There are so many things I want to tell you guys about these cupcakes, but passionate, emotional poetry about food would probably come off a little strange to most readers so all I’m going to say is “YUM”. Maybe even “SUPER YUM”, with a side of “NOM NOM NOM”. If you are a choco-holic, Nutella addict, or Ferrero Rocher lover (or all of the above, like me), you will absolutely adore these cupcakes – ‘cuz, you know, all of those things are in there.
Just to be clear, these cupcakes don’t taste exactly like Ferrero Rocher chocolates. They are inspired by the candy, and have components that mimic all the different parts of the candy (i.e., chocolate cupcake, nutella buttercream frosting, chopped hazelnuts and chocolate syrup), but they have a deliciously unique taste. The chocolate cupcake is dense and moist, with a rich, darkly chocolate flavor from the dutch processed cocoa in the batter, and the swirled buttercream frosting is thick and sweet, with tons of yummy Nutella flavor. The hazelnuts and chocolate syrup are technically decorative, but there’s something about licking drips of chocolate syrup off your fingers every other bite that really puts these cupcakes over the edge. One person told me that this was the most decadent thing he’d eaten in ages. Fabulous!
If you’ve been paying attention to my blog the last few months, you’ll be surprised to see that these cupcakes are not gluten free. Before you ask – yes, I am still maintaining a mostly GF lifestyle (and loving it, never felt better). So no, these cupcakes were not for me. I made them for my friend Robin’s birthday. Did I sneak some batter and lick the mixing spoons? Definitely. And did I allow myself to eat a whole cupcake when Robin offered me one? Of course I did. My stomach may have been unhappy afterwards, but my taste buds were pretty pleased. For those of you readers who suffer from gluten allergies and don’t have the luxury of falling off the GF wagon at whim, I think you can easily replicate this recipe with almond meal or the special GF cup4cup flour I’ve mentioned in previous posts. Nobody should miss out on trying these cupcakes!
** Ingredients listed should make 12 cupcakes. For Robin’s birthday cupcakes, I doubled everything and got exactly 2 dozen.
- ¾ cup dutch process cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate)
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup to 1 cup sugar (Depends on how sweet you want your cupcakes)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- 12 Ferrero Rocher candies (optional)
- Chocolate syrup
- Chopped hazelnuts
- ¾ cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 4-5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 heaping cup Nutella
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
- Add the vanilla and mix well.
- Add sour cream and mix well.
- Stir in dry ingredients.
- Divide batter evenly between each cup of your muffin tin. (About ¼ cup each, I’d say)
- [Optional] Lightly press a Ferrero Rocher candy into the center of each cupcake.
- Bake cupcakes for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool completely.
- While your cupcakes are cooling, make your frosting. In a medium bowl, beat your softened butter until smooth and creamy.
- Add Nutella, and mix until well-combined.
- Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time. Mix until smooth. (Taste your frosting after each cup, to make sure it tastes OK to you. If 4-5 cups is too sweet, use less. If it’s not sweet enough, use more.)
- Pipe frosting in thick swirls over each cupcake.
- Drizzle chocolate syrup over each cupcake and garnish with chopped hazelnuts.
- Enjoy!
(Slightly adapted from the Curvy Carrot’s recipe)
These look SO GOOD!! I have a similar cupcake carrier and I love it, though I’ve never used the top rack cause I always end up piping my frosting so high!
Thanks! This was my first time using the carrier and it’s SO much better than shoving everything in a Tupperware! I know what you mean about the top rack though – I definitely could not pipe the frosting as high as I wanted…
Twin, your first image made me want to hop on a plane to your place to have one of these. They look amazing!!
Thanks! You can come over for cupcakes if you promise to take me to some of those awesome restaurants you keep posting about the next time I’m in CA…. 😉
Oh my dear! It is ferrero rocher cupcakes!!!! I need these right now! Thanks for sharing. I will be making them soon!
I wish I had a cupcake right now too….Thanks for reading! Let me know how they turn out for you 🙂
These sound wonderful, did you put the ferrero richer in each cupcake or leave plain? Do they need the chocolate inside to get the full flavour? Thanks 🙂
I put the ferrero rocher candies in about half the cupcakes, and left half plain. Both are delicious!
very delicous 🙂
Thanks!
Best cupcakes ever! Ferrero Rocher is my ultimate weakness!
Mine too! I can’t let myself by them….
Made these tonight and I must say, they’re delicious!!!
The cupcake is so moist and fluffy, and everything’s whipped up so quickly. Best cupcakes I’ve tried in a while, even though I am not too crazy about all-chocolate desserts. It’s almost a shame that my fiancé is taking them to work tomorrow… 😉
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! You should definitely snitch one of the cupcakes and save it for yourself for later 😉