Nutella Cupcakes: This Season's Flu Remedy

Sometimes sad things happen. Sometimes discouraging things happen.
Sometimes the flu hits you like a sack full of bricks and you spend your time on the couch sleeping, coughing, and collecting used tissues instead of going to school, finishing baking orders, and getting up at 5:45 to go to work every morning.

And then after you've been out of commission for a week, you have an exam to take as soon as you get back. (First of the quarter, which is always iffy since you don't really know how that certain professor tests...) Oh. And then a large birthday party to cater the day after. And a doctor's appointment with a blood draw done by that one nurse that isn't good at it AT ALL.

Life. It's just kinda like a carousel that doesn't stop, it just goes faster. and I'm already a little sick. Heh. :D
Sometimes on this dizzying carnival ride of living, you make really delicious cupcakes and they all get eaten before you can take photos.

Okay, so that isn't the worst thing that could happen, really. And it was my fault. My camera's battery died when I took pictures of the Raspberry Take Over cupcakes last week, and being the lazy, awful (and sick) procrastinator that I am, I didn't recharge it. And then we had a crowd of cute kids come over for a while the other day and well. Needless to say, there weren't any cupcakes left over for photographing.

But I did draw a jar of Nutella for you! And a cupcake. It was nice, sitting in front of the fireplace getting warm, drinking tea, and sketching little cupcakes. It was almost as nice as the Nutella buttercream on those cupcakes. That might have been illegal it was so good. It was so good that my dad started describing it to my mom, foodie style. He even used words like "balance" and "rich". Weird stuff. The apocalypse might have been triggered by the Nutella cupcakes; wacky things are happening all over the place. 

Nutella Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes: 

1 c. cake flour

3/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. coffee

1/4 c. oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the remaining wet ingredients and stir until moistened. Divide into cupcake wrappers and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes, or until the tops spring back when touched. 

Nutella Buttercream:

1 stick softened butter

1/3 cup nutella

1 tsp vanilla

4 c. powdered sugar

3-4 TB. heavy cream

Cream butter and Nutella until thick (about 3 minutes) Add sugar and continue mixing until well blended. Add vanilla and cream. Beat at high speed until frosting becomes fluffy, at least 3 minutes. 

Nutella Cream Filling:

1/2 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. nutella

Whip cream until stiff. Add 1/4 cup of the cream to Nutella and stir to lighten it. Add this lightened Nutella to the remaining cream and fold it in gently. Fill your cupcakes! :D