Friday, June 3, 2011

Nutella Cupcakes

This is a Nutella cupcake. It's full of Nutella ganache. It's topped with Nutella buttercream. Do I have your attention? When I saw this recipe from Sugarcrafter, I sent it straight to the top of my list of things to try. I mean, did you catch my first three sentences? These are for a cookout tomorrow night, and I can honestly say I don't foresee a leftover situation.


Nutella Cupcakes
chefjennylyn.com

For the cupcakes:
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup Nutella
  • 1/2 cup milk
For the ganache filling:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp Nutella
For the buttercream:
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 Tbsp Nutella

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture is pale and thick. Add in the butter and beat until combined. Then, add in the nutella. Add the flour mixture and milk half at a time until well-blended. Divide batter into the cupcake liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. The centers may sink in a little, but that's okay since we're going to remove them for the filling anyway. Once cooled, scoop the cake from each cupcake center.

To make the Nutella filling, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Beat in the Nutella. Scoop the filling into a piping bag and pipe into the center of each cupcake.

To make the frosting, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar gradually until all of it has been incorporated, and then beat in the Nutella. Decorate the cupcakes as desired.


Makes about 18 cupcakes

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This recipe is originally from Sugarcrafter.


I hope I never get over the Measuring Cup Set. The leveler tool that's included makes measurements simple, and the cups themselves are seriously sturdy. I mean, these things are quality. Then I've got a couple of Measuring Spoons and an Adjustable Measuring Spoon. You can't see the measurement on there, but it's adjusted to 2 teaspoons... so simple when you don't have measure twice! Ok, so the small Stainless Mixing Bowl is housing my sifter for a second, and all of this is on the Large Cutting Board, a great surface for keeping my kitchen free of cocoa, flour, and all the other stuff that's about to fly.

What's better than Nutella? Nutella that's not wasted by being stuck in a standard measuring cup. Enter: Measure-All Cup. That's ready to go, and the Skinny Scraper is my tool of choice for loading and scraping. Then I've got eggs in a 2-Cup Prep Bowl to prevent "Oh, this egg was bad, and now it's mixed in my made-from-scratch cupcake batter" situations. These Stainless Mixing Bowls are my favorites ever ever ever. Lightweight. Grip on bottom. Pour spout. Measurments. Lids. Need I say more?

When you mix a batter and realize it smells like Nutella, life gets better. Maybe you thought things were at the peak of awesomeness already, but you were wrong. Because now you smell a chocolate/hazelnut concoction that creates pure bliss in your kitchen. Ok, so the milk is in an Easy Read Measuring Cup, and the cup is demonstrating why its shape is so ideal. Because of its curve, pouring ingredients is easy instead of messy. My Small Mix 'n Scraper is in the bowl for scraping the sides.

I don't make cupcakes or muffins without the Large Scoop. Even if it means stopping the dishwasher, removing the scoop, running cold water over it to cool it off, and turning the dishwasher back on, I must have my scoop. (True story from making blueberry muffins after these cupcakes. I'm a machine.) Ok, moving on... The Stoneware Muffin Pan is my absolute favorite baking piece simply because I love cupcakes and muffins. It delivers even results, which means I don't have scorched muffin bottoms or hardened cupcake tops.

I love the texture of these cupcakes - dense, brownie-like, crusty on the outside but moist on the inside. The V-Shaped Cutter makes it easy to hollow out the cupcakes because of its pointed tip and sharp sides. Just hold the cupcake over a Small Square Bowl, and scoop out the center, stopping before you get to the bottom. Then fill a Ziploc bag with ganache, clip the corner, and fill these holes. Everything's resting on the Cooling Rack, by the way.

Nutella filling. Yum! Beating cream is easier if you stick your bowl and beaters in the freezer for a few minutes. So I've got the Small Stainless Mixing Bowl frozen and ready go to, and my cream is in an Easy Read Measuring Cup. Then I'll add the Nutella from the Measure-All Cup after this is good and thick. If you've never whipped cream before, be warned that it takes a few minutes. By stiff peaks, you want to pull the beaters back and see the cream hold its shape. If it sinks back into the bowl, keep going. Just watch out, or you'll end up with butter.

This is why it's important to sift powdered sugar. These cupcakes are fun, but they're a lot of work. The last thing I want is lumpy icing when I'm on the home stretch. The same should be true for you. Just get out your sifter, run your sugar through it, and enjoy the fact that you're going to have light, fluffy buttercream instead of "good enough" buttercream. This is a family sifter, and that's a Dots Pasta Bowl below.

This icing recipe is so simple! Powdered Sugar. Butter. NUTELLA. Done!

Decorate the cupcakes however you want. I'm a piping girl when it comes to icing. Piping lends itself to consistency, and it's a lot faster than spreading icing on 18 cupcakes. The tops are covered with - wait for it - crumbs from the insides. Yep, I decided not to waste all that great stuff I scooped out earlier. The Cool & Serve Square Tray is my cupcake carrier of choice because of its tall lid. Ah, something that won't ruin my hard work!

End result. So you want to make these now? If you don't, what's wrong with you? Enjoy these cupcakes and all the new friends they help you make. 

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