Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

My friend Melissa posted these Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting recently and it seemed like the universe was trying to tell me something when SP found our missing jar of Nutella the same night. My aunt was in town this past weekend and had offered to make dinner, so I thought I'd bring these cupcakes over for dessert.


I asked SP and my mom and they both agreed that regular cupcakes with Nutella frosting would be more to their liking, so I just whipped up a batch of cupcakes using a boxed mix I had on hand. The frosting couldn't have been easier and the slice of banana on top was a nice touch. Just a word of warning, though - if you use the sliced banana only slice and top as many cupcakes as you plan to eat. The banana got slimy and ruined the last few cupcakes we had saved.

Nutella Frosting
I Was Born to Cook

1/2 cup Nutella
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
5 tablespoons heavy cream

Mix all ingredients together until fluffy. Add a bit more cream if necessary. Frost cupcakes once they are completely cool. Garnish with a banana slice, if desired.

Recipe Swap - Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

Want to see what other Dessert recipes were made during the swap? Here is the link to the Dessert Recipe Swap Roundup



This week's recipe swap theme was dessert. I've been avoiding this one for a long time because, as many of you know, I'm not a baker. I don't particularly enjoy baking and I certainly don't like having the sweet stuff around the house to tempt me. But dessert is a popular thing on my cooking board and I knew I'd have to cave eventually. There were a lot of excellent recipes submitted for this swap so if you aren't like me and actually enjoy baking, you're going to want to check this one out.





Luckily I ended up with my friend Jaida's recipe for Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting. Cake is my one weakness when it comes to dessert. Ice cream, cookies, chocolate bars, etc. I can take or leave but I'm powerless when it comes to cake.





In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't make the frosting on these cupcakes. We were out of town the weekend I made these and I simply ran out of time. I do plan to make it someday, though, since Jaida assures me it's amazing and worth the time and effort.







Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting

Sweet Beginnings

Makes 30 cupcakes



Note: If you can't find cake flour use this easy method - to make 2 cups cake flour, combine 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup cornstarch.



3 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sifted cake flour, divided

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 stick plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups sugar

5 large egg whites, room temperature

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips



Heat oven to 350 degrees.



Line muffin tins with paper liners (recipe makes approx. 30 cupcakes). Whisk together 3 1/4 cups cake flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl combine the milk and vanilla.



With a mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter until smooth, and then add the sugar in a steady stream until pale and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of the milk mixture, beating until combined after each addition.



In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with a mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form. You can also do this by hand with a whisk, which is what I did. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten. Gently fold the remaining egg whites until just combined. Toss chocolate chips with remaining tablespoon cake flour and gently fold into batter.



Divide the batter evenly among the lined cups, about 3/4 full. Bake about 22 minutes for standard size, 12 minutes for miniature, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool before removing cupcakes and cooling to room temperature.



Dark Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water

2 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 lbs semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled



Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until cocoa is dissolved. With a mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the melted, cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. Frost cooled cupcakes with a frosting spatula.