Cupcakes

I am having trouble falling asleep. My normal solution is to count sheep, which is in effect so boring that I fall asleep. But even this is failing me. My mind races with the stressors of the day or with depression at not being where I want to be. The other night my solution was to think about cupcakes. I recently watched an episode of Master Chef where the contestants were challenged to create the most amazing cupcakes. Sharone created a chocolate cupcake with cream-cheese nutella frosting – I was salivating. Nutella is amazing. Cream cheese frosting provides a reason to eat cake. Put them together and you have the food of heaven. I was inspired. So I began thinking of other cupcakes I could create. Almond Bark... peanut butter cup... tiramisu... cheesecake...

Last weekend I decided to take on the first one. I confess that I am stealing this idea from Sharone – it is brilliant, and it combines several of my favorite things. It is important to remember that my goal is to enjoy the foods that I used to without sacrificing the flavor, texture, or smell. Here is my own twist on the No Sacrifice Nutella Chocolate Cupcake:

Flourless Chocolate Cupcake: (Martha Stewart's recipe with a few twists http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/flourless-chocolate-cupcakes)

Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
6 large eggs, separated, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Melt butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water. Stir to combine, then remove bowl from heat and let cool slightly. Whisk in egg yolks.

2.With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, beating until peaks are stiff and glossy but not dry (do not overbeat). Whisk one quarter of the beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten; gently fold mixture into remaining whites.

3.Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes are just set in centers, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely (about 30 min.) before removing cupcakes (their centers will sink).

Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ - 1 cup nutella (adjust to your own taste)
½ cup chopped almonds, toasted

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar. Add nutella.

2.Scrape frosting into piping bag (a ziplock bag can be used with corner tip cut). Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes (cool them for about an hour)

3.Coarsely chop the almonds. Spray skilled with canola spray and toast almonds until browned, several minutes, stirring continuously. Sprinkle chopped almonds onto frosted cupcakes

These cupcakes turned out amazing! They were even better after they had cooled/firmed a little in the refrigerator. I will definitely make these again! I think my next try will be almond bark!