Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tuesday at the Table

There are many reasons to love Italy. And one kind-of-small-in-the-big-scheme-of-things-but-pretty-cool- anyway reasons is they serve Nutella with breakfast. Like every day.

I was a Nutella fan before I ever went to Italy, but noone had actually served it to me. Like, I don't think I've ever eaten it outside of my very own home. But in Italy . . . yum.

So I was pretty tickled when Susan posted on facebook Saturday that the next day, February 5, was World Nutella Day! What choice did I have but to whip up some nutella goodies to celebrate. Daughter dear happened to be over for a bit, so she dove it, nutella-lover that she is, and we baked up some cupcakes from bakingbites.com, a recipe adapted from Donna Hay, a popular Australian cook and author.

Nutella Frosted Cupcakes
10 tbsp (140 grams) butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups (200 grams) sifted all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup
Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don’t worry if the batter doesn’t look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. They should be 3/4 full, if you’re not using a scoop. Top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 12.
They came together quick and easy - each one topped with a dab of nutella . . .
which was then swirled in (though the batter was thick and nothing swirled too well) . . .
but in the end, they came out looking good, self-frosted and all. In actuality, they had more of a muffin texture than a cupcake, but were tasty just the same.
Though in my humble opinion, the very best nutella recipe of all is a very, very simple one . . .

15 comments:

  1. My family is all nuts for Nutella. I'm the only one who eats peanut butter anymore.

    I'm going to try that recipie. The only way I really like nutella is on pretzels and on a spoon. :)

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  2. Love that last recipe! Your muffins look delicious, Debbie. I don't remember getting nutella for breakfast in Italy, just really chewy rolls...

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  3. I love nutella!!! I can't buy it often because we will just stand there taking turns (barely, there may have been a nutella throwdown a time or two) eating it from the jar with whatever the closest utensil around might happen to be. I never stick my finger in the jar, nope, not me ;) Thanks for the recipe!

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  4. I LOVE the photo....it is Italy at breakfast time. Did you ever have Nutella on gelato while you were there? We were surprised once in Finale Ligure (on the Italian Rivera) when the gelato man placed a warm dollop of Nutella on our gelato's - think we all were in heaven that day. Poor Toni and her chewy rolls! I am going to make those muffins and completely agree with your sentiment about the simplest way being the best. :)

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  5. I saw your pin on the cupcakes, but I didn't realize it was Nutella Day! We couldn't get enough of those single serve packs in Italy. We usually stuck an extra one in a pocket for later! Walmart sometimes carries Nutella-to-Go packs with breadstick-like crackers. The one I bought in the airport in Rome had a juice box, too.

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  6. My girls love Nutella! That may have been their favourite thing about Europe - either Nutella-filled crepes from the hole in the wall vendor in Paris or the fact that Nutella comes in single serving packages and could be found at most of the breakfast rooms in Germany and the Netherlands! I think I will make these cupcakes for them for Valentine's Day!

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  7. I didn't grow up with Nutella, but my husband did. His parents are from Holland, I have a feeling it's more of a European thing. Funny, the photo of your plate looks very much like something that would be served at my in-law's house. Hearty bread, meat, egg, cheese. Not the little individual Nutella pack though! And what are those other things, on the left of the plate? Dates? Prunes? hehe I have no idea!

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  8. I first fell in love with Nutella when living in Spain 10 years ago. I don't ever buy it though because I'm afraid I'll become obsessed again. :)

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  9. I have loved Nutella for a long time as well (though I've never been to Italy), but my husband had never heard of it. One day I got some and he tried it, and has since declared that it, along with bacon, may be the best foods on the face of the Earth. I've often caught him with a spoonful of it too...

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  10. I have never tried Nutella! Guess I'll have to give it a try - or maybe I shouldn't!

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  11. I love Nutella on pancakes, French Toast and apple slices. I was just getting ready to make some lunch and saw your post. Now I want Nutella. Yum!!!!!

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  12. That looks yummy! We are big nutella fans in our house

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  13. I hope you won't disown me as a blog friend, but I have to admit I've never tried Nutella! I'll have to remedy that soon.

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  14. We just go right ahead and buy the BIG jars at the warehouse store because it's not a pb sandwich around here without nutella. Also great, trying dipping pretzel chips in it but be careful! They go down way too easy ;-)

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  15. Oooo I love Nutella! I first had it when I as in London and have been hooked ever since. I will have to bookmark this recipe to make soon.

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