Nutella cupcakes

This week we had the opportunity to go to a dinner and cocktail party and decided to try out a new cupcake recipe. There are a couple of classic flavour combination that I always go back to, hazelnut  and chocolate is one of them. It just works! We also recently discovered in my house that I had been keeping Nutella out of the house, and when I say we I mean my bf. Needless to say I got in trouble, which is fair. But in my defense - I cannot handle myself around a jar of Nutella, it's an addiction and the only solution is cold turkey, but this solution is somewhat unfair to other Nutella lovers in my life.

Anyway here's how I made it up to him and gifted my dinner party hosts -

Nutella Cupcakes

Frosting   (technique from Butteryum)

400g Dark Chocolate
500 ml Double Cream
1 tsp Vanilla extract

This technique has literally changed my perception of  ganache. It makes it so so easy.

1 - Heat the cream to just below boiling
2 - Chop up your dark chocolate as the cream heats
3 - Pour the cream over the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.
4 - Don't stir for 2 minutes then beat together until smooth
5 - Add the vanilla extract, stir again.
6 - Now cover in a tea towel and leave sitting for 8 hours/overnight.
7- Done! Amazing.

Hazelnut Cupcakes  (adapted from Martha Stewart)

100g Ground Hazelnuts
1+1/4 Cup Plain flour
+ 3 tablespoons corn flour sieved together             

1.5 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
113g Butter (unsalted)
32g Caster Sugar
110g Dark Brown Sugar
180ml milk (I used lactose free)
1 egg yolk
1 tsp amaretto or vanilla extract
5 medium egg whites
Nutella to fill

1 - Preheat your oven to 180'C/350'F, Line your muffin tin with 
     cupcake cases. Now whisk together
      the hazelnuts, flours, baking powder and salt.

2 - Beat together the butter and sugars.

3- Beat the egg yolk and amaretto into the milk.

4 - Then in stages add and alternate 1/3 of the flour mixture and milk into the butter mixture.

5 - In a seperate bowl beat the egg whites into soft peaks. Then add half into the rest of the mixture
      and mix. Then fold in the second half and immediately pour into the cupcake cases up to half
      way.
6- Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and set up to cool on a wire wrack

7 - Using a teaspoon scoop out a little from the center of each cupcake, add a teaspoon of nutella.
      This works well while still slightly warm.

8 - Decorate with frosting and caramalized hazelnuts if you wish, then enjoy!

Are you ready?!

Dig in!