Gooey Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes and Orange Cupcakes

This weekend, we went from having no plans at all to being booked!  We were invited to a BBQ at a friend's house, and I was asked to bring cupcakes.  I wanted to make something different but delicious.  I recieved two new cupcake cookbooks from my godmother for my birthday, and I thought I'd flip through them looking for something interesting. 

I have been craving freshly squeezed and zested citrus lately (if you couldn't tell from my previous post), and when I saw a recipe for Orange Cupcakes with Orange Blossom Buttercream Frosting, I knew I hit the jackpot. 

Yum!

For some reason the batter seemed to have exploded in the oven.  Not sure why they came out looking so funky.

I used my new Cricut Cutter to cut out little flowers and leaves.  So easy, and I think they came out adorable.  Can you see the little specs of orange zest in the frosting? 

The next recipe jumped off the page when I read the word hazelnut.  I have been craving Nutella lately! 

I wasn't sure where to find hazelnuts, but the very nice guy in Whole Foods helped me find them.  Gotta love the service there, even if the parking lot is ALWAYS a nightmare!

After making the simple batter, you add a dollop of Nutella in the center of the cupcake.

The icing was basically a hazelnut ganache.  So.Freaking.Delicious. I decorated them simply with some chopped hazelnuts. 

The center was very fudgy.  Yum.

I wanted to make a cute presentation for my friends, so I grabbed two Janie & Jack boxes.  They have adorable gift boxes that I try to swipe every time I'm in that store.

I wrapped the boxes with a simple ribbon and added one of my personalized seals.



Mike and Dave's daughter, Abby, enjoyed hers...well at least one bite before she was off to play!

Look at those curls!!

Thanks, Mike and Dave, for a wonderful afternoon!

p.s.  We are also heading up to see Matt's aunt, and Luke's godmother, tomorrow in Long Island, and we are taking the other half a batch.  Two birds...one stone :)