OMG! Only 2 weeks between new posts?! CRAZY. But don't get used to it :P
So here is the story behind today's creation. One of my bosses is Welsh, and was talking about butterfly cakes today. I had never heard of them, and I thought they were an ADORABLE idea. While trying to come up with a nice flavor combination, I mentioned "Nutella" and got an instant YES!
And ta-da! This recipe was born.
Also, I have another treat for you today! Not one you can eat, but still pretty amazing. A special guest appearance by...
MY SEA-STAR!
Her name is Amber. She's pretty awesome when she's not being a brat :P
Squishy, excited face for me. Fake, sarcastic face for her. *sigh*
Also, no drink for me since I am on migraine medication at the moment. This is the first edition of MySoberBakery!
Anyhoo! Onto the recipe!
Vanilla Cupcakes:
- 2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2/3 cup salted butter, softened
Now this is the original recipe, but I did make some substitutions. Instead of the whole milk, I used 2%. And instead of butter, I used oil.
Alrighty! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease/spray and line your cupcake tins.
Cute liners, amirite?
Next, cream together the butter (or in my case, oil) and sugar until it looks something like this:
Nice and yuck, huh? But have faith, it'll end up all yummy in the end :]
After that, go ahead and mix in the egg whites and vanilla.
Mmm... not much more appetizing, eh? *shrug*
Now let's start adding in the dry ingredients. Whisk (or sift) together the flour and baking powder. Then, start slowly adding the flour mixture while alternating with the milk.
Flour:
Milk:
Now remember to be careful here. Don't over mix. Wait until they're just incorporated and then finish by hand. When the batter is ready for baking it should be all pretty!
Grab your ice cream scoop and fill your liners. I filled mine a little more than usual, on accident, and they turned out pretty okay.
Pop those babies in the oven for about 15 minutes.
And while they're puffing up, let's get started on the frosting. Here is what you need:
For the Nutella Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup Nutella
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk (as needed)
Start by creaming the butter so it's nice and smooth.
Mmm, creamy. Next add in the Nutella and MIX!
Once it looks like that, add a little bit of milk to smooth it out. Be careful though, you don't want to add too much.
Don't forget the vanilla!
By now your cupcakes should be done. Take them out, let them cool in the pan for a split second, and move them to the cooling rack as soon as you safely can.
Now here comes the butterfly part. We're going to cut an inverted dome shape in the top of the cupcake, and SAVE the part we cut out.
Like this:
After being cut:
And don't forget to save the tops!
Now after you've cut all the cupcakes, we're going to cut the tops in half.
Time to put it all together! Prepare your piping bag, and fill the crater in the cupcakes, leaving a little extra if you'd like.
Then, take one of the tops (two halves), and place them on the frosting with the straight edges facing out.
Ta-da! Look what you've done!
And lastly, since butterfly cakes are usually served with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, I figured I would add my own twist ;]
Cocoa powder!
Just take a little cocoa powder and a sifter and dust!
All in all, I was very pleased with this recipe! It was so much to try a little something different with cupcakes. And who doesn't like Nutella?!
As far as the cake goes, it was a teensy bit crunchy on the top. But some people like that! And the Nutella made for a very rich frosting. Luckily I didn't use too much ;]
Now PLEASE! Try it out and let me know what works, what doesn't, what you hate, what you love, you know!
