Dark Chocolate Cupcake with Whipped Nutella Buttercream

Nothing says “Good Morning” better than a jumbo dark chocolate cupcake with whipped Nutella buttercream topped with some chocolate sauce and sprinkles…

Indeed it is a very happy Monday….

A sporadic decision to make these cupcakes, but I’m thrilled with how beautifully it came together… and just couldn’t resist a little food porn with the chocolate sauce…

This is a definitely a chocolate lover’s dream come true. The moist softness of the cupcake paired with the whipped Nutella is like biting into a cloud of chocolate heaven….

So get to it! Why not have a chocolatey cupcake for breakfast? #dessertdiet

Ingredients:

For Dark Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 12 cupcakes):

3/4 cup cake flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/2 cup Valrhona 100% cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/3 cup hot espresso (I use King Arthur Espresso Powder)
3 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg, at room temperature

Whipped Nutella Buttercream:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup Nutella
1 1/2 tablespoon heavy cream
Pinch of salt

Directions:

For Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 360F degrees and line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl to standing mixture, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. I like to sift the ingredients twice to ensure its well mixed together.
In a medium bowl, whisk the hot espresso into the buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, take a scant 1/2 cup of whole milk plus 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar. Stir and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes and it will become buttermilk).
While whisking, add the avocado oil, egg and then vanilla.
Add the liquid ingredients into the bowl with dry ingredients and with a whisk attachment to standing mixer, mix the ingredients together until the batter is smooth (takes about 45 seconds to 1 minute). Do not over mix.
Fill the cupcake liners to about 2/3 full.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. Use toothpick test to ensure it comes out clean. Once the cupcakes are out of the oven, allow it to cool for about 5-10 minutes prior to moving them to a cooling rack.
Allow them to cool completely prior to adding the buttercream.

For Whipped Nutella Buttercream:

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe container. I heated it about 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave and stir with a spoon once done. Set on side.
In a bowl to standing mixer with paddle attachment, place in butter and sift the confectioner’s sugar into the bowl.
On low speed (Kitchen Aid mixer speed 2), mix the butter and sugar together for about a minute.
While the mixer is on low, add in vanilla extract.
After the vanilla is combined into the mixture, add in the melted chocolate (by now, it shouldn’t be cooled down a little bit. If the chocolate is too hot, it will melt the butter). Once the chocolate is poured into the bowl, increase the mixer speed to setting 4 and beat for about two minutes.
Low the speed back down to setting 2 and add the Nutella, heavy cream and pinch of salt and beat on medium-high (speed setting 8).
The heavy cream is the key ingredient that helps the buttercream fluff up.
Place the buttercream into a pipping bag with closed star tip.

Assemble:

Melt one cup of chocolate chips and place on side.
Decorate the cupcakes by starting the buttercream swirl from the outer edge of the cupcake and slowly move in and upwards to end with a nice tip on the top.
Drizzle one tablespoon of melted chocolate on top for each cupcake.
Decorate with sprinkles or mini chocolate chips.
Bonus: add some whipped cream!