Peanut Butter Stuffed Hot Fudge Cupcakes

One of my favorite things is peanut butter and chocolate. To me there's nothing better. This cupcake really reminds me of a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. The frosting is the perfect balance of salty peanut butter and sweet. Oh, and the hot fudge is the perfect touch. It sets up perfectly for a cupcake like this. If you're having a peanut butter and chocolate craving, you should definitely make these!

Cake:
1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
1 small box chocolate fudge pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar (you may want 1 more cup depending on how sweet you want it)
2-3 T whipping cream (may need more to reach your desired consistency)
1 t vanilla

Hot Fudge Sauce:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups sugar
1 (12oz) can evaporated milk
1 t vanilla

For the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners. To prepare cupcakes place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, milk and sour cream into stand mixer. Beat until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Scoop batter evenly into 24 cupcake liners. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes are cooked through, a toothpick comes clean from center. Remove and let cool.

For the Frosting:
Cream butter and peanut butter together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar with mixer on low speed and gradually add milk and vanilla. Beat until frosting is smooth. If too thick, add more milk; if too thin, add more sugar.

For the Hot Fudge Sauce:
Combine butter, cocoa powder, sugar and evaporated milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes, or until very thick. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

After cupcakes have cooled completely, take the core out to prepare to fill them. Drizzle some hot fudge sauce into the center and then fill the rest of the hole with peanut butter frosting. Then dip the tops of the cupcakes into the hot fudge sauce. It sets up pretty fast, so it shouldn't be too messy. Top with peanut butter frosting and then drizzle with hot fudge. It might seem like a lot of work, but believe me...IT'S WORTH IT!!

*Peanut Butter Frosting adapted from Tasty Kitchen