Happy Second Anniversary of the Blog- Nutella Chocolate Cupcakes

It feels like yesterday when I first watched 'Julie and Julia' and got inspired to blog. Recently a friend of mine at the institute told me I crossed her mind while she was watching ' Julie and Julia'. Well what can I say except for this is indeed the circle of life. I have been trying to find my anchor in cooking in the midst of my madness with research. I have often cursed myself for not being able to manage both the tasks. I have sighed  reading veteran bloggers their creations, the time they devote to photography. I have never been able to find the time and energy to do justice to any of my posts. And yet we've sailed to the second year.

My stats as of today says I have 67,000 hits and I am grateful for this little acknowledgement as we inch towards 1 million hits.I have no regrets for starting this blog for it has given me something new to look forward to every time I came home. Things have only got better in terms of my knowledge of photography or ideas in cooking, presentation and taste. I have started appreciating food in a different way and now when I visit a city I definitely don't miss out their famous eateries. I have enjoyed encouraging friends to contribute to the guest column, sometimes nailed them down for recipes though my latest tactic has been to raid their kitchens and photograph random dishes they prepare for the day. My hubby has started taking interest in cooking and the blog and I consider that quite an achievement so what more could I ask for.

As we enter the third year of blogging, I pray that things turn even better, my research comes to a satisfactory ending and I am blessed with more time and energy to explore what I love the most. I make no promises, I set no expectations ( not for hits, not for followers :) ) I promise not to be disappointed , not to ever ever compare myself to anyone when I can't post stuff on time :) and to relentlessly learn.

These cupcakes of mine are dedicated to Manali my friend who generously donated  a jar of Nutella which she accidentally ordered along with her groceries. Her mishap turned out into my luck for me and I baked these cupcakes for her. The recipe is adapted from 52kitchenadventures.com 

Ingredients for Nutella Chocolate Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

Directions

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees celsius. Please ensure your eggs and butter are at room temperature before you begin. If you are using salted butter cut down the 1/4 tsp salt you would otherwise require. I used salted butter so I have omitted salt in the ingredients list. Take three bowls. In the first one beat the butter and sugar till fluffy and then add the eggs one by one beat well and set aside. In the second bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.

 Mix together and keep them aside. In the third bow add vanilla essence to the milk and blend them well. Now add one third of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture followed by 1/2 of the milk- vanilla mix. Keep alternating the process and combine the ingredients. Fill the batter into cupcake liners lined in the baking tray. Bake for 20-30 minutes till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Ingredients for Nutella Buttercream

1/2 cup butter

1/2 tbsp milk

1 cup nutella

Directions

Beat butter until smooth. Add the nutella and milk and combine well. Transfer the cream to a piping bag and pipe over the cupcakes.Add sprinkles to decorate and your cupcakes are ready.