Hey — guess what? IBK (that’s Itsy-Bitsy Kitchen) just turned six months old a couple of weeks ago. I only realized it two days ago, so I decided to celebrate the belated half-birthday with cupcakes. Not ordinary cupcakes, though: these are inspired by the legendary Ben & Jerry’s flavor Chubby Hubby.
If you haven’t met Chubby Hubby yet, get ready: it’s a vanilla malt ice cream loaded with chocolate-covered pretzels, fudge, and ribbons of peanut butter. It’s rich, salty-sweet, and utterly addictive.
These cupcakes translate that flavor profile into a tender vanilla-malt cake studded with chocolate-covered pretzel pieces and peanut butter chips. Each cake gets two frostings — a deep chocolate buttercream and a creamy peanut butter buttercream — piped together so every bite delivers that classic Chubby Hubby combination.
The cake itself is sweet and moist, with the malt powder adding a toasty depth that pairs perfectly with salty pretzels and melty peanut butter chips. Topped with swirls of chocolate and peanut butter buttercream, these cupcakes are as indulgent as they sound — truly celebration-worthy whether your day is happy or needs a little cheering up.
Frosting tip: don’t overfill your piping bags. Fill each bag no more than halfway, then place them into a larger bag fitted with your decorating tip and pipe. Refilling a bag mid-run is messy — if you need more frosting, it’s usually cleaner to prepare a second set of bags to swap in. If you do spill, I’ve done it on my shoes so you don’t have to.
If your piping isn’t perfect, that’s okay — frosting is forgiving. You can scrape off mistakes and start again as many times as needed until you’re happy with the look.
Enjoy, and happy belated Mother’s Day!
- 1 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 cup malted milk powder
- 3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup chopped chocolate-covered pretzels
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional, for a deeper chocolate flavor)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
- 4 to 6 tablespoons whole milk
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 to 4 tablespoons whole milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar and butter. Beat with an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined, then beat in malted milk powder.
- With mixer on low, add half of the dry ingredients, then add all of the milk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in pretzels and peanut butter chips. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake 18–20 minutes, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, espresso powder (if using), and salt, mixing to combine. Turn mixer to low and beat in cocoa powder.
- Add 2 cups powdered sugar, a little at a time, then beat in 4 tablespoons milk. Beat on high for 4 minutes. Adjust consistency with more powdered sugar if too thin or more milk if too thick.
- Beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla and beat 2 more minutes. Add 2 cups powdered sugar in increments until combined, then beat in salt and 3 tablespoons milk. Beat on high for 4 minutes and adjust consistency with milk or more powdered sugar as needed.
- Fit a large pastry bag with your chosen decorating tip. Fill one smaller bag with chocolate buttercream and one with peanut butter buttercream, each no more than halfway full. Cut the tips off the smaller bags and carefully place them inside the larger bag before piping so both frostings come out together. Pipe swirls onto cooled cupcakes.
- Cupcakes can be made a day ahead and stored tightly wrapped at room temperature. Frosting can be made a day ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. To soften chilled frosting, beat it in a mixer on low until spreadable. Fill and frost cupcakes just before serving.
*This is the tip used to frost the cupcakes.