Recipe: Nutella Cupcakes

This Sunday my littlest nephew Bertie turned one (I'm not entirely sure where the time went as it seems like only a few weeks ago I was watching him be born). His big brother Teddy also turns three on Thursday and Mummy Swift had her birthday on Valentine's Day - February is a very busy time for birthdays in my family!!

All these celebrations called for a bit of baking... so I did what any good Auntie would do - baked three different birthday cakes and threw my nephews a tea party with enough cake, crisps and sweets to fill them up until this time next year :)

One of the recipes I tried for the first time was these Nutella Cupcakes... they're fab. Chocolate spread is a million times easier to decorate with than icing, plus the cakes all rose neatly and evenly which is something I usually struggle with!

Here's what you will need:

• 3 eggs
• 250g sugar (I used caster sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100g butter
• 100ml milk
• 350g plain flour
• 2tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• grated peel + juice of one lemon
• Nutella
• sugar sprinkles

This will make about 12 cupcakes:

1. Pop your oven on to 175C. While it's warming up put your eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until they are pale and fluffy
2. Melt the butter and combine with the milk then add this into your egg mixture and combine
3. Mix your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) and fold these carefully into the other ingredients
4. Finally add in the lemon juice and peel and then spoon your cake mix into cases and put in the oven
5. Bake for around 15 minutes and then leave to cool
6. Spread lots of Nutella on top and decorate with sprinkles

Delicious! These (and the other two cakes) definitely got the seal of approval from the birthday boy too!

xx

Recipe from 'Hello Cupcake!' book by Leila Lindholm