Chocolate cupcakes, made with sour cream and pudding, topped with a peanut butter buttercream frosting, and garnished with chopped honey roasted peanuts and chocolate sprinkles.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting

Because I am a bit of a night owl, I tend to do most of my blog work late into the night, and often into the early morning hours, whether it's writing, editing, recipe development, and sometimes, yes, even cooking!

That was the case this past Wednesday night when I decided to make cupcakes for my grandbabies. At 11:00 at night. Trouble is, I wanted to make them from scratch, and, considering I don't even have a single cupcake recipe on the site... I had to actually write a recipe!

Classic German Chocolate Cake ... with a Slight Twist

A classic, homemade German chocolate cake, except instead of spreading the traditional coconut pecan frosting all over the cake, I've added a new twist of chocolate ganache.

Classic German Chocolate Cake

German chocolate cake is the traditional cake for my son's birthday and even when given a choice of any kind of cake, German chocolate is the one he picks. It is his daddy's favorite cake too, and you gotta admit, made from scratch anybody can see why. Rich, moist chocolate cake filled and topped with a gooey, buttery, decadent coconut and pecan filling - it is just ♫delicious♫.

Caramel icing, made easy, with brown sugar, a perfect finish for not only caramel cake, but peanut butter cake, banana cake, and homemade yellow cake.

Quick Caramel Icing

Another easy icing, similar in technique to my peanut butter icing, this caramel icing is fantastic paired with Easy Banana Cake, or would be great to top my Basic 1-2-3-4 Yellow Cake.

A simple chocolate buttercream icing, made from butter, sugar, vanilla and cocoa.

Basic Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

A very basic and simple chocolate buttercream icing that I have used for years. Great for cakes and cupcakes or those big batch brownies.

A basic buttercream cream cheese icing for cakes and cupcakes.

Buttercream Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a very basic buttercream with cream cheese icing that will work on many different types of cakes and cupcakes. For a thinner icing use the lesser amount of powdered sugar,  for a stiffer icing you'll want to use 4 cups or more.

Peppermint Buttercream Icing

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If you're looking for an easy festive treat, use this peppermint buttercream icing on your favorite homemade or cake mix cupcakes or sheet cake. I highly recommend using this on chocolate, and for cake mix brands, I do have to say I adore Duncan Hines brand, my mama's favorite brand of mix!

Peppermint Buttercream Icing
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 pound box of powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons of cream, half and half or milk
Finely crushed candy canes, to garnish cake or cupcakes

Cream together the butter and shortening; add extract and blend. Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, and beat on medium speed, until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the cream and continue beating on medium until fluffy. If too thick, add just a bit of additional milk, only a few drops at a time, until it reaches desired consistency. Frost cake or cupcakes - chocolate is perfect - and lightly sprinkle tops with crushed peppermint. Add festive holiday sprinkles too! Can also stick tiny candy canes in the top of the cupcakes - so cute! Easy festive holiday treat.

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Boiled icings are a southern favorite and this peanut butter one is no exception. It pairs as well with a yellow cake as it does with a chocolate cake and even works to ice brownies.

Old Fashioned Boiled Peanut Butter Icing

I just love the old fashioned boiled icings because they are so different from the usual buttercream or cream cheese icing.

This paired with a basic 1-2-3-4 yellow cake is how I most often make it, but it's also great spread over a pan of homemade brownies, or on a chocolate Texas Sheet Cake, and you got a really great dessert for any day of the week.