Hazelnut Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting? Yes, please!
So next to running, my second love is eating. In order to feed my love for eating (har har!), I love to bake and cook and all that jazz. While I usually cook healthy things, I have about seven sweet teeth. Maybe more. Hence, I bake often. When I found out I got called off from work today, I knew what my evening activity would be.
HAZELNUT CUPCAKES!!
I was introduced to, and fell in love with, Nutella when I studied abroad in Italy one summer. I fell in love with many things in Italy (gelato, real Italian pizza, Rome, Piazza Navona, wandering the streets of Rome, pasta…wait, what DIDN’T I fall in love with in Italy?? Anyway, moving on), but one of them was Nutella. This stuff is dangerous. It’s good on everything…bread, fruit, you name it. So I never buy it because, let’s face it, it’s not exactly healthy. However, when I brainstorming “fall” cupcakes, hazelnuts came to mind. With nutella frosting. It’s like heaven in a cupcake. Well, at least I would assume, since I haven’t taste-tested any yet.
The not-so-secret ingredient
Since I have yet to graduate to making my own recipes, I turned to the internet to find a recipe. Martha never fails me, so I went with her Candied-Hazelnut Cupcakes (click the link for the recipe!), minus the candied-hazelnuts. This was some branching out for me, as I’ve never toasted nuts before or used cake flour…I’m moving up in the baking world. 
The frosting…well…I generously taste-tested it…and it. is. so. good. No joke. Make the frosting even if you don’t make the cupcakes!! (Note: Recipe found online, then I lost the website. I take no credit for creating this on my own!)
Nutella Frosting
Ingredients:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 cup Nutella
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions:
- Place the confectioners’ sugar, Nutella, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work.
- Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
The final result? See for yourself:
I had some fall sprinkles laying around…I think it’s a nice touch!
They look mighty tasty!
Gatsby’s getting in on the cupcake action!
Allie…I think we have something to add to our bakery menu! We need to start making a list.
This post reminds me that I made other cupcakes a few weeks ago that I forgot to post about! I’ll get those up ASAP, but otherwise we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled running posting tomorrow!
You are such a super baker. Those cupcakes look professional! I also studied in Italy, but was in Florence. I assume you were in Rome? Gah, I loved it there! However, I didn’t fall in love with Nutella, but my roommates were all in a Nutella haze from January to May!
Those look good!
I love Nutella too. It is really good with peanut butter
Oh my goodness those look amazing!!
ahhhH! those are SO cute
I love the frosting too! You are a friggn good cupcake maker girl
I think you should change your blog name to Cupcakes on the Run. Hehe…How cute would a little cartoony image of a delicious cupcake w/asics on be?
I baked some cupcakes last night too to satisfy one of my 7 sweet teeth. 
But yours are waaaaaaaaaaay prettier than mine are.
WHAAAAT!? I thought that photo was straight out of a magazine at first!!! You are the best cupcake dresser-upper ever!
I LOVE Nutella! When I was in Italy last year after studying abroad, I would take about 5 little mini packs of Nutella every morning at the buffet breakfast and hoard them like they were gold.
Wow! How did you make the frosting turn out so pretty? Those look so good
I miss Rome! It’s so hard NOT to fall in love with it!
Damn you for putting these in front of my face. I just ate lunch and I am hungry again! I hope you shared with James…
Wow, beautiful cupcakes! I hear you about not buying Nutella. I definitely ate it ALONE by the spoonful when I was in France. So bad but SOOO good!
I love your very professional frosting job. You should open a bakery!
Yum!! I love Nutella too! I can’t buy it because I eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon! Haha
I love Nutella. This is an amazing idea.
Ah, these look delicious! that frosting looks soooo smooth and creamy
YUM!