Nutella Buttercream Vanilla Cupcakes- Suck it Valentine

Chubby Baby with that Arrow- Stay Away from Me!

Ok. So it's Valentine's Day and I am single. Not a big deal right? No, it wouldn't be if my dear sister wouldn't stop bombarding me with 'what to do when you're alone on valentine's day' facebook links...actually, they are pretty hilarious.
So is being single on this particular day the absolute worst thing in the world? I don't think so as my dear daddy already sent me bicycle chocolate truffles :) he's the best and it's bicycles! win win. Tonight, the red lipstick is put on, and me and some other single gal pals hit the town, so don't despair! 

Creativity Explored: Bicycles

I might be acting all high and mighty about being ok with Valentine's this year, but I did get into the "Anti" spirit as well and made these Nutella Buttercream Vanilla Cupcakes. I couldn't afford $20 food coloring at Whole Foods, but it actually affirms my point even more- not a drop of Valentine in sight on these puppies! 

My frosting piping definitely needs some work, but this is the first time I have ever done it frankly- and my office thought they were pretty darn tasty, so I approve. I made some mini versions with X's to exemplify the "Anti" sentiment with my Babycakes mini-cupcake maker, but the remainder are large and in charge. 

Nutella was an awesome ingredient to use as the buttercream flavor, and I say this because Nutella makes every broken heart feel better! And, these went perfectly with a cup of lavender white tea in my Papi-Jack's favorite teacup (now vintage).

First the Vanilla Cupcakes:

Cupcake Ingredients

Butter and Sugar

Mix that shiz up

Should look like this after mixing

Add the eggs and vanilla

In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder

Should be pretty goopy by now

Add the milk slowly

Action shot

Et Voila- Batter

BabyCakes Cupcake Maker

Fill Babycakes with batter for minis

Fill cupcake wrappers with batter for oven

Perfectly sized

For the Nutella Buttercream Frosting:

(gloriously copied from Kitchen Treaty)

More ingredients

Beat the powdered sugar and butter (lots of it)

Add the Nutella

Add in salt and vanilla extract

Action shot of 2 minute beating

The Single Serving! (Single on Valentine's serving size-stop judging)

X marks the spot

These selfies were really hard to take-thank god my candle is a good camera stand

TOO CUTE!!

Yea did this photoshoot at 8am, it's obvious

Happy (Anti) Valentine's Day from The Single Serving!

Vanilla Cupcakes Recipe:

     Ingredients-

     1 cup, white sugar

     1/2 cup, butter

     2 eggs

     2 tsp, vanilla extract

     1 1/2 cups, all-purpose flour

     1 3/4 tsp, baking powder

     1/2 cup, milk

     How To-

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place cupcake liners in baking pan.

     In a stand mixer, mix together the sugar and butter. Beat in eggs and add vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, mixing well. Stir in milk until batter is smooth. The pour into baking pan.

     Bake 20-25 minutes.

Nutella Buttercream Frosting Recipe:

     Ingredients-

    1 cup (2 sticks), unsalted butter, room temperature
    2 cups, powdered sugar
    2/3 cup, Nutella spread
    1 tsp, vanilla extract
    Pinch kosher salt
    2 tbs, heavy whipping cream

     How To- 

    In a stand mixer (KitchenAid), use the paddle attachment. Beat together the butter and powdered sugar on low until well-blended. 

    Add the Nutella and increase the speed to medium. Beat it for two minutes.

    Add the vanilla extract and salt and whip for an additional minute.

    Add the whipping cream and beat for about one minute, until the frosting lightens slightly in both color and texture.

Pipe it like it's hot!

Thoughts:

This took a lot of photo staging.... hard work. But it looks really pretty so I have no complaints.  Cupcakes were moist and fluffy and the buttercream was light and airy. I think next time, I would use just a tad less sugar in the frosting. 

Honey Walnut Cake ('The Hobbit' inspired)

So my obsession with all things Lord of the Rings has reached new heights with the release of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit." I've always done a great deal of day dreaming about sword fighting, archery, horse back riding, mountain climbing, adventure, and because of the influence those books have had on me, I have tried a great deal of these activities.

my dream mountain man

However, I didn't realize how deprived I have been until I was re-immersed (twice in the opening weekend) in the visually stunning fantasy world that is Middle Earth (and yes, I will be moving to New Zealand soon; I am sure of it). Then I happened to read an article on HuffPost about foods that the modern Hobbit would eat for each meal:
 7:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 AM: Second Breakfast
11:00 AM: Elevensies
1:00 PM: Luncheon
4:00 PM: Afternoon tea
6:00 PM: Dinner
8:00 PM: Supper

hipster hobbits

This recipe by Tartlette for a Honey Walnut Cake with Riesling Sabayon was one of the options.  Again, like usual, I have adapted it for my kitchen and resources, and I left out making the Riesling Sabayon for The Single Serving, as regular whipped cream seemed like a delicious alternative. I wish it looked most photoshop pretty in the end, but it was a delicious and surprisingly healthy, compared to normal cake.

les ingrédients

toast the walnut pieces in the oven

blend dry ingredients together- this is one of the best kitchen tools for a Single Serving-  Cuisanart® SmartStick® Immersion Hand Blender 

close-up view inside my hand-held blender

all of the blended dry ingredients

beat butter, honey, and sugar together until fluffy

literally one of my favorite tools in my kitchen

mix the eggs and vanilla extract

add the egg mixture to the KitchenAid®

added the dry ingredients

not in my original ingredients, but I decided to add a splash of cinnamon

pour batter in baking pan

place in the oven for 35-40 minutes

The Single Serving

Honey and Walnut Cake Recipe:

     Ingredients-

1 1/2 cups, walnut pieces
1 cup, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp, baking powder
pinch of salt
12 tbp, unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
1/2 cup, honey
1/4 cup, sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon

     How To-

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter your cake pan. Reserve on the side. Break up the walnuts so they are in pieces, and spread them on a sheet pan to toast in the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes. Grind the nuts in a food processor with 1/2 cup of the flour until fine. Add the baking powder, salt and remaining flour to the mixture and give it a few quick blends. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter with the honey and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. While that is beating, in a small bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla. Add it to the stand mixture. Make sure it is well mixed. Add the remaining dry ingredients mix until fully incorporated. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared cake pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a cake rack to cool. Serve with the whipped cream and fresh berries.

Thoughts:

I could easily see Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck sitting at old Biblo Baggin's hobbit-sized table, eating this cake while Bilbo recounts his adventures.