I’m already bracing myself for a little bit of pushback on these cupcakes. But I’m just going to ask you to trust me on this one ok? I wouldn’t share these if they hadn’t been eaten and loved by several people, promise ๐
So, here’s the thing: there’s no butter or oil in this recipe. Instead, if you scan the list of ingredients, you’re going to see mayonnaise. I know. Personally, I don’t have a problem with mayonnaise but it seems to elicit a strong response from a lot of people (and generally not a positive one). But if you think about it, good mayonnaise is really just made from egg yolks and oil (and yes, I realize small quantities of a few additional ingredients), right? And oil and eggs are very typical ingredients for cupcakes. That was my thinking anyway when I decided to be brave and give this recipe a go. After all, the recipe comes from the Bouchon Bakery cookbook, and if mayo in Devil’s Food Cake is good enough for Thomas Keller’s beloved bakery, who am I to argue?
(And on that note, if you love to bake and haven’t flipped through a copy of Bouchon Bakery, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s a coffee table book for sure – oversized with gorgeous pics and tons of mouth-watering recipes.)
I told Shane I was making this recipe and asked him if he’d be open to trying one of the cupcakes. The response was a pretty emphatic “no thanks” – he was just as skeptical as I suspect you guys are ๐ But eventually I convinced him and he gave them a definite thumbs-up. The cupcakes are moist with a light and tender texture, and not a trace of mayonnaise flavor. In fact, I left a few for Shane’s parents and didn’t think to tell them there was mayo in the cupcakes and from what I’ve heard, they never would have guessed. The Nutella buttercream swirled on top is out-of-this-world good. I’ve made it once before to fill whoopie pies, and had forgotten just how much I loved it. If you’re making a special Valentine’s Day dinner at home, I think these cupcakes would be the perfect way to finish it off!
Just a few other notes on the recipe: Weight measurements are preferred for this recipe, and you’ll notice they’re all listed first below. Baking with weight measures is faster and easier, it’s definitely my preference which is another reason I love this book. Volume measures are also given but because they’re converted from the weight measures, they’re not as “neat” as you may be used to. The egg measurement specifically may throw you off so here’s a tip – one large egg usually weighs between 50 and 55 grams. Mine weighed 53 grams, and rather than crack a second egg, I just made up the difference with a little bit of egg white from a carton of them I had in the fridge.
Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream
cupcakes barely adapted from Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller, frosting adapted from Handle the Heat
{Note: If you like to top each cupcake with a lot of frosting (like me) you’ll probably want to increase the recipe slightly – I’d make 1 1/2 times the amount below. The full recipe will top all of the cupcakes only if you do a smaller swirl than shown in the pictures.}
Cupcakes
101 g (1/2 cup plus 3 1/2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
31 g (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) Dutch-process cocoa powder
2.5 g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
0.5 g (1/8 teaspoon) baking powder
1 g (3/8 teaspoon) kosher salt
56 g (3 1/2 tablespoons) egg, at room temperature
126 g (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) sugar
2 g (3/8 teaspoon) vanilla extract
86 g (1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons) mayonnaise, at room temperature
105 g (1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons) water, at room temperature
Nutella Buttercream
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk (I used 1%)
1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder into a medium bowl. Add the salt and whisk to incorporate. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on medium-low speed for 1 minute, then increase the speed to medium and continue beating for 5 minutes, or until the batter is pale yellow in color and thick. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat for another 5 minutes on medium-high. The batter should be very thick, and when the whisk is lifted, the batter should ribbon from it and slowly dissolve into the batter in the bowl. Beat in the mayonnaise until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and using a rubber spatula, alternately fold in the dry ingredients and water in two additions each (so dry, water, dry, water).
Divide the batter evenly among the liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes, then remove them to the rack to cool completely.
To make the buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and Nutella on medium speed until well combined. Mix in the vanilla and milk. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated then increase the mixer to medium speed and beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Transfer the frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip. Pipe frosting into a swirl on each cupcake.
Makes about 10 cupcakes
You know- one of my favorite cookie recipes of all time has mayo in it. I don’t actually have the recipe because it was a friend’s mom’s and she would never give it out, but I knew mayo was her secret ingredient.
Anyway- I think these cupcakes look perfect- and that nutella frosting is to die for!
I’ve made banana bread with mayo before…but never chocolate cupcakes. I’m sure they’re wonderful! I have also substituted plain vanilla yogurt for mayo in such recipes with great success…I wonder if that would work for these? Anyways, they look gorgeous and I can’t wait to try them!
I bet you could also make these with Greek yogurt if people are really that opposed to mayo.
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Please create recipe index.
Thanks in advance
Love the sound of this nutella buttercream!
So, I’m not a nutella fan, but you made me think twice about that with these cupcakes!
My mom has the best cake recipe that uses mayo. I think it’s from my grandma, and I guess people used to do that a lot during WWII when eggs were scarce. Or something like that. Anyway, no push back from me. These sound terrific.
These were melt in your mouth delicious! I had no idea there was mayo in there. The frosting was out of this world!!! Dangerously good! ๐ Thanks again Tracey!
@Rebekah – I worry there wouldn’t be enough fat since there’s not any butter or oil at all and most of the recipes where I’ve subbed yogurt did have some of one of those. But I guess the only way to find out is to try ๐ Let me know if you do!
Love Nutella and cupcakes! ^_^
These look amazing…the only pushing you’ll get from me is to get the last one ๐
I wouldn’t be afraid of mayo, but I wouldn’t rush to tell people about it before they ate a cupcake. I just got on the waiting list for that cookbook from my library – can’t wait to take a look at it!
Those sponges with a cream cheese topping are light yet wonderfully chocolatey.
They look fabulous and wonderfully moist and chocolaty. I’ve used mayonnaise in recipes before to good effect, but I had forgotten about them. Thanks for the reminder ๐
I made cupcakes the other day too but omg your frosting looks incredible!!!
I’ve never tried a cupcake with mayo but it does make some sense. Besides, if it’s good enough for that chef, who am I to refuse to eat them. ๐
Yum! I know some people use mayo in their mashed potatoes and one person told me they use mayo instead of butter to make their grilled cheese. I’m not afraid of it at all. ๐
These are seriously a DREAM! What a fabulous cupcake ๐
I’m one of the weirdos that’s actually excited by mayo in a cupcake! I’m hooked on making it homemade and it is to die for. Pinning these…
I’ve heard of people putting mayo in chocolate cakes to make it… I dunno, I guess soft and moist? But it is still a weird concept to me. The cupcakes do look very pretty and delectable though ๐
Beautiful cupcakes, Tracey! I’ve eaten chocolate cake made with mayo before and it was good, so I’m sure one from Bouchon is excellent.
I got that cookbook for my birthday and haven’t made anything yet, but I was so excited to see everything is in grams. It makes it so much easier to measure (and scale) recipes.
I’m totally down for mayo in my cupcakes. Definitely looking forward to trying this. You are nice to tell Shane about the mayo up front…I think I’d wait until after he ate it tell him. ๐
Mayo in a cupcake? Who would’ve thought!
They really look amazing. Well done!
I actually made mayo chocolate cupcakes super recently and was SHOCKED at how much I liked them! Especially considering that I’m a serious mayo hater. At least they opened the door for me to be willing to try these!
can you please teach me how to make such perfectly frosted cupcakes?! gorgeous!!
These look amazing!!
thanks for share..