Nutella Bliss Cupcakes

I've never had Nutella before, seriously, not a lie.  But I've been told it's fabulous. I'm pretty sure I've stayed away from it because I've been allergic to nuts my entire life.  People keep telling me I'm missing out, so I decided I needed to just take a spoon full, put it in my mouth & try it!

The verdict.... UHM YUM!  The cupcakes were a chocolate Nutella Cupcake which I filled with a simple vanilla pudding then topped with Nutella buttercream and chopped hazlenuts.  Some of the cupcakes I topped with a Nutella and peanut butter cream cheese frosting swirl.  Double yum.

There were three things though about this recipe that I didn't like.  1) The cake was a little dry.  Now, I think that was probably my fault.  I could have taken the cupcakes out a little sooner and they probably wouldn't have been so dry.  2) Next time I'll fill them with something different, like Nutella or a different banana mixture.  The banana pudding tasted good, but it soaked into the cupcake too much after a day or so and when you bit into it you didn't really see a lot of the filling because it soaked into the cupcake.  Yummy, but not perfect like I wanted.  3) It made FIVE DOZEN cupcakes.  The place I got the recipe from said it made 3 dozen, but really, I got five.  So... if you need A LOT of cupcakes, this a good recipe to use.

The cupcakes got rave reviews though... so I'm sure next time I make I'll use half the recipe and probably a different filling, straight Nutella.

Nutella Bliss Cupcakes
Makes 5 dozen cupcakes
Adapted from Good Life Eats

¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
⅔ cup Nutella
2 ½ cups buttermilk

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, cocoa, baking soda and powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, mix together butter and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy.  Add the Nutella then the buttermilk, mixing until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl several times.
4. Add the flour mixture in thirds alternating with the milk.  Begin and end with the flour and mix only until combined.  Do not over mix.
5. Fill cupcakes liners ½ full with batter.  Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpic comes out clean.
6. Let cupcakes sit in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Pudding Filling
2 packages of Vanilla Cream instant pudding mix and milk needed to make it
3 ripe bananas, mushed with a fork

1. Make pudding according to directions on the box.  Place in freezer for 10 minutes until set.  If you have time, you can put them in the fridge instead, but I'm impatient!
2. After the pudding has had time to set up, fold in the mashed bananas.  Return to refrigerator/freezer to set up more.
3. Using this method, fill the cupcakes with the banana mixture.

Nutella Buttercream
½ unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup Nutella
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Cream butter and Nutella together. Add the vanilla extract and combine.
2. Mix in the powdered sugar, adding the cream as necessary until you get your desired consistency.
3. Mix until you have the texture you desire.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup peanut butter, creamy*
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoon heavy cream or milk

*(I like a really sweet frosting, so only use about 1 ½ cups of sugar for a less sweet frosting. You may also need to use less cream if you reduce the sugar)

1. Cream together the butter, cream cheese and peanut butter. Add the vanilla extract and combine.
2. In small amounts, add the powdered sugar. Scrape the sides of the bowl as you add more.
3. Add the cream until you get your desired consistency.
4. Beat the crap out of the frosting too. It'll make it yummier.

*Tips & Tricks*
To make a swirl of Nutella and Peanut Butter frosting on your cupcakes, fill one side of your piping bag with Nutella and the other with peanut butter.  You'll get a nice swirl of each flavor on top of your cake! Yum!