Nutella Goodness

Mmmm... Nutella.  I just can't get enough of it!  In all my recent baking adventures, why have I not thought to use Nutella as an ingredient!?  Well, the thought occurred to me yesterday as I was setting about to bake cupcakes for a party at work... Nutella-filled cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting! 

I have to admit, these photos were partially an excuse to try out my new tripod.  Wow - how did I make it this long without one?  It makes such a difference - especially when shooting in low light, as I often do.   

Gotta love Betty Crocker (devil's food cake mix)!

To create a space for the Nutella, I cut a cone shaped piece out of the top of each cupcake - and then cut off the tip of each cone.

Next, I filled up each hole with a dollop of Nutella.

Then, the cones get placed back on the cupcakes (ideally, each back to its original cupcake, since the cone shapes are not going to be perfect circles).

The chocolate ganache frosting was a little too liquid at first, so I followed the instructions and let it cool and then whipped it to create more of a frosting consistency.

Since Nutella is not for everyone (how could it not be!?), I made a dozen plain chocolate cupcakes topped with cream-cheese frosting.

Snazzy decorations from Williams Sonoma.

All packed up, and ready to go!

By the way, if you transport cupcakes to work/parties/preschool/etc... I highly recommend this Progressive cupcake carrier, which holds up to 24 cupcakes.