count chocula. [double chocolate chunk cupcakes w. Nutella frosting]

My brother’s birthday was this past weekend and to my surprise (he’s extremely healthy), he asked me to make him a celebratory dessert. He requested something with a lot of chocolate, but gave me free range to make anything I wanted. I browsed the Internet and read various recipes, hoping to find one that would catch my attention.

I debated on making molten cupcakes, but realized that I would not be able to serve the dessert hot, since we would be out to dinner. Therefore, I decided on double chocolate chunk cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting and my brother’s favorite sugary treat, Nutella.

When I checked on the cupcakes mid-way through baking, I could not believe how large they’d already become. The cakes turned out absolutely beautiful, with a deep brown hue and cracks serpentining across the surface.

I knew I created a winning dessert after my brother took his first bite into the cupcake—he was in chocolate heaven. He even had to grab a cold glass of milk because of the rich chocolate flavor. My brother requested  I put more Nutella in the frosting next time—he really can’t get enough of the hazelnut spread.

Recipe:

* Makes 12 cupcakes

6 tbsp. butter

3 oz. Nestle semi-sweet chocolate morsels

3 oz. Ghirardelli intense dark chocolate candy bar, 60% cacao (Evening Dream)

2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter and the semi-sweet chocolate chips together in double broiler. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift then whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg and vanilla together until well combined, then add in the chocolate and butter mixture. Mix in flour mixture until just moistened—do not over-mix. Fold in the remaining chopped Ghirardelli chocolate.

Evenly distribute batter among 12 muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer cupcakes to rack to cool before applying frosting.

Nutella frosting recipe:

6 tbsp. butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Nutella, or more

4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

2-4 tbsp. milk (I used about 3 tbsp. half & half)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine butter, Nutella, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and 1 tbsp. of milk or half & half. Mix well with electric mixer, adding more as needed to create fluffy consistency.

* Recipe found on crepesofwrath.net