Julie Clark
Posted: Updated:
Buckeye Cupcakes
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
If you love chocolate and peanut butter, try these hi-hat Buckeye Cupcakes! Dip homemade peanut butter frosting topped cupcakes in melted chocolate for a rich sweet treat.
You don’t have to live in Ohio or even love the Ohio State Buckeyes to crave buckeye candy! There’s something about this time of year (ahem…football season!) that makes me want chocolate and peanut butter more than ever. Buckeye cookies, chocolate peanut butter dip, buckeye cheesecake and yes…now a cupcake recipe!
For this exact recipe, I kept things simple and spruced up a boxed cake mix. Butter and milk add richness to the cake mix. If you’re wanting from scratch chocolate cupcakes, give these a try!
Hi Hat Cupcakes
These are officially called Hi Hat cupcakes, because the frosting is piled high and then dipped in a melted chocolate topping. I’m all about mounds and mounds of frosting over here, especially when it is peanut butter frosting.
This peanut butter frosting recipe that makes the hi-hat tastes like the inside of a buckeye itself. Like who-needs-a-cupcake-just-give-me-a-spoon good. I try to save any extra frosting I may have by freezing it, but let’s be honest…it doesn’t last more than a day.
How to Make Buckeye Cupcakes
Because there are several steps to this buckeye cupcake recipe, I kept cupcakes simple and used a box cake mix. Want homemade? Try this chocolate cupcake recipe.
- Make the cupcakes. Whip up the cake batter, then bake and cool cupcakes completely before making the frosting.
- Make the peanut butter buttercream. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until it is almost white in appearance. Beat in the smooth peanut butter and vanilla extract.
- Add two cups of powdered sugar and beat well. Add in the remaining powdered sugar and beat again.
- Add heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, to achieve the buttercream consistency that you’d like for spreading or piping the frosting.
- Frost the cupcakes. Use Wilton Tip 1M to pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cupcakes. Place the cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour so that the frosting can set before dipping in chocolate.
Dipping Cupcakes in Chocolate
It’s important to use a high-quality chocolate for dipping these buckeye cupcakes. I prefer a dark chocolate (at least 60% dark) because it melts more smoothly than milk chocolate. Ghirardelli melting wafers melt beautifully.
- Refrigerating the cupcakes after you pipe the “hat” on allows the chocolate harden quickly and not melt the frosting.
- Place the chocolate wafers in a microwave-safe cup or dish. Melt in 20-30 second increments, stirring each time. Once the chocolate starts melting, reduce the time to 10-15 seconds. If the chocolate is too thick, stir in the shortening until it melts. The key is to melt chocolate slowly. Take your time. If the chocolate gets too hot, it will seize up and become unusable. And when you spend money on high-quality chocolate, you don’t want to waste it!
- If you’d like, after you are done dipping the buckeye cupcakes in chocolate, you can immediately place a buckeye candy on top. Don’t wait for this because the chocolate will set quickly. Do they really need the buckeye on top? Nope. But is extra candy always good? Yep.
Storage
Store in an airtight container at room temperature. You can refrigerate or freeze the buckeye cupcakes if you’d like, but the chocolate may crack.
You may also love our cookie dough buckeyes and no bake buckeye cookies.
Buckeye Cupcakes
If you love chocolate and peanut butter, try these hi-hat Buckeye Cupcakes! Dip homemade peanut butter frosting topped cupcakes in melted chocolate for a rich sweet treat.
Servings 24
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 box chocolate cake mix 15.25 ounces
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup salted butter softened, 4 ounces
- 1 cup 2% milk 8 ounces
For the Buttercream:
- 1 cup salted butter softened, 8 ounces
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter 500 grams
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 5 grams
- 4 cups powdered sugar 520 grams
- 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream 2-3 ounces
For the Chocolate:
- 2 cups dark chocolate wafers Ghirardelli brand
- 1 tablespoon shortening optional
- 24 buckeye candies for topping optional
Instructions
Make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place 24 paper cupcake liners in 2 muffin pans.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat together the cake mix, eggs, butter and milk. Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. 1 box chocolate cake mix, 3 large eggs, ½ cup salted butter, 1 cup 2% milk
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop batter into cupcake liners, filling ⅔ of the way full. There should be enough to make 24 cupcakes.
- Bake for 19 minutes or until the top of the cupcakes spring back when you touch them. Allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack.
Make the Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment to beat the butter for 1-2 minutes until it is almost white in appearance. 1 cup salted butter
- Beat in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. 2 cups creamy peanut butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add two cups of powdered sugar and beat well. Add in the remaining powdered sugar and beat again. 4 cups powdered sugar
- Add heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, to achieve the buttercream consistency that you’d like for spreading or piping the frosting. If you are piping the frosting, be sure the frosting is not too soft so that it holds shape. 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
- Use Wilton Tip 1M to pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cupcakes. Place the cupcakes in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour so that the frosting can set before dipping in chocolate.
Dip the Cupcakes:
- Place the chocolate wafers in a microwave-safe cup or dish. Melt in 20-30 second increments, stirring each time. Once the chocolate starts melting, reduce the time to 10-15 seconds. It’s important to melt the chocolate slowly and stir it often so that it does not burn. If the chocolate is too thick, stir in the shortening until it melts. 2 cups dark chocolate wafers, 1 tablespoon shortening
- Take a cupcake, turn it upside down and dip it quickly down into the melted chocolate. Pull it back up and allow the chocolate to drip off.
- Once the excess chocolate has dripped off, turn the cupcake over.
- Gently push a buckeye into the top of the cupcake while the chocolate is still wet, if desired.
- Once the chocolate has completely set, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Feel free to use the ingredients on the back of the cake mix box that you buy to make the cupcakes.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 24 cupcakes, with 1 serving being 1 cupcake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 353mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 3.2mg
