Fashion & Beauty By Mirela : Valentine's Day Nutella-Cream Cheese Red Velvet Cupcakes

Hey there everyone,

So the Valentine's Day weekend is upon us and since I am watching my calories, I decided to make a desert that is already portioned out in a way. That way I can spread it out for a few days and eat it with coffee as I normally do have a small desert with it anyway. We cannot have a Valentine's Day without a romantic desert! Completely unacceptable! Even when trying to loose weight.The first thing that popped up in my head where of course cupcakes :).

Now, because I love cooking and baking in general, I have a cupboard that I dedicate solely for my baking supplies. I always have it stocked with all sorts of baking ingredients. So when I feel creative or I'm craving something in particular I can always pull out the stuff I need and start baking.

The recipe I'm sharing with you is very VERY simple. I wanted to make something simple yet yummy and indulgent, so last night after dinner I came up with these. I didn't follow an exact recipe ....I just kind of improvised and used what I already had in my kitchen as I often do. I made this with my son Dali. He enjoys cooking with me ....pretty much no matter what I'm making. Needless to say last night he ended up stuffing his face with 3 cupcakes ....these where THAT good!

I used:
- 1 Red Velvet cake mix box. I used Betty Crocker brand but you can use any brand you like, I just had that one on hand so I used it. Follow the directions on the box as far as the ingredients and cooking time are concerned. I followed it exactly and the only thing I added extra besides the usual eggs, oil and water ingredients was a 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

- I used foil and paper cupcake baking cups to bake mine in and filled each 3/4 full so they have room to rise/spread as they are baking.

- For the icing/cream I mixed 2/3 of a cup of cream cheese (I used the Greek yogurt kind healthier version because again that is just what I had, you are free to use whatever you have), 2 cups of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2 tbsp of Nutella. I microwaved all this together stopping every 10 seconds or so to mix it until it was all combined and lump free and creamy enough to spread. You don't want to cook this or burn it/dry it out so be careful it's just lightly luke warm ....just enough for consistency. Also the chocolate chips should be melted by themselves prior, then mixed into this mixture 1 cup at the time. Each for about 30-45 seconds. Be careful not to overdo it.

- Let the cupcakes cool slightly. Mine where left to cool for half an hour. Then spread the prepared chocolate cream cheese icing on top of them.

- I topped/decorated mine with fresh sliced strawberries and sprinkle of fine coconut flakes .....but you can pretty much do anything you want when it comes to decorating cupcakes....so again do whatever you like or decorate each of them differently :).

These turned out soooooo yummy. The icing was decadently rich. The strawberries went perfectly with chocolate chips and Nutella cream cheese and the coconut added a bit of something special. The chocolate chips in the cake itself melted and created a warm gooey spots of melted chocolate goodness inside the spongy soft cake. Just perfection! They came out better than I ever planned they would and they where insanely simple and fun to make. Store covered in a cool place.