OK, so have you ever tasted Nutella? My mother is a 87 year old chocoholic and she spreads this stuff on everything! You'll find it in the aisle with Peanut Butter. It's made by the Italian candy maker Ferrero, who make those delicious Ferrero Rocher chocolate hazelnut candies in the gold foil you see around Christmas. Nutella has a rich creamy chocolate and hazelnut flavor- spread it on your toast and it's like eating candy for breakfast..... YUM!
Last weekend, I decided to make some cupcakes using Nutella as the secret ingredient in the filling, as well as in the frosting. (note- once you open the just and sample it, you'll be digging your spoon in, so make sure you save enough for the frosting ! )
I started with the basic Cooks Baking Illustrated Yellow Cupcake recipe, because it uses sour cream which always gives a nice tangy flavor to cakes, (and helps keep them from drying out, like milk can). This recipe uses one whole egg and two egg yolks, which also helps to keep the cuppies moist (can you tell I really hate dry baked goods?). Did you know that too many egg whites are what often makes baked products, especially cakes and cookies taste dry ? Egg whites are important because they are the glue to help keep the finished product from falling apart, but it is important to only use large eggs when you bake, - extra large and jumbo will add too much egg white to your batter, making your cake dry. If you have a recipe with at least three eggs, you can usually replace one whole egg with just the egg yolk to keep the batter moister.
I also like this basic cupcake recipe because there's not a lot of prep work- you throw everything into one bowl and mix it up. The hardest part is remembering to take the butter and eggs out out early so they warm to room temperature.
Once I made the cupcakes and let them thoroughly cool ( 9 holes of golf), I used a small knife and cut into the top of the cupcakes and cut out small cones of dough, dropped a small amount of Nutella in the hole, put the cone back on, frosted them and voila ! Nutella cream filled cupcakes !
One other note with Nutella-the frosting is a basic sour cream /confectioners sugar recipe- but because Nutella is soft, I mixed in a 1/2 of teaspoon of unflavored gelatin to give the frosting a stiffer consistency.
As usual, cupcakes always taste best the day they are made. This recipe makes 12 cupcakes.
Cupcakes
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz unsalted butter, softened
1/2 Cup sour cream
1 Large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
1/2 Cup Nutella (for filling)
Frosting
1/4 Cup Nutella
2 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin (optional)
1/4 Cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar
Pre-heat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with liners
1-Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add butter, sour cream, egg, yolks, vanilla, and beat until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and make sure everything is well mixed and smooth.
2- Divide the batter evenly among the cups using an ice cream scoop, or your 1/4 cup measuring cup. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold, and a toothpick comes out clean, about 20-24 minutes. Use a paring knife to lift cupcakes from tin and cool on wire rack until room temperature, about 45 minutes.
To make frosting- Melt the Nutella and butter in microwave bowl. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add sour cream, salt, gelatin, and extract. When smooth, add in 1/2 of the confectioners sugar and mix. Keep adding confectioners sugar until spreadable consistency is achieved.
3- Using a paring knife, cut little cones out of the top of the cupcakes. Add a dollup of Nutella from the jar ( i used a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon to scoop it out). Replace the cone top. Frost and put in the refrigerator for about an hour to get the gelatin to solidify the frosting.
