I may have just recently joined the gym and decided to get a little bit healthier in prep for my holiday in 2 months 15 days (not that I'm counting, or shopping for it, or packing..), but I do still love baking and I've got a huge household to help me out with eating any creations. In fact, I used up the lasts of my Ferrero Rocher's from Valentines day so that I couldn't sit and eat them, so it really was a decision best for my health..
This recipe for the sponge is the best cocoa-based recipe I've come across, and I think I'll definitely keep it as a base for any chocolate cupcakes I make in the future. I had a lot of fun playing around with these and it's something a bit different to your standard cupcakes. The sponge itself is moist, the chocolate in the middle adds a nice texture, and the Nutella buttercream is all sorts of heavenly. It's rich, super Nutella-y and I've never liked a buttercream so much. The method is simple and if I can follow it, so can anyone! Overall they're definitely the best cupcakes I've ever produced, much better than a box mix- too!
To serve 12:
Cupcake ingredients-
- 230g Lightly salted butter
- 230g Caster sugar
- 230g Self Raising flour
- 60g Cocoa Powder
- 4 Large eggs
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 Tablespoons milk
- 12 Ferrero Rocher chocolates
Nutella buttercream ingredients-
- 100g Any butter
- 140g Nutella
- 200g Icing sugar
- 50g Cocoa Powder
- 4 Tablespoons milk
- 30g Roasted chopped hazelnuts - to sprinkle, optional
- Cake Decor glitter spray - to decorate, optional (but really pretty)
- Any decorations - I've used Galaxy Golden Eggs and extra Ferrero Rooters
Method
For the cupcakes-
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C for fan.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- In a seperate bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa powder. Gradually add the eggs and dry ingredients to the butter and sugar, mixing until well combined.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and milk.
- Line a cupcake tin with 12 cases and divide the mixture evenly into them, reserving a few tablespoons amount in the bowl.
- Gently press a ferrero rocher into each cupcake, pushing right down in the mixture. Spoon the remaining mixture on top of the chocolates to cover them.
- Bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until the cupcakes feel firm to the touch.
- Cool completely.
For the buttercream-
- Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the nutella.
- Sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder.
- Finally beat in the milk until you have a creamy mixture, still firm enough to pipe with.
- Pipe the butter cream on top of the cupcakes.
- Decorate with the hazelnuts and any other decorations you wish to use.
Let me know if you try these!
Alice.