In case you’re wondering what a “fluffernutter” is, it’s a sandwich made with marshmallow fluff and peanut butter! I have combined this idea with chocolate to create the most drool worthy cupcakes. Everything is better with chocolate, right?
I had a feeling these would taste good, but they ended up tasting SO good, I had to stop myself from eating them all and not serving any to my family! Ha! In all seriousness, this peanut butter buttercream is the bomb. Combine that with the fluffy, soft marshmallow filling + a perfectly moist chocolate cake… this is the perfect dessert. I’m obsessed!
The base of the cupcake is a regular chocolate cake, then I made marshmallow fluff from scratch and piped it into the cupcake for filling. Finally, I topped it with a peanut butter buttercream icing, and a few toasted marshmallows for decoration. It’s always a good day when I can whip out my kitchen torch and toast something!
The cupcake comes first of course. I love this recipe because it doesn’t require waiting to bring your ingredients to room temp. This batter uses canola oil instead of butter so you can whip up the batter very quickly. It’s a thin batter but bakes perfectly. I use a ice cream scoop with a trigger to measure my batter into even cupcakes. I know it sounds weird, but it fills them exactly 2/3 full which is perfect.
Once they come out of the oven, they are perfectly proportioned!
Next I use a serrated steak knife to cut a hole in the middle of each cupcake for the filling. You don’t need to cut much out at all, since you want there to be plenty of cupcake left! Here’s a picture of how much cupcake I cut out. Don’t judge my one unpainted nail!
Next you can make the marshmallow fluff. I know you can purchase a jar of this pre-made, but it’s super quick and easy to make it yourself and its only 4 ingredients of which you already have in your pantry – sugar, egg whites, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar. I use a double boiler for this.
You know when the mixture is ready to remove from the stove when you rub a little between your fingers and you can no longer feel grains of sugar. Then into your stand mixer on high for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks have formed and it’s all whipped up! Then you can add in the vanilla and it’s ready for piping.
You’ll have some extra marshmallow fluff leftover – feel free to keep that in the fridge to use whenever! Maybe you can make a real fluffernutter sandwich with it! 😉
The final step is the buttercream. I am convinced that there are two steps to creating a perfect fluffy buttercream: ALWAYS use room temp ingredients. Take the time to soften the butter instead of microwaving it as a shortcut. Then make sure you whip the butter by itself in the mixer for a good 2-3 minutes to make sure it’s light in color and fluffy, before adding other ingredients. For this recipe I whipped the butter and peanut butter together first but that’s only because they both needed to be whipped up.
While it’s soft, you’ll want to pipe it onto your cupcakes. I use a Wilton 1M tip and piping bag. Then you can top with marshmallows for decoration. I have a small kitchen torch that I used to toast the marshmallows, but this is totally optional. If you choose to toast them with a torch, be sure to chill the cupcakes for about 30 minutes first so the buttercream has a chance to get cold again before you put a hot torch on it.
This icing will change your life people! Ok, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic… but it’s a solid recipe. If you wanted to simplify this recipe you could just leave the filling out and have a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. It’s up to you! Hope you like it!
Chocolate Fluffernutter Cupcakes
Equipment
- 24 cupcake liners
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup strong brewed coffee, room temp
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Marshmallow Filling:
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Peanut Butter Buttercream:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 heaping cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine first six ingredients. Whisk buttermilk, coffee, oil, eggs and vanilla in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until blended; add the dry ingredients until combined. (Batter will be very thin.) Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. You can use a trigger large ice cream scoop to help you measure batter evenly between the cups.
- Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
- In a double boiler over medium-high heat whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Heat about 5-7 minutes while whisking constantly until sugar is dissolved. If you rub some of the mixture between your fingers and you can no longer feel the sugar granules, it's ready.
- Move the mixture immediately to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or use a high powered hand mixer to whip the whites. Whip on highest speed for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Add in vanilla during the last 30 seconds.
- When the cupcakes are cooled, cut a small hole in the middle to insert filling. Then pipe the marshmallow filling inside the hole with a piping bag.
- Prepare the buttercream by whipping the butter and peanut butter together in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix about 3-5 minutes until the mixture lightens up several shades and looks very smooth and airy.
- Add the rest of the buttercream ingredients and mix until combined. Use a piping bag and desired tip to pipe icing onto the cupcakes. Top with marshmallows for decoration (optional)
