Cupcake of the Week: Nutella, Mozzarella, Pancetta & Banana Cupcakes || Week 11

In what some will call a bold move, I went for it... fruit, cheese, chocolate & meat.  All things that pair nicely with wine, yet things that are rarely paired with each other.  But let me tell you... in doing so, something magical happened.  A true feast for the palate, a wonderful combination of ooey & gooey with salty & sweet that would pair well with a deep Merlot.

So here it is. 

The Nutella, Mozzarella, Pancetta & Banana Cupcake
3.5 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 sticks of butter, softened
2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
1.5 cups milk
1 cup chopped chocolate pieces
1/2 cup chopped banana
2 bananas sliced 
2 balls of burrata mozzarella
1 cup diced pancetta
1/2 cup nutella spread

pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.  in a bowl cream together your butter, sugar & salt.  mix in your eggs & milk.  then add in your flour, baking powder, chocolate & banana and mix well.  the cupcake batter should be nice and light.

in a pan, fry your diced pancetta until they are nice and brown.  scoop about half of your pancetta into your cupcake batter, reserving the rest to use as a garnish.  fill your cupcake tins 2/3 of the way full.  with the burrata, slice the ball in half.  scoop out the creamy center and reserve in a bowl.  with the rest of the mozzarella, cut into cubes.  in the center of each cupcake, place 1-2 cubes of the mozzarella and press down into the cupcake.

bake 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the cupcake has a nice sponge-y texture. there should be a few brown spots of ooey-gooey melted chocolate throughout your cupcakes!

in a bowl, whisk together the creamy burrata with the nutella and set aside.  slice the banana into wedges.  garnish your cupcakes with a dollop of the nutella & cheese mixture, a sprinkle of the reserved pancetta and a slice of banana!

when you cut into your cupcakes they'll have a nice stringy gooey center.  these cupcakes actually remind me a lot of a warm & gooey chocolate cookie, albeit with cheese & meat.