Line 24 muffin cups with paper or foil liners.
Put the cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk until a smooth paste forms. Whisk in the buttermilk until combined.
Make and bake the cupcakes
In a medium bowl, sift the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat 1½ sticks of the butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Beat in the dry ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture.
Carefully spoon the cupcake batter into the lined muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until the cupcakes are springy.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
Fill and ice
In a medium bowl, beat the peanut butter with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter until creamy. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Spoon all but 3 tablespoons of the peanut butter filling into a pastry bag fitted with a ¼-inch star tip.
Holding a cupcake in your hand, plunge the tip into the top of the cake, pushing it about ¾ inch deep. Gently squeeze the pastry bag to fill the cupcake, withdrawing it slowly as you squeeze; you will feel the cupcake expand slightly as you fill it.
Scrape any filling from the top of the cupcake and repeat until all of the cupcakes are filled.
In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the semisweet chocolate to the cream and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk the melted chocolate into the cream until smooth.
Let the chocolate icing stand until slightly cooled and thickened, about 15 minutes.
Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing, letting the excess drip back into the pan. Transfer the cupcakes to racks and let stand for 5 minutes.
Dip the tops of the cupcakes again and transfer them to racks.
Spoon the remaining 3 tablespoons of peanut butter filling into the pastry bag and pipe tiny rosettes on the tops of the cupcakes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Peanut | 1 oz (28g) | 161 |
| Chocolate | 1 oz (28g) semisweet | 155 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Buttermilk + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,721 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Buttermilk + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,973 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Cocoa powder + vanillatop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,189 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
-
Vanilla + peanuttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,176 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cocoa powder
- Gives chocolate flavor and color; blooms in boiling water to deepen its taste.
- Buttermilk
- Adds acidity and moisture, tenderizing the crumb and reacting with the leavening.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk and cocoa to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Eggs
- Provide structure and richness, binding the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor, and creams with sugar to trap air for a light texture.
- Semisweet chocolate
- Melted into hot cream to form a glossy, thickened icing that sets as it cools.
The step that matters
Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the icing. The icing must cool slightly and thicken before dipping; if it is too hot and thin, it runs off instead of coating the tops evenly.
Swap the peanut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cocoa powder, buttermilk, flour, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla):
- Almondfits better
- Hazelnutfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Peanutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cocoa powder, buttermilk, flour, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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