Triple Chocolate Nutella Filling Cupcakes

Everybody loves cupcakes. The recipe only makes FOUR cupcakes. No more having a dozen cupcakes around to tempt you. Built in portion control, y’all. The idea here is to eat two and share two, but that might not be the case once you taste these.

There are three components here. The first: a moist, intensely chocolate cupcake that packs a punch of coffee flavor. The second: a velvety smooth Nutella filling. The third: a creamy, dreamy chocolate whipped cream frosting, heightened once more with the addition of instant coffee.

Triple Chocolate Nutella Filling Cupcakes

Yield: 4 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature

For the filling

• 2 tablespoons Nutella
• 1 tablespoon sour cream

For the frosting

• 1/4 cup cold heavy cream
• 1/8 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 4 cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and instant coffee powder. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together oil, vanilla, and brown sugar until blended. Fold in dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with buttermilk.

Distribute batter evenly between prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.

Prepare the filling by mixing together Nutella and sour cream until well-combined. Use a paring knife to cut out a cone from the center of each cupcake. Then, use a spoon or piping bag to fill the hole with the Nutella mixture. From here, you have two options. You can either A) Cut the tip off the cone you cut out and place it back onto the cupcake to cover the filling (I did this but didn’t cut the tip off so my filling looks smushed) OR B) Leave the hole exposed and just place the cupcakes in the fridge for a few minutes to let the mixture firm up before you frost.

To make the whipped cream frosting, add heavy cream and instant coffee powder to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. (Alternatively, you can use an electric hand mixer). Beat heavy cream and espresso powder until mixture begins to thicken. Then add cocoa powder and powdered sugar, and beat until soft peaks form. Frost cupcakes as desired. (I used a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip and piped a small swirl on each cupcake).

Recipe from: culinarycoutureblog.com