Shhh! I’m sneaking in a Sweet that doesn’t count as one of my Sweet-of-the-Week creations. While my goal is to eat only one Sweet every week and therefore bake one new creation each week, sometimes life allows me to bake more often. Such was the case with my husband’s birthday. Oh, how I love an opportunity to bake more often!
My husband was my Sweet Friend was back in February when I had my first success with gluten-free yeast bread, thanks to Gluten Free Girl. Since then, he has been my taste-tester for nearly every Sweet Treat. In between my weekly baking adventures, he is often spotted with a large jar of Nutella and a spoon. Or with a piece of toast and Nutella. Or with a bagel and Nutella. Basically, he eats Nutella on anything, with everything and even by itself. He loves Nutella. When I saw these cupcakes from Bake It In a Cake, I knew I wanted to make them gluten-free for my husband’s birthday.
This recipe converted very nicely to gluten-free and may become my go-to white cake recipe. The Nutella frosting is one of the best buttercream frostings I have ever tasted. Enjoy!
Nutella Hazelnut Wafer Cookie Cupcakes (Makes 20-22 cupcakes)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 T. vanilla bean paste
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/3 c. whole milk
1 t. xanthan gum
2 1/2 c. my favorite gluten-free flour blend
2 1.8 oz. package Schar gluten-free Hazelnut Wafer Cookies OR 3 of Schar Chocolate Hazelnut Bars*
OR these cookies from Ian’s**
(For Wafer Cookies, break each in half. For Bars, cut each into 8 pieces. For Ian’s, use one per cupcake.)
1 small jar of Nutella
1 Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate with Whole Hazelnuts bar (may have gluten cross-contamination, chopped hazelnuts may be used instead)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Incorporate eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla bean paste, baking powder and baking soda.
Mix xanthan gum and flour together with a whisk. Add flour blend and milk, 1/2 cup at a time alternating between the two, until well blended. This makes a smooth batter that is fairly thick.
Line cupcake tin with papers. Start by adding a heaping spoonful of batter to the bottom of the cupcake papers. Next, add 1/2 of a Schar Hazelnut Wafer Cookie, then top with a generous teaspoon of Nutella. Add more cake batter to fill tins 3/4 of the way full. Batter may have to be smoothed over the Nutella and wafer cookie, as you want to make sure the batter fills in around the sides.
Bake for 24-26 minutes. Cake will brown slightly, but not much, so toothpick testing is recommended.
Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan and place on cooling rack.
*I had only one package of the Hazelnut Wafer Cookies and a package of the Chocolate Hazelnut Bars. I used some of both. I liked the Chocolate Hazelnut Bars best, as the chocolate coating kept the cookie crunchy on the inside. The Hazelnut Wafer Cookies got a little chewy, however they are still a really great option!
**I sampled the new Ian’s Chocolate Covered Wafer Bites this weekend at the Celiac Sprue Association Conference in Kansas City. They would be delicious inside of this cupcake. I was given a bag to sample and will report back…if they actually make into a recipe. They are delicious on their own and may not survive long enough to be baked into a cupcake!
Nutella Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 c. Nutella
2 t. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar
Cream together butter and Nutella. To get the Nutella out of the jar, you may find it helpful to microwave for 30 seconds, just to soften it a bit. Blend in vanilla, then add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. If you find that the frosting is too firm after adding in all of the sugar, add a bit more Nutella. Likewise, add more sugar if your frosting is not firm enough. Frost the cupcakes using your preferred method and top with either a square of the Ritter bar or chopped hazelnuts.
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