Self-Frosting Nutella Cupcakes

I wanted to come home and make something fairly quickly, and I couldn’t quite figure out what to make. I had seen these cupcakes come up on Pinterest and they looked interesting, plus they were quick and easy. I had all of the ingredients on hand so I figured these were the perfect thing to make.

These are a simple cake recipe, which you top with a swirl of Nutella. The Nutella works its magic and becomes a frosting of sorts. I’m a big fan of frosting, so this isn’t a lot of frosting but it does add just a perfect bit of sweetness. It was tricky to swirl the Nutella on top of the cupcakes. I think next time I would stir the Nutella to soften it before using it to top the cupcakes. I think that would make it easier to work with.

These turned out really well, and it makes a small batch. Sometimes you just don’t want a huge number of cupcakes. One thing I discovered about these cupcakes is that they are best eaten the day you bake them. They got really hard, really quickly! So these are a great thing to make for a spur of the moment occasion.

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a knife or other pointy object.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from The Family Kitchen