World Nutella Day!

Hello all and Happy World Nutella Day!

Five years ago, two bloggers, Sara and Michelle, declared February 5th to be World Nutella Day. I hope you're all celebrating in your own ways, whether that be baking some sort of delicious treat using Nutella, or just eating it on a spoon (I won't judge ;-) ).
As promised, I have some special Nutella Day treats to share with all of you. To celebrate this very momentous day, I baked you some cupcakes!

I made two types of cupcakes using Nutella. They are practically the same, but not quite.

Version # 1 - Chocolate Nutella Bliss Cupcakes
These consist of a chocolate cupcake topped with Nutella frosting, a few shards of chocolate on top, and a dusting of cocoa powder. Want the recipe? Keep reading!

The second version is an idea I've had for quite some time. Now, don't be freaked out by the idea, it sounds strange, but when you think about it, it's really not!
Version # 2: Blackberry Hazelnut Cupcakes


It's the exact same cupcake as #1, but with blackberry mousse inside! I figured, chocolate and raspberry or strawberry go so well together, why not blackberry?
Want to see the inside? I know you do!


I had some leftover batter (the recipe I have makes 30 cupcakes, normally I just make them extra full, but I decided to actually fill the cupcake liners as directed on the recipe!), so I made some mini cupcakes. Aren't they cute?

Here are the recipes I used:

Hershey's Chocolate Cupcakes (from the back of the cocoa powder box):

2 C sugar

1 3/4 C flour

3/4 C cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 C milk

1/2 C vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 C boiling water

Directions:

1. Heat over to 3500F. Grease and flour two 9-in round baking pans.
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on med. speed 2 min. Stir in boiling water (batter will be VERY thin). Line 2 1/2 in. muffin cups with paper baking cups. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter.
3. Bake 22-25 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 10-12 servings.

Blackberry Mousse (recipe from Food & Wine):

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons cold water

1 cup blackberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg white

3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Place 1 tbsp of water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let it stand for about 5 minutes to ‘bloom’ (to swell up and soften).

2. In a blender, puree the blackberries with the remaining 2 tbsp of water and strain through a fine sieve into a small saucepan – you should have approximately 3/4 cup puree at this stage. Stir the sugar through, and slowly bring it to a boil. Boil for about 3-5 minutes or until slightly reduced, then stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved. Set aside to cool.

3. In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the egg white until firm, then immediately fold into the cooled berry puree using a large silicone spatula until no white streaks remain. In a separate bowl, beat the cream until softly whipped. Fold the cream into the berry mixture until smooth and streak-free.

4. Place mousse in a container and refrigerate for about an hour to set and chill.

Nutella Frosting (adapted from Koko Cooks)
3/4 c butter, softened

1/2 c chocolate hazelnut spread

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbs milk

3 1/2 c powdered sugar

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Adjust consistency by adjusting with a little more milk if too stiff, or a little more powdered sugar if too runny. Frost and decorate cupcakes as desired.

The frosting recipe made enough to frost ALL of my cupcakes (24 regular-sized and 21 minis). The mousse recipe made enough to fill 24 regular-sized cupcakes (although I only filled half of mine. Now I can just eat the mousse I didn't use! Yummm).

But I promised you guys more than just treats today! Ready for more excitement? Today is my very first, very own link party!

CREATIVITY IS... LINK PARTY!!!

Ready for the rules? Super easy.
1. Link directly to the post you want to share (not just to your blog's URL).
2. In that post, link back to this post (so we can all share in the linky love!)
3. Look at other people's links! It's all about sharing ideas, so leave a comment on something else you like! (This is optional, but makes the whole thing a lot more fun!)



This post is linked up to:
Sweet Tooth Friday, Hoosier Homemade, Foodie Friday, Friday Potluck, Inspiration Friday, I'm Loving It Fridays, Sweets This Week, Sweets for a Saturday