Peanut Butter Cupcakes and Butter Cream Roses

I'm going to be completely honest about a couple things:
1. I love peanut butter
2. I have no self-control when it comes to baked goods

Only the first point is relevant to this post, but the second is important because I just feel better admitting it. Its like a weight is lifted.

Moving along, what I wanted to talk about today was not only my absolute favourite cupcakes, but also butter cream roses.

I stumbled on a great video on YouTube, sort of by accident, and it was a pretty clear tutorial about how to pipe butter cream roses, something which, until this point, I hadn't even fathomed trying. The video made it look pretty easy though, and I decided I wanted to learn. This required cupcakes, because who needs icing roses with no cupcake? No one.

This brings me to the peanut butter cupcakes. My absolute favourite cupcakes. Without a doubt the best things of my life. So I thought I'd share the recipe with you, which I originally found on the Wilton website. To make the cupcakes, you'll need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
6 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (the original recipe calls for clear vanilla, but I prefer pure vanilla extract, it has a nicer flavour)
1 cup milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and either line a muffin pan with cups or spray it with non-stick baking spray and set it aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set it aside once they're combined. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Once the mixture is smooth, add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Next, alternately add the milk and the flour mixture until all of the ingredients are combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, and bake for 20-25 minutes, checking that they're done (use a cake tester or a tooth pick, if it comes out clean they're ready!).

Once my cupcakes were ready, I used my new-found rose-making savvy to pipe butter cream roses. I used a chocolate butter cream icing because there is something irresistible about peanut butter and chocolate. Some of the roses were piped onto parchment paper squares on a flower nail, while I piped others directly onto the cupcakes. While they were by no means perfect, they turned out pretty well for a first attempt. Check out the video below and attempt these cupcakes and flowers yourself!