Vanilla-Nutella Swirl Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream

I saw this recipe on Clara's blog- I heart cuppycakes and knew this cupcake would be making an appearance in my future. My family loves Nutella and cupcakes are always fun for everyone. They start out with a vanilla cupcake and you swirl Nutella into the batter. They bake up beautifully and then comes the Nutella Buttercream.
Be warned- these cupcakes are not for the faint- they are intense and might require a little sophistication on your palate. They are dense and wonderful. I doubled the recipe because I thought it would be nice to share these with others and it was. The buttercream recipe makes alot, but the leftovers will be coming in handy soon, I guarantee you that. Besides, aren't they pretty?

Vanilla-Nutella Swirl Cupcakes from I heart cuppycakes who adapted them from Amber's Delectable Delights

For cupcakes:

10 tbsp butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups sifted flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

12 tsp Nutella

For nutella buttercream:

1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, softened

4 cups confectioners sugar (or more to taste)

1/4 cup whole milk or half-and-half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup of Nutella (or more to taste), softened

Preheat oven to 325F.

Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

To make cupcake—Cream together butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs on at a time, until fully incorporated. The batter may not look smooth, this is fine. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt, and baking powder until batter is smooth and all flour is blended. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. Cups should be 3/4 full if you’re not using a scoop. Top each cake with about 1 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, folding a little batter up and over the Nutella as well. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove to wire rack and allow to cool before frosting.

To make buttercream—In your stand mixer with flat beater, cream butter. Add 3 cups of the confectioners sugar, then milk and vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth, about 3-4 minutes.Add the remaining confectioners sugar, beating about 1-2 minutes. (You can add more sugar to get a thicker consistency if you want.)In a microwave safe bowl, soften the Nutella until it has a spreadable consistency, about 15-20 secs.Add the softened Nutella to your buttercream and fold into the frosting until well blended.

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