How to: Choco-Cat Cupcakes with Peanut Butter frosting

Hey Nibblers!

         If you can't already tell by the title this is going to be one CAT-riffic post! To be quite honest, I'm actually not a cat person. In fact, I'm not really an animal person. It's not because I dislike animals, it's just I've never been around them enough to not be afraid of them. I blame my Mum though. She uses me as a human shield when a dog walks nearby. I think that's where my fear emulated from. 

         So why dedicate a recipe to cats you ask? It's all in the name of friendship. My amazing nursing buddy Therese is turning 21 in a couple days time. She's a total cat-lover. While I would have loved to buy her a cat, I can't afford the expenses. So, I went for the next best option I could think of. Choco-CAT Cupcakes. Want to know how I made them? Just keep reading.

What you'll need:

Makes approx. 15 medium sized cupcakes

- 170g of plain flour

- pinch of salt

- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 eggs

- 3/4 cup of cocoa 

- 50g unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)

- 1 cup of white sugar

- 1 cup of milk
- 3/4 tsp. Vanilla Essence

Fluffy Butter and Sugar Mix

How to: Choco-cat Cupcake component

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius

2. Line tin with cupcake paper

3. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cocoa in a medium mixing bowl

4. Beat together the softened butter, vanilla essence and white sugar using hand mixer in a large mixing bowl until well combined and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes)
5. Add eggs in one at a time until mixed

6. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture and hand mix until well combined

Cupcake batter

7. Add 1/3 of the milk and mix until well incorporated. Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl

8. Repeat steps 5 & 6 until all ingredients are all combined

9. Spoon cupcake mixture evenly and 3/4 of the way up 

10. Pop into the oven for 18 minutes checking with a skewer at the end to see if it's cooked

11. Rest the cakes for 5-10 minutes before consumption

Peanut Butter frosting

White butter compared to peanut butter

- 250g of unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)

- 150g of sifted icing sugar

- 3 tsp. Vanilla Essence

- 2 Tbs. of milk

- 2/3 cups of smooth peanut butter

How To:

1. Using a hand-mixer, beat the softened butter for 5 minutes.

           (The butter should change from a yellow to off-white colour)

2. Add 1/2 of the sifted icing sugar, continuously mixing until well combined

3. Add milk & Vanilla and mix 

4. Add remaining icing sugar and mix until well combined remembering to scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix for another 3 minutes

5. Mix in the peanut butter until well incorporated 

             The frosting should now be ready. It should stay on your spatula unless you force it down yourself.

                 Note:  If the frosting is too sloppy, add more icing sugar. If your frosting is too dense, add a Tbs. of milk.
                             If you have leftover buttercream frosting, don't worry! You can pop it into the fridge for 3-5 days in an                                  airtight container or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Assemble Cats!

1. Pipe two arrows about 1cm from the edge for the Cat ears

2. Two dots for eyes

3. A small 1-2cm line from the half way point of the cupcake for the nose bridge with two minor arcs to form the nostrils

4. Add three whiskers to the left and right sides of the Cat's cheeks

5. Outline the cupcake for definition and voila! You're finished

Happy 21st Birthday Tree <3

        I hope you all loved this fun Choco-Cat Cupcake post! These turned out to be deliciously moist and were great the day after. The peanut butter frosting added an extra boost to the flavour and is so easy to make. If you do give these a go, leave a comment below or share your masterpieces on instagram/ twitter and tag @nibble_jox so I can see them.
        Hope you all have an amazing day and week.

Meow!
Nibble Away,

            Jo.