Chocolate Stout and Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cupcakes
 
Ingredients
Chocolate Stout Cake
  • ¾ c. Guinness Extra Stout
  • 1 T. Instant Coffee Granules dissolved in ¼ c. Warm Water
  • 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
  • ¾ c. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 2 c. All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 c. White Sugar
  • 1½ t. Baking Soda
  • ¾ t. Salt
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 2 T. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • ½ c., plus 2 T. Sour Cream
Peanut Butter Cheesecake
  • 1 lb. (2, 8 oz. pkgs) Cream Cheese, softened
  • ¾ c. Firmly Packed, Light Brown Sugar
  • ½ c. Smooth Peanut Butter
  • ¼ c. Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1½ T. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 3 Large Eggs, room temperature
Whipped Chocolate Ganache Buttercream
  • 1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 1½ c. Bittersweet/Dark Chocolate Chips
  • 1 t. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 3 Sticks Unsalted Butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces, softened
  • ½ c. Crushed Pretzels
  • ½ c. Chopped, Dry-Roasted Peanuts
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 35 regular size muffin tins with cupcake liners.
For the Chocolate Stout Cake
  1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring stout, coffee and butter to a simmer. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In an electric mixer, beat eggs, vanilla and sour cream just until blended.
  3. Add stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat until just combined, taking care the stout mixture is cool enough that it will not cook the eggs. Gradually add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.
For the Peanut Butter Cheesecake
  1. Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the brown sugar, peanut butter, heavy whipping cream and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined.
  2. Place a scant 2 T. peanut butter cheesecake in the bottom of 30 of the muffin tins. Top with 2 T. of the chocolate stout cake. Bake for 20 minute or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Whipped Chocolate Ganache Buttercream
  1. Place the chocolate chips in the bowl of an electric mixer. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy whipping cream to a boil over medium heat. Pour over the chocolate chips and let set for one minute before stirring from the center until chocolate is smooth and melted completely. Stir in vanilla. Beat the chocolate mixture on low until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Add butter and increase speed to medium-high until mixture is well combined, thickened and slightly whipped, about 2 minutes.
  2. Frost each cupcake with a VERY generous amount of frosting (I did a very thick layer of frosting) and top with crushed pretzels and chopped peanuts. Refrigerate overnight and let set out at least 5 minutes before eating.
Notes
Makes 30 chocolate stout and peanut butter cheesecake cupcakes and 5 chocolate stout cupcakes. Note: I made the chocolate stout mixture first, then the cheesecake and then finished the cake, just so the chocolate stout mixture had time to cool adequately.
Recipe by DessertedPlanet.com at https://dessertedplanet.com/chocolate-stout-and-peanut-butter-cheesecake-cupcakes/