Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes of Chocolatey Doom

 Celia,

This is becoming a rather one-sided blog! I have a TON of pictures and recipes I haven't posted yet, so I guess I will just share them and you can deal. Participate if you make something! This will not be in chronological order, I think.

Yesterday the boyfriend and I went to a party at his coworker's house, and I took cupcakes, because that is what I do. I had been thinking about ways to incorporate Nutella into anything, ever, and I worked up some very hazelnut-centric cupcakes. These are chocolate cupcakes, but with a suprise:

I made a mess. As usual.

These liners have really pretty patterns. They're Nordic Ware from Target.

They each have half of a Ferrero Rocher candy in the center. They would have had a whole candy, but I was afraid they would be too big. I think it would have been fine, but these were plenty tasty. I made sure to put the candies just below the surface of the batter, so they didn't sink and burn on the bottom of the pan. This particular cake batter is really thick, so it wasn't a problem. I actually ended up covering them all with a spoonful of batter at the end. The only odd thing was that the cupcakes all had a sunken spot over where the candy was. If I had been really ambitious I would have filled the sunken spot with a hazelnut butter or cream before I frosted the cupcakes, but I wasn't that ambitious. They were still tasty.


I frosted the cupcakes with a Nutella frosting that I made up as I went. I'm not sure of the measurements, but I'll post the ingredients and the approximate quantities below. It was simple and really, really tasty.

This tray is also from Target, of course. It has a lip around the edge which is nice, because it keeps the cupcakes from escaping when my boyfriend is driving like a maniac and the cupcakes are on my lap.

I topped the cupcakes with grated chocolate from my new cheese grater, the handheld type that waiters use at nice Italian restaurants. Then I tossed some chopped hazelnuts on some of them, and finished them off with dark chocolate with hazelnuts - just some melting chocolate melted and spread flat with the nuts sprinkled on. I brushed the backs of the chocolate with gold dust because I'm fancy that way, but I don't think anyone noticed. If I do it again I will be more aggressive with the brushing.

I miss you kiddo!

Love,

Amanda

The Recipes: 

Chocolate Cupcakes adapted from Cupcakes take the Cake

1 stick Butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C. Sugar
2 Eggs, room temperature
3/4 C. Flour
1 t. Baking Powder
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 C. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (I used Ghiradelli and then some Hershey's when I ran out, and it was good. Better chocolate always = better cake).
1/2 C. Whole Milk (Were you to not have whole milk, mixing heavy cream with 1% will yield a really, really good cupcake)
1 t. Vanilla

Yield: 12-14 cupcakes (I easily doubled it for this recipe)

Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees, then turn it down to 350 just prior to baking

1. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until it is soft, then add sugar. Beat about 3 minutes.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until they are well combined.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk them to incorporate them.
4. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar and beat it just to combine. Add 1/2 of the liquids (milk & vanilla), scrape down bowl and beat to combine. Continue adding the dry and wet ingredients alternately making sure you END WITH THE DRY.
5. Fill muffin tins 2/3's of the way and bake for about 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool, then frost.

Nutella Frosting, made up as I went along and likely to not be exactly this recipe:

1 cup Nutella
1 1/2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup heavy cream
2-3 cups confectioners' sugar, or however much required to make this frosting-like in consistency

Mix the Nutella with the butter until well-combined. Add in vanilla and then confectioners' sugar and cream, alternating between the two until you get a fluffy but not runny frosting. Taste test frequently and adjust Nutella, cream, and sugar to fit your preferences. This should produce a light, fluffy, yet very chocolately frosting. Add a pinch of salt if you want to cut the sweetness, or use less vanilla.