First, let’s start with this:
…the ginormous Costco pack of Nutella. Double jars of pure deliciousness. If you make good use of it, you can turn it into this:
Toss it in the oven and poof!
Remember that gym membership I got a while back and how I said that I was going to try and get a consistent schedule working out? Yeah, me either. I’m probably the worst gym member in California. But I will say that when I do go, I go hard. Usually, I run about 5-7 miles and then do random things afterward for however long until my ipod shuffle goes back to track 1.
I don’t mind working out. I actually love it after I get on a roll; it’s the driving to the gym and getting started part that kills me.
This past week, I actually did something out of the ordinary. I… worked out on the weight machines instead of just doing cardio! That’s big news for me! I’m usually too intimidated by all the muscle men that pump iron 24:7 and hog the area. For me, I’m the girl who’s sitting on the machine, reading the instructions and taking mental notes of the example pictures so I know what I’m doing.
It’s true. I’m not a buff person, believe it or not. In fact, my arms were dying from soreness after the baby shower I went to on Sunday from holding babies all day! I took that as a sign that it was time to overcome my muscle men fear and get on the machines. That’s exactly what I did.
I was really excited when I saw this recipe on the Novice Baker. Nutella? Cupcakes? Yes! Unfortunately, they didn’t live up to par for me. They weren’t sweet enough and were a tad bit dry (that could have been my fault since I did over bake them for five minutes). The cupcakes seemed really jiggly at the 20 minute mark so I left them in for longer. The toothpick didn’t come out particularly clean, either. If I were to do them again, I’d add a frosting and some liquid into the batter for a softer and fluffier cake. This one was just too dense! The nutella swirl wasn’t very strong. You could barely taste it when you took a bite. Overall, this recipe needs a lot of work, but it does have potential. Every recipe does!
- 1 1/4 stick butter, softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Nutella, 12 teaspoons. (1 teaspoon for each cupcakes)
- Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
- Cream butter and sugar together. Slowly add in eggs and vanilla until well mixed.
- Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is blended.
- Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter. Top each cupcake with 1 heaping teaspoon of Nutella and swirl it with a toothpick.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.