Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

I know I just posted a dessert recipe the other day and now I'm following up with another sweet dessert.  But it's OK.  You're so going to love these ones.  Because they're holiday cupcakes...

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes.

Wow, right?  Yeah, that's what I think too.  If you're not familiar with Ferrero Rocher, you could simply search the candy aisle for the only spherical, gold-foil-covered candy you can find.  Once you unwrap the foil, you're left with a ball of chocolate hazelnut goodness.  You just want to hug everybody in sight when you eat it.  It's that good.

So once I stumbled across a Ferrero Rocher cupcake recipe from Cupcake Project, I knew that I needed to make these.

Do you need my justification spelled out?  OK, here's why: 

1. I have a love affair with chocolate.

2. I adore a good chocolate hazelnut combination.(Think Nutella. Come on!)

3. These cupcakes have a filled center.  'Nuff said.

3. I am entranced by pretty shiny things.  Ferrero Rocher chocolates pretty much have that market covered.

Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

inspired by Cupcake Project's Ferrro Rocher cupcakes

yields ~30 cupcakes

Print Recipe

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 1/2 rounded teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 rounded teaspoons espresso powder

1) Heat oven to 350°F.  Line muffin cups with paper bake cups.

2) Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

3) Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla.

4) Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes.

5) Stir the espresso into the boiling water.  

6) Add the coffee mixture to the batter.  The batter will be thin.




7) Pour batter into cupcake liners. Fill cups 1/2 to 2/3 full with batter.

8) Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling

• Nutella*

Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache

from Cupcake Project's Ferrro Rocher cupcakes

frosts ~30 cupcakes

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnuts

1) Heat the cream on the stove until it is almost boiling.

2) Remove the cream from the heat and add the chocolate, light corn syrup and extracts.  Whisk to combine.

3) Pour in the hazelnuts and stir to coat evenly.

Assemble the cupcakes

1) Using a sharp knife, cut small cones out of the center of the cupcakes.

2) Add a dollop of Nutella into the void, then re-cover with the cone to make the cupcake whole again.  (I put my Nutella in a piping bag so it would be easy to add to the cupcake centers.)

3) Spread the ganache over cooled cupcakes.  Add sprinkles or additional decorations if desired.

*Let's have a moment of silence for the large bottle of Nutella that was murdered during the making of these cupcakes.  Here is a fact about my favorite chocolated spread: Nutella seizes up when you whip it.  I had the bright idea to add a rum-spiked Nutella filling in these cupcakes, but my Nutella turned into play-doh after a few seconds of whipping.  I read somewhere that I just didn't whip the Nutella long enough because it would have eventually smoothed out again.  I have no idea whether or not this is true, but my arm was aching from the whipping process and a new jar of Nutella was a trip to the supermarket away.  So I opted to give up on the Nutella-rum pairing, start anew, and just keep it simple.

This cupcake turned out to be rich and divine.  That's what the holidays are like sometimes.  Even if you can't afford to have a super decadent Christmas holiday, you can afford to make these and act as if you are.  These cupcakes will brighten your day and put a smile on your face.  (Unless you're allergic to nuts.  Then you may need to ignore this entire blog post.  I can't believe you made it all the way through this post!)

Although I couldn't find any hazelnut extract in nearby stores, almond extract substituted in a pinch here. I don't think anyone who ate the cupcake actually noticed the difference.  And even though the cupcake didn't taste exactly like a Ferrero Rocher candy, it was pretty darn close and the chocolate-nut combination of flavors paired together really well.