Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

My best friend Devon is an amazingly talented baker. She uses recipes from The Hummingbird Bakery and The Primrose Bakery with her own creative fusion. The other night she made peanut butter and jelly cupcakes that were divine. Dev used a lemon cake recipe, scooped it out, put jelly in the middle and topped it with a peanut butter/nutella frosting. They were really satisfying and the perfect treat for peanut butter lovers!

Recipe to follow...

Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes

I've been on a cupcake kick lately and tonight I made the most delish chocolate nutella cupcakes. They were seriously out of this WORLD! I'm literally in chocolate hazelnut heaven right now, these are better than any cupcakes I've ever had (toot toot I know but they're really that good!)

I usually don't like chocolate on chocolate but these cupcakes are the exception. While making the cupcakes I had to restrain myself from eating the batter, which took a lot of willpower. I was psyched about how well the cupcakes turned out-the perfect consistency and height and the nutella buttercream icing is to die for. These rich cupcakes go perfect with a tall glass of milk.

If you're a fan of nutella these cupcakes are a MUST. They were a huge hit with my family and friends and my brother Howie called them "The best yet." I will definitely be showing off these cupcakes as often as I can.

Here's the recipe as adapted from ""Better Than Sex" Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes" Cupcake Project (and yes they are truly better than sex!)

Makes 15-16 cupcakes
1/2 C butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C milk
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, beat butter until softened and smooth. Add sugar and beat for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each until well combined.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a separate small bowl, combine milk and vanilla.

Add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to butter and sugar and mix until combined. Add about 1/2 of wet ingredients to mixture and mix until combined. Continue alternating dry and wet, mixing in between (finish with the remaining dry ingredients).

Fill cupcake tins about 1/2 full (don’t overfill – you only need 1/2) and bake for around 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. They will come out flat.


Nutella Buttercream

1/2 C butter, room temperature
1 C Nutella
1 C powdered sugar, sifted
1-2 T milk

Beat butter until smooth. Add Nutella and beat together until thoroughly combined. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of milk. Add additional milk or powdered sugar as needed to reach desired consistency. (I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk).

Next I'll be making vanilla cupcakes with this nutella frosting...Recipe and review to follow!

Pasta Vino

It was love at first bite. It was beautiful, smelled good, tasted delicious, and was just what I was looking for. I'm talking about the lasagna I got from Pasta Vino in Mineola.

I instantly felt comforted by the mouth-watering menu and the warm atmosphere inside the small restaurant. Being that it was a Friday night, my boyfriend and I were pleasantly surprised that we were among the few customers in the place at 7pm. We didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

The lasagna reminded me of Christmas day and made me feel like I was eating a home-cooked meal. The creamy sauce is phenomenal and the little meatballs are to die for. I'm literally drooling just thinking about it (don't judge me!).

The dish was baked individually and was the perfect size to clean my plate without having that regrettable gross feeling of being full.

My only complaint was that the bread was kind of stale, which we still ate regardless. I would totally go to this restaurant again and am not surprised to see that Pasta Vino is Zagat-Rated with 87% of reviewers who like the restaurant.

Pasta Vino's major perk is that it has an extensive wine menu that the waiter was happy to translate. There are over 20 wines on the list under $30 and you have the option to order by the glass or by the bottle.

I would definitely recommend checking out this quaint Italian restaurant. I'm excited to try something else besides the lasagna the next time I go to see just how promising this place is.

Pasta Vino is located at 149 Mineola Boulevard in Mineola.