Hi everyone! I’m so excited to write a guest post for Liz at Blog is the New Black! I love Blog is the New Black and am honored to write this post for several reasons: 1. Liz has amazing recipes that always make my mouth water (ok maybe drool) 2. Liz is funny – I love reading her blog because she’s always sharing a crazy story or something funny that Lloyd has said or done 3. I love her balance of food and health – she knows when to make a recipe more healthy, but also when to leave well enough alone and just encourage moderation (i.e. peanut butter pretzel bites – Why even try to mess with these beauties?).

When choosing a recipe to share with Liz and her amazing readers, I decided to go for something sweet (and encourage erring on the side of moderation!). I know Liz and Lloyd have a sweet tooth, so I decided to share my white chocolate cupcakes with Nutella buttercream frosting. I made these cupcakes for my husband’s birthday, and he absolutely loved them. I have been on a Nutella kick lately (for obvious reasons) and wanted to try using it in buttercream frosting. The cupcakes came out moist and delicious, and the Nutella buttercream was rich and creamy. Hope you guys enjoy this recipe and thanks for having me on Blog is the New Black!!

Cupcake Ingredients: (adapted from Bon Appétit)

• 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup canned, unsweetened coconut milk
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F and line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a small saucepan, simmer water and place a bowl with white chocolate over, stirring until melted.
3. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla until blended. Add hot white chocolate to sugar mixture and stir to combine.
5. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with coconut milk in 2 additions, beating to combine.
6. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form and gently fold into the batter in 3 additions.
7. Divide batter among muffin cups (about 1/4 cup each).
8. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
9. Cool completely before frosting.

Nutella Buttercream Frosting:

• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 2-3 tbsp whipping cream

Frosting Directions:

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter on low speed until well blended, then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
2. Add vanilla, Nutella, and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute, adding more cream if needed for piping consistency.
3. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.