Hot Chocolate Sponge with Crunchy Peanut Butter Frosting, Dinosaur Cupcakes

I opted for 'Crunchy' peanut butter for this recipe instead of the conventional smooth option. I did this because I like my recipes to be slightly different and I thought the extra 'crunch' would be just what they needed!
     I have also used hot chocolate for the sponge instead of the conventional chocolate sponge which uses cocoa. I did this because I think the sweetness of the chocolate powder compliments the slightly savoury peanut butter. However, if you prefer the traditional cocoa chocolate sponge, feel free to use it!      
     I got these adorable little dinosaur cases and (glittery...YES, glittery) T-Rex sprinkles from "The Happy Cupcake Company" (http://www.thehappycupcakecompany.co.uk) Any budding bakers or simple cake lovers should set aside a couple of hours to visit this page...it's amazing.

So, here's my recipe (makes 12)

(For The Sponge)

240ml semi skimmed milk
25g hot chocolate powder
80g butter
280g caster sugar
240g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 eggs

(For The Frosting)

125g butter
225g crunchy peanut butter
600g icing sugar
80ml double cream

• When cooking the sponge, heat the oven to 170ºC (Gas Mark 3) and cook for 18-20 minutes.
• Once all cakes are cool, frost and decorate as you wish. I opted for the dinosaur theme because the cupcakes are something a little different, so I decided to visually follow suit.

Enjoy, K x