After my last bake I had some frosting left in the fridge, so I decided to use it up by making some Chocolate and Hazelnut cupcakes.
Chocolate and hazelnut is always a good combination and I think the addition of the mild apricot flavor in the buttercream makes a great topping.
The recipe I followed is actually from Allrecipes, but I didn’t use the recommended frosting. So the recipe below follows Allrecipes for the cupcake, but my own recipe for the frosting.
The recipe says it will make 14, but I think I could easily have eked out a 15th.
The results are very good indeed, though I am the first to admit and piping is not my forte. I ate one cupcake while they were still warm, and it tasted so good, chocolatey, the the taste and crunch of hazelnut. Then, when they were cooled and I had added the frosting I ate another and it was just wonderful. So I recommend this recipe to anyone wanting to try something a little different.
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes
- 100g 70% chocolate
- 6 tablespoons milk (semi-skimmed is fine)
- 175g unsalted butter
- 175g caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 150g self-raising flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 100g crushed hazelnuts
- 100g butter, softened
- 400g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp greek yogurt(or double cream)
- 4tbsp apricot jam
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 180 C/160C Fan / Gas 4.
- Melt the 100g chocolate and milk over a saucepan of boiling water.
- Beat the 175g butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy, stir in eggs.
- Fold in flour, baking powder and hazelnuts.
- Add the melted chocolate and milk mixture and mix well. Spoon into muffin cases.
- Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
- To make the frosting combine the butter, icing sugar, great yogurt, apricot jam and vanilla extract until it is a nice creamy texture. Set aside to use when the cupcakes are cooled.
- Put the frosting into a piping bag, with a nozzle of your choice and pipe over the cupcakes.