Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

I seem to be on a cooking with bananas kick.  I am not sure if it is because we just aren't eating the bananas in time before they get too ripe or if I am just really into banana recipes recently.  Maybe a little bit of both.  Anyway, this recipe was recommended on a message board that I visit frequently and I was hooked when I saw the title.

I love Nutella.  I first discovered Nutella when I was a 14 year old exchange student in Germany.  It was on the table every morning for breakfast along with warm rolls bought that morning from the local bakery.  The wonderful chocolate hazelnut spread would melt into the warm roll and it was just heavenly.  I remember bringing some back to the US with me at the end of that summer but it was quite a few years before it made its way to our supermarket shelves.  Just looking at that jar brings back lots of memories.

So I again found myself with very ripe bananas at home so I decided to give this recipe a try.  The cake was very moist and tasty.  The banana flavor was definitely present.  The frosting is what steals the show in this recipe.  It is just wonderfully light and fluffy, almost mousse like in texture and the Nutella flavor really comes out.  I am already envisioning using this frosting in other ways.

Banana Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting
From French for Cupcake

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes
1 1/2 cups self rising flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 oz unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large very ripe bananas, mashed

For the frosting
4 oz unsalted butter, softened
1 cup Nutella
8 oz powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk or cream (I used cream)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.  Sift the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl and set aside.

Cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Ass the vanilla and the eggs, 1 at a time mixing well after each addition.  Add the flour mixture and blend ingredients together until only just combined.  Stir in the banana.  Blend mixture until ingredients are fully incorporated.  Portion batter into muffin cups.  Bake 25-30 minutes until cakes are light golden brown and tester comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cupcakes are cooling, cream together the butter and Nutella until blended.  Add the powdered sugar gradually until ingredients are combined.  Mix on high speed, adding in milk or cream until frosting is smooth or creamy.  You may need a little more or less cream or milk.  I wound up using about 3.5 tablespoons.  Fill a pastry bag and pipe frosting over the top of each cooled cupcake.