I freaking love Nutella, and I thought that a cupcake with Nutella in it would probably be just freaking amazing. My original plan was to make a giant batch of cupcakes to take to work for my coworkers. I started with a basic vanilla cupcake recipe:

• 1/2c butter
• 3/4 fine granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4c self-rising flour
• 1/2c sour cream
• 1T vanilla

• Set oven to 350
• Cream butter and sugar together
• Add eggs one at a time
• Add in flour slowly
• Beat in sour cream and vanilla
  

Before I started mixing all that up, I set up a double boiler over medium heat with about a third cup of Nutella in it, wanting it to be liquid. My plan was to divide the batter in to cupcake liners, then make a swirl of Nutella in the cupcakes by dipping a whisk into heated Nutella, then dunking it into the cupcake and swirling.

Once I got my batter mixed, though, I realized I didn't have enough time for that before I had to be to work. Instead, I poured my batter in to a greased and floured aluminum pan (I had doubled this recipe, so I used a 13 x 9 x 2 5/8 pan); then I poured the Nutella in streaks across the surface and used a spatula to swirl it in. I wasn't sure if I was going to end up with plain cake with just a bit of Nutella at the surface, so I decided it needed some frosting.

I considered strawberries, raspberries, just mixing Nutella in with the frosting, or doing plain, but I eventually settled on mixing in a couple of Oreos. I like Oreos in Nutella, if anybody else didn't like it that's too bad. The frosting I made consisted of:

• 1/2c butter and
  
• 4 oz cream cheese creamed with
  
• 3c powdered sugar and
  
• 2 oreos, crushed into small crumbs mixed in

Personally, I thought it was just an okay cake. The vanilla part was a little bland; the good news was that the Nutella sank into the mix and spread, so it looked like a chocolate marble cake. Overall it was a very moist cake, and all my coworkers liked the flavor mix. They devoured most of it, and gushed over it, so apparently it came out better than I thought! I think I just have high standards, having grown up with my mother's baking.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures!