.nutella buttercream frosted vanilla cupcakes.

oh pinterest, how you haunt me with all the glorious recipes i need to make. i keep my boards full of "one day..."s and rarely make any of them. not this time. no-this time, i decided to conquer one of my saved recipes and make it a reality!



nutella. buttercream. frosting. go ahead, take a moment.



now, if i'm going to have such an unbelievable frosting as the star of the show, i need a simple platform to let it shine on. enter magnolia's vanilla cupcake.



it hit me as i was making the cupcakes that i have never made a plain ol' vanilla cupcake from scratch. i'm glad i did and i'm glad i used magnolia's recipe to do so.





not only was this cupcake flavored with just the right amount of vanilla, but held a wonderful amount of moisture in every bite. this is most definitely a recipe i'll be using again and again.



the lights start out low. the curtain slowly begins to rise as the house music steadily elevates to an electrifying level. suddenly, the spotlight beams at center stage.





nutella. buttercream. frosting. go ahead, take a moment.



all the texture of regular buttercream with all the taste of nutella. these cupcakes are simply yummy.



vanilla cupcakes
from magnolia bakery

what you need
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

what you do
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

nutella buttercream
from kitchen treaty

what you need
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut spread
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt (up to 1/4 teaspoon, to taste)
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

what you do
In a stand mixer afixed with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and powdered sugar on low until well-blended. Add the Nutella and increase the speed to medium. Beat for two minutes.

Add the vanilla extract and salt and whip for an additional 30 seconds.

Add the whipping cream and beat for about one minute, until the frosting lightens slightly in both color and texture.