For these cupcakes, I ramped up humble, yet always delicious, chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with an elevated dulce de leche filling recipe. These Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche Cupcakes are OUTSTANDING and I guarantee they’ll disappear quickly from your dessert table!

After years of making chocolate peanut butter cakes and cupcakes, I honestly didn’t think this kind of dessert could get any better. Then along came peanut butter dulce de leche.

I’ve got Peabody to thank for this new obsession but I wish I could say that I came up with the idea of peanut butter dulce de leche on my own because it really is a brilliant one!

What is Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche?

Peanut butter dulce de leche is a combination of dulce de leche, peanut butter, and heavy cream. That’s it! Three ingredients make up one of the most extraordinary fillings you could ever imagine.

We all know how dreamy dulce de leche is on it’s own but adding peanut butter? Oh mylanta!

I’ve use this cupcake filling twice already and I’ve gotten the same knee-wobbling reaction from everyone who’s tried it each time. It’s just that good.

More Peanut Butter Cake and Cupcake Recipes: Fudgy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake | Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes | Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream Cake | Reese’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake

Cupcake Components

This time around, I stuffed my favorite chocolate cupcakes full with this amazing dulce de leche filling. I used the cone method to cut out the center of the cupcakes so I could fill them up.

And then I topped the cupcakes with the best peanut butter frosting ever.

Then of course, I threw a few obligatory bits of chopped up Reese’s peanut butter cups on top. I mean, how bad could that be??

These cupcakes had people coming back to my cupcakes at Cupcake Camp New Haven two and three times. And when you’re faced with a room of 2000 cupcakes and you have repeat visitors, you know they’re that good.

More Recipes with Dulce de Leche

Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

Name: Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche Cupcakes
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 recipe Devil's Food Chocolate Cupcakes or your preferred chocolate cupcake recipe; 1 cup dulce de leche, store-bought or homemade; ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter; ¼ to ⅓ cup heavy cream (depending on how thick you want your sauce/filling); 2 cups creamy peanut butter; 1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature; 4 cups confectioners' sugar; 1 tbsp plus 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract; ¾ tsp Kosher salt; ½ cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream; Chopped peanut butter cups (about 10 oz)

Yield: 24 full size or 48 mini cupcakes

Cupcake Prep Time: 1 hour

Filling and Frosting Prep Time: 40 minutes

Assembly Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Peanut butter dulce de leche cupcakes are a fantastic spin on classic chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. Stuffed full of peanut butter dulce de leche filling and topped with creamy peanut butter frosting with some chopped peanut butter cups, you'll be dreaming of these cupcakes long after they're gone.

Ingredients

For the chocolate cupcakes:

1 recipe Devil's Food Chocolate Cupcakes or your preferred chocolate cupcake recipe

For the dulce de leche filling:

1 cup dulce de leche, store-bought or homemade
⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ to ⅓ cup heavy cream (depending on how thick you want your sauce/filling)

For the peanut butter frosting:

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp plus 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¾ tsp Kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream

For topping:

Chopped peanut butter cups (about 10 oz)

Instructions

Bake cupcakes according the recipe instructions. Allow to cool completely before filling. While the cupcakes bake and cool, make the filling and frosting.
To make the dulce de leche filling: In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, heat the peanut butter, dulce de leche, and ¼ cup heavy cream together. Whisk them until all the ingredients are fully combined and sauce is smooth. If sauce is too thick, add some more cream a little at a time. You want to make sure you can pipe it into the cupcakes, so add the extra cream in small amounts until you reach the right thickness. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken as it cools. Cool to room temperature before filling the cupcakes.
To make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the peanut butter and butter. Sift the sugar into the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and salt.
Starting on low and gradually increasing (to prevent the sugar from covering your kitchen) the speed to medium-high, beat the ingredients until light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the heavy whipping cream until it is fully incorporated, about 30 seconds.
To assemble: Fill a piping bag fitted with a ¼-inch round tip with the the dulce de leche filling. Fill a second piping bag fitted with a large star tip with frosting.
Using a sharp pairing knife, cut a small cone shape out of the top of each cupake. The cones should be about half the height of the cupcakes. Pipe the filling into the cupcakes just until it reaches the top of the cupcake.
Pipe swirls of frosting onto the top of the cupcake. Top with chopped peanut butter cups.

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