Mix Master Miriam vs. Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes (Recipe)

I was stumbling the other day and happened across this recipe for Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes on 52 Kitchen Adventures. My jaw dropped and right then, I decided that I would make them.

The idea had been percolating in my head for a couple of weeks that I was going to try to make cupcakes from scratch – ever since I went to the cupcakery up the street and paid almost $3.00 for a cupcake. I’ve watched my fair share of Cupcake Wars and Cupcake Girls. I just had the cupcake itch and that recipe was all I needed to get me to try it.

I already had most of the ingredients already, but I needed to head to the store to pick up the magic ingredient – Nutella. (P.S…even though this isn’t the end. If you haven’t tried Nutella you are missing out. It is AWESOME.) When I got home, I began the baking process with 2 hours of waiting. Why? Because the recipe says you need room temperature butter and room temperature eggs. I’m not sure why, but I was going to follow the recipe to ensure my cupcakes were delicious.

After a couple of hours, I was ready to begin the baking process. I followed the recipe and used my trusty KitchenAid mixer to do all the heavy lifting mixing. I carefully scooped everything into the cupcake pan, placed them into the oven and closed the door in what I can only describe as a mixture of euphoria (hey – I’d been inhaling chocolate fumes) and triumph. I took a quick look at the recipe when it hit me – I had used twice as much butter than I was supposed to.

How does something like that happen, you ask? Well, during my last store visit, the butter that was separated into 1/4 cups sticks was on sale, so I’ve been using butter in 1/4 cup portions. When I was looking at the recipe, I saw “1/2 cup” of butter and thought “oh! 2 sticks of butter.” The only problem was that I had just picked up the regular butter, where each stick is 1/2 cup each. Ack! I quickly pulled everything out of the oven and tried to double up the recipe as best I could. Triumphant feeling – long gone. I mixed everything up (again) and filled the cupcake pan (again) and put everything back in the oven (again.)

As the cupcakes baked, I tackled the frosting. This time I was careful to ensure that I only used ONE stick of butter. This did not, however, prevent me from “sampling” the Nutella as I scooped it into the mixer. More than a little accidentally got onto the edge of the bowl and I mean…you can’t let good food go to waste, you know what I mean? Finally, the full cup of Nutella got into the bowl; I flipped the switch and voila! Nutella frosting.

A few minutes later, the oven timer went off. I pulled them out, let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then set them on wire racks to fully cool down.

Then it was time to frost the cupcakes. The only problem was that I didn’t have a piping bag or piping tips. Ack! Being the Macguyver that I am, I sliced off the end of a gallon Ziploc bag, threw the frosting in (folding the bag of my hand while filling like I see the pros do on TV) and began “piping” – or should I say “Ziploc bagging” the frosting onto the cupcakes. I honestly think they came out looking pretty tootin’ good…especially considering that the frosting came out of a Ziploc bag!

With all this being said, let me now tell you that THESE CUPCAKES ARE AWESOME! Like, seriously awesome. I would totally pay $3.00 for one of these cupcakes. They have a great chocolate flavor – not toooooo sweet and not too bland. And the Nutella frosting….SO GOOD. After eating one of these cupcakes, I didn’t even care that I had accidentally doubled the butter, since that meant I had to double the recipe, thereby doubling the amount of yummy, chocolatey cupcakes I get to eat. Doesn’t that make life grand? 🙂

I’ve gotten permission to share the recipe below, but I also strongly encourage you to check out the 52 Kitchen Adventures post to learn about her inspiration for the recipe.

Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes Recipe

Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 C butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C milk
1 t vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter until softened and smooth. Add sugar and beat for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a separate small bowl, combine milk and vanilla.
4. Add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to butter and sugar and mix until combined. Add about 1/2 of wet ingredients to mixture and mix until combined. Continue alternating dry and wet, mixing in between (finish with the remaining dry ingredients).
5. Fill cupcake tins about 1/2 full (don’t overfill – you only need 1/2) and bake for around 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. They will come out flat.

Nutella Buttercream
Ingredients:
1/2 C butter, room temperature
1 C Nutella
1 C powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 T milk

Directions:

1. Beat butter until smooth. Add Nutella and beat together until thoroughly combined. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of milk. Add additional milk or powdered sugar as needed to reach desired consistency.

This recipe is reprinted with permission from 52 Kitchen Adventures and was adapted from Cupcake Project and Chockylit.