Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter icing.

I made some chocolate cupcakes for Aaron's birthday today.  I  debated between 2 recipes and went with the one on Mel's kitchen cafe.  I had no intention of making the icing that went with the cupcakes and probably should have read all of the comments about the cupcakes before making them.  They were not a very chocolaty cupcake, and I have wanted a nice and chocolaty cupcake so I could make a peanut butter frosting to go on top.  I ended up making a chocolate/peanut butter icing instead to help boost the overall chocolate flavor and get to the chocolate peanut butter flavor I was going for.  The result was good, but I would probably try brown eyed baker chocolate cupcakes next time.  We also had a few other problems with the cupcakes - DH put them in tiny cupcake wrappers and for some reason they took a long time to cook.  Even the batch that ended up in regular cupcake wrappers took longer than 14 minutes.  The texture of these cupcakes was nice.  Kind of spongy.  Very moist.  I just would have preferred a little more chocolate flavor for what I was doing.
As far as the icing goes, I made up my own frosting.  I've read on a few recipes that using cream is the secret to good icing but I didn't have any.  I did use some half and half that I had.  I also left out the butter.  I really don't see the purpose of the butter in a peanut butter icing.  You have plenty of fat in the peanut butter.  I didn't think there was anything wrong with our icing for leaving the butter out.  I did pipe the frosting onto the cupcake.  I have never done that before, but I really liked it.  Our first batch turned out looking like elephant skin on top or something, but pipe a bit of icing on top and whah la!  Pretty cupcake.

Chocolate cup cake ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 squares (3 ounces) semisweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream 

Directions

1. Preheat over to 325.  Line 18-24 muffin tin cups with paper liners.  (we made 17 or 18 mini cupcakes and 12 regular sized)
2. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate on 50% power for 1-2 minutes.  Stir and continue to melt on 50% power for 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted.  Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Blend in vanilla.  Add eggs and beat until the batter is creamy.  Blend in the chocolate.  Add 1/3 of the flour mix and mix just until combined.  Add 1/2 of the sour cream and mix.  Repeat 1/3 flour mix, 1/2 sour cream, and finish with the last 1/3 of flour, beating until well combined.
5. Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full.  Bake for 10-14 minutes until a toothpick inserted in teh center coms out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.  (we never got to this point.  It was either wet, or clean.  No in between and I was only going in 2 minute intervals at the end.  They were still moist.)

Frosting

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 + 1/3 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Beat all ingredients until smooth and fluffy.  Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.