So excited to bring you cupcake #29. This week was Emily’s 9th birthday. As I wrote about her here a couple of days ago, nutella is it’s own food group for Emily. She loves it with a passion. So naturally when I had found this recipe over a month ago, I bookmarked it to make for her special day.
 

 
Emily isn’t crazy about rich recipes, chocolate, or nuts. But she loves nutella. Strange, I know. But she is such a unique soul. So I was excited when I found this recipe with a vanilla base. Most nutella cupcake recipes I came across were heavy on the chocolate and nut garnish side.

 

 
This recipe was extremely simple to make. It comes from Lizzy Mae over at her blog, Your Cup of Cake. She is a broadcasting journalism student at BYU and started taking baked goods to her high school when she relocated in those challenging teen years to make new friends. So smart, right?
 
But my favorite line from her About Page on her blog is this, “I believe that behind every crumb, every slice of pie, every ice cream sundae and behind every cup of cake there is a story”. Isn’t that just plain awesome?
 

 
I doubled the recipe to feed Emily’s swim team at Phoenix Swim Club. I made some life long fans tonight and even had a couple of children request to come live at my house. It brings me such joy to bring a little bit of happiness to friends and strangers in the form of a cupcake. And I always end up thinking about my friend, Bud, who encouraged me towards this journey in the first place. When I looked at this picture of Emily with her teammates, I so wished that my children could have met him.
 

 
So head on over to Lizzy Mae’s blog and tell her that I sent you. You can find this recipe here.

Blessings sweet friends – Jenny

Story of the 52 cupcakes:

I am making 52 cupcakes this year in honor of my chemotherapy buddy. When we were undergoing chemotherapy, people would bring cupcakes and other treats to the chemotherapy “lounge”. We would smile, laugh, and talk about how we were so nauseous and that all we could eat was saltine crackers and Sprite. We were glad that our family and friends were comforted by them though.My friend said, “If we survive this disease, we should eat a different cupcake every week for the rest of our lives.” My friend did not survive. So in honor of him, I am making a different cupcake every week for a year. Every time I make a new cupcake and lick my fingers, I think of him and his zest for life. So in honor of my friend and all cancer patients, I challenge you to eat a cupcake today and remember to always lick your fingers.

To see all cupcakes in this series, go here.