Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella Swirl

Oh Nutella. I’m pretty sure everyone is in the know about this creamy hazelnut spread that is unless you live under a rock.

When I lived in Puerto Rico my parents would drop me off at Monsé’s house. Monsé was my nanny-baby sitter lady who not only took care of me and my sister, but about ten other different kids as well. She was like superwoman (in my eyes). I absolutely adored her. And when all the kids were behaving, she would let each of us pick a candy from her store (yeah, this woman had a candy shop built into her home!). I would sometimes go for a gummy hamburger, but most of the time I would chose a case of Nutella. These little cases came in the shape of the Nutella jar and came with a little plastic spatula to eat off of. It was the most magical thing ever I thought.

After we moved, I stopped eating Nutella. I don’t know why, but I’ve pretty much stayed clear of it. I think my fondness for peanut butter took over. But just the other day I had a sudden urge to use Nutella. I looked under all the recipes I had using Nutella and I found about four. Yeah, that doesn’t help much. I considered making donuts, but I wasn’t in the mood for donuts. Then I thought about making Nutella oat bars, but when I asked my sister if she’d rather have Nutella oat bars or Self-frosted Nutella cupcakes, she leaped at the cupcakes. So cupcakes it was.

I was looking at the reviews for the self-frosted cupcakes and none were too pleasant. Most of the comments were centered on the cupcakes being too dry. I searched and searched, but the only recipe I could find were very similar recipes to that one I had bookmarked. Instead of going with a mediocre cupcake recipe I decided to just get a really good vanilla cupcake base and swirl on some Nutella.

Kristin is the author of the beautifully written The Pastry Affair. I can get lost in her posts all the time. And those pictures, my god those pictures she takes are so stunning. Sometimes they make me want to cry. It’s sad, I know. Kristin’s blog is where I found the most heavenly vanilla cupcakes you will ever try, really. They are soft and delicate, not to mention so, so airy! I don’t think I’ve ever liked a cupcake more. Plus, the addition of a little swirl of Nutella makes it all the better, but next time I’m going to give these babies the true royal treatment and top them with some kind of fluffy frosting.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Nutella Swirl
Recipe slightly adapted from The Pastry Affair
Idea from Self-Frosted Nutella Cupcakes
Makes about 9 cupcakes

Ingredients
¾ cup + 2 tbsp. (112 grams) cake flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (96 grams) sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 ½ tbsp. Greek yogurt (full fat, low fat, or fat free)
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
Nutella

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the bowl aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes. The mixture won’t look light and fluffy like normal. Add the egg and beat well on medium. Add the yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer down to low and gradually add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly stream the milk in and beat on low until the batter has become smooth.

Fill the lined muffin tins about 2/3 full. Take your Nutella (as much or as little as you want) and melt it in the microwave. This will make it easier to swirl into the batter. Once the Nutella has melted add about 1 tsp. to the tops of each cupcake. Swirl the Nutella with a tooth pick.

Place muffin pan in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. Place pan on a cooling rack and allow cupcakes to cool completely before serving.