Easter has come and gone, and with it my stash of chocolate. I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person who goes in hard on trying to eat as much Easter chocolate as possible as soon as possible, and then has major regrets a week later when there’s nothing left but foil and cardboard boxes.
Katie still has some of her Crunchie Easter Egg left…. how on Earth?
So I thought it time to get the stand mixer back out and whip up a batch of chocolate treats – and what could be more delicious than a Ferrero Rocher cupcake or two?
Yep, the answer to that question is six Ferrero Rocher cupcakes of course!
The Best Chocolate Cupcakes
My go-to chocolate cupcake recipe is one of the first things I ever posted on my blog, and I still stand by that recipe to this day. It uses melted chocolate rather than cocoa, and the trick is to buy some good quality chocolate instead of scrimping on a substandard bar. I usually choose Green & Blacks or Lindt, and always 70% cocoa solids. It’s definitely worth the extra expense.
Soft and Fluffy Nutella Buttercream
Although you couldn’t possibly tell due to the melted chocolate and hazelnuts, these Ferrero Rocher cupcakes do actually have some buttercream going on in there somewhere. And of course it has to be flavoured with Nutella – although I did actually use some generic supermarket brand chocolate hazelnut spread for these, and it worked out just perfectly.
The tip to getting your Nutella buttercream nice and fluffy is to whip the butter and Nutella together for a good few minutes before you add the icing sugar. And make sure your butter is nice and soft before you begin!
I piped a great big blob of Nutella buttercream onto the tops of each of my chocolate cupcakes, using a piping bag fitted with a large round attachment. The bigger the blob the better!
Ferrero Rocher Topping
To make these Ferrero Rocher cupcakes extra special, and well, extra Ferrero-y, you’re going to want to dip the blobs of buttercream into some melted chocolate, and then double dip into a bowl of toasted chopped hazelnuts. Make sure the chocolate isn’t too hot, as you don’t want to melt the buttercream. And definitely avoid shaking the cupcakes too violently when you’re letting the excess chocolate drip off – you don’t want your blob falling off.
Yep, speaking from experience there.
I drizzled the top of the cupcakes with some spare melted chocolate too. Why not, eh?
Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes
- 150 g good quality dark chocolate
- 100 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 200 g light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 200 g plain or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (US baking soda)
- Pinch of salt
- 250 ml milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Nutella buttercream
- 300 g Nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut spread)
- 225 g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 500 g icing sugar (US powdered sugar)
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To fill and decorate
- 200 g good quality dark chocolate
- 200 g Nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut spread)
- 150 g chopped roasted hazelnuts
Instructions
For the chocolate cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F (170°C fan) and line a cupcake or muffin tin with 14 cupcake liners.
- Melt the chocolate, either in the microwave or over a saucepan of boiling water. If using the microwave, make sure to stir the chocolate every 30 seconds to avoid burning it. Set aside.
- Cream the butter using a stand or hand-held mixer, until it is pale and creamy, and has no lumps. Add the sugar and mix well.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the melted chocolate, and beat well.
- Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, and mix gently until just combined. Try to avoid over-mixing. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract, and mix gently until fully combined.
- Fill the cupcake cases ¾ full, as the cupcakes will rise when baking. Put in the oven for 22-25 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before filling and icing.
For the Nutella buttercream
- Cream the Nutella and butter with a hand or stand mixer until it is pale and creamy, and no lumps remain.
- Add the icing sugar, milk and vanilla extract to the Nutella butter, and mix well until fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again. Set the buttercream aside whilst filling the cupcakes.
To fill and decorate
- Melt the chocolate, either in the microwave or over a saucepan of boiling water. If using the microwave, make sure to stir the chocolate every 30 seconds to avoid burning it. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Scoop holes out of the middle of each chocolate cupcake - I use an apple corer to do this, but you can use a teaspoon or knife. Pipe or spoon the remaining Nutella into each of the holes, until full.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a large round end, pipe a blob of the Nutella buttercream onto the top of each cupcake.
- Fill a small bowl with the roasted chopped hazelnuts. Dip the top of each cupcake into the warm melted chocolate, and let the excess chocolate drip off the top. Don't shake the cupcakes too much, or the blob of icing may fall off - I'm speaking from experience here. Immediately dip the chocolate covered buttercream into the bowl of chopped hazelnuts, making sure it's covered well.
- Repeat for all of the remaining cupcakes, and then drizzle some of the remaining chocolate over them all. Leave the cupcakes to set, before storing them in an airtight container.
