Oh my goodness. I am so excited that Dave will be home from his work trip very soon. It is way less fun to cook for just yourself (even if you use that time to make the food that you like and your partner doesn’t). Also I am terrible at hanging out by myself for too long. See also: 3 hours of Sherlock last night ending at nevermind o’clock. But in the meantime, I did do some baking to share with my coworkers…

It is officially cool enough to bake again, even when it is not a weekend morning. And cool enough to make buttercream without it melting immediately. So you know what that means…

It’s cupcake time.

These cupcakes have Nutella both in the batter and the frosting. I have no idea why I’ve never baked with Nutella before. I have stirred it into oatmeal (which is epic).

I have a feeling this will be habit-forming.

Here’s what you need:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 rounded Tbsp. Nutella
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Heavy pinch of kosher salt
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup cold coffee

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup Nutella
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add egg and mix to combine.

In one bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another, whisk together the milk, vinegar and coffee. Turn the mixer on low and add the dry and wet ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture in alternating batches – about 3 should do it.

Spray nonstick spray onto a cupcake tin, line with cupcake papers and spray the inside of them as well. Fill to about 3/4 of the way full – this recipe will make about ten cupcakes, so don’t worry if you run out!

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting: Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter, nutella, powdered sugar and cream together in a mixing bowl until the mixture is smooth. Chill for 30 minutes before spooning into a piping bag and frosting the cupcakes.

Store in the fridge.