I am usually a make-it-from-scratch type of baker who shies away from cake mixes. Call me a cake-snob, but I think it’s worth it to put in the extra time and effort because I love the fresher taste of baked goods made from real, unprocessed ingredients. However, I can’t help but bend this rule when it comes to The Cake-Mix Doctor baking book. This cookbook is always a great fall-back when I need a slightly easier and quicker cake recipe that will still be a delicious crowd-pleaser.

We visited Penn State this past weekend to attend the soggiest tailgate ever, but also to celebrate my good friend Brittany’s birthday! Brittany shares my love for anything with chocolate and peanut butter, so I baked up some rich chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting in honor of her birthday. Both recipes came from The Cake-Mix Doctor book, but I made some slight modifications to make them a (tiny!) bit healthier.

Happy Birthday Brittany!!!

Recipe:

Makes 21 cupcakes

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil’s food cake mix

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup fat free Greek yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup water

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup creamy reduced-fat peanut butter

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3 to 4 tablespoons skim milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with 21 liners. Set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, cocoa powder, yogurt, applesauce, water, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute, stopping once to scrap down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides of the bowl again if needed. Pour the batter into the line cupcake pans, filling each liner no more than 3/4 the way full.

Bake cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pans and place on the wire rack to cook completely, at least 15 minutes.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

Place the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Add the confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well combined, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting lightens and is fluffy, 1 minute more. Blend in up to 1 tablespoon milk if the frosting seems too stiff.

Nutritional Information (per cupcake):

Calories: 231

Fat: 13.7g

Saturated Fat: 4.9 g

Carbohydrates: 23.4 g

Protein: 6.0 g

*Okay, I’ll admit it: generic cupcakes have been Photoshopped into these two pictures in a lame form of improvisation for not having taken pictures. To the cupcakes’ credit, however, the reason I don’t have pictures is because they got gobbled up by tailgaters before I could snap a photo!