Peanut Butter and Nutella Buttercream Frosting

I made these cupcakes for a friends birthday and I took a little help from the store in terms of the cake part.  But everyone knows that the best and most important part of a cupcake is the frosting, and this frosting is truly something special!  It is creamy and smooth and sweet and when topped with a miniature Reese's candy, you really can't find anything better :) I made one large batch of classic buttercream frosting, split it into two medium bowls and then added the other ingredients to make each of these delicious frostings.

Ingredients

2 pounds confectioners sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

8 tablespoons cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup Nutella spread

Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl to get rid of any clumps.  Add the butter, cream and vanilla extract to the bowl; the butter should be softened but not melted.  The consistency of yogurt is ideal. Mix all of these ingredients thoroughly with an electric hand mixer or a small spatula until well combined.

At this point, separate the classic buttercream frosting into two bowls with equal portions in each bowl.  Place the jar of creamy peanut butter and the jar of Nutella in the microwave separately for about fifteen seconds each until softened slightly. 


Pour 3/4 cup of the peanut butter into one bowl of the frosting and pour the 3/4 of Nutella spread into the other. Mix again thoroughly with electric hand mixer or spatula until smooth and well combined. In order to frost my cupcakes, I put the frosting in a re-sealable plastic bag and used a scissor to cut a small hole in one corner of the bag. Using the bag like a piping bag, I piped a spiral of thick and creamy frosting on the cupcakes and then placed a tiny Reese's on top of each one. Enjoy!