Banana Cupcake with Nutella Frosting

Banana Cupcake with Nutella Frosting

Ingredients:

Banana Cupcake 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large very ripe bananas, pureed

Nutella Frosting

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

1 cup Nutella

6 ounces powdered sugar

2 tablespoons (ish) of milk or cream

Directions:

Banana Cupcake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Set aside. Cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour mixture and blend ingredients together until only just combined. Stir in the banana. Blend mixture until ingredients are fully incorporated. Portion batter into muffin cups.  This recipe with make about 16 cupcakes. Bake in preheated oven until cakes are light golden brown and tester comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. After removing cupcakes from the oven, cool completely on a wire rack. Once completely cool, top with Nutella frosting (recipe follows) and a sprinkle of chopped, toasted hazelnuts.

Nutella Frosting: 

Cream together the butter and nutella until blended. Add the powdered sugar gradually until ingredients are combined. Mix on a high speed, adding in milk or cream (2 tablespoons, more or less) until frosting is smooth and creamy. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe frosting over the top of each cupcake.