Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

Oh my. Well, it’s January and everyone hates the world because it’s wet and cold and everyone’s attempting to diet.

And along I come with a cheery disposition and an armful of Ferrero Rocher cupcakes! The thing I love about these is that on the surface they look like the most luxurious, nutty chocolatey cupcakes.. And then you take a bite and there is even MORE deliciousness inside. It’s just over the top and vaguely unnecessary, and I love it.

Peek-a-boo!

So, I’ve seen these being bandied around the internet for a while now (interestingly not with recipes, most of them..), and it just felt rude not to make my own. I went with a cupcake mixture that was slightly more akin to a muffin, so that the Rocher wouldn’t sink too much and it would be a slightly firmer cake. Other ways I tried to keep the Rochers as high as possible in the muffin was to dredge in flour before adding, to make them a bit stickier.

For the finish, I just smothered them in a modified version of my chocolate fudge icing and topped the whole lot in a crunchy hazelnut praline.

Decadent, yes,  but utterly delicious. And everything is ok in moderation, so share these around.

Makes 8 cupcakes

Ingredients for the cupcakes

• 8 Ferrero Rocher chocolates
• 100g plain flour, plus extra for the Rochers
• 25g cocoa
• 120g caster sugar
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• Pinch salt
• 40g butter
• 120ml milk
• 1 egg

Ingredients for the praline

• 50g hazelnuts
• 25g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar

Ingredients for the icing

• 1 ½ cups icing sugar
• ½ cup cocoa
• 1/4 cup butter
• ¼ cup nutella
• 1-3 tbsp milk
• Pinch of salt

Method

About an hour before you’re ready to start, place the Ferrero Rochers into the freezer. This will make it less likely that they will melt in the heat of the oven when the cupcakes are cooking.

Now, you can begin with the cupcakes – preheat the oven to 170 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then beat in the butter.

Whisk the egg and milk together, pour half into the dry mixture and mix well, then add the other half and beat well to combine.

Spoon the batter into cupcake cases to 1/3 full. Remove the Rochers from the freezer and dredge in a little bit of flour. Plop each one in the centre of the cupcake cases, then top with more batter to fill 2/3 full.

Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until cooked through.

Remove and let cool.

While they are cooking, make the praline – in a pan, add the hazelnuts and sugar, and stir around over a medium-high heat until the sugar caremalises and sticks the hazelnuts together. Remove and pour into a baking tray to let set.

When cooled and set, place into a sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin to get a rough praline.

While the cupcakes and praline are cooling, make the icing. This couldn’t be simpler. Add all the ingredients except the milk into a food processor. Blend well, and slowly add enough milk to get a smooth pipe-able consistency.

Pipe generously on the cupcakes and wildly scatter the praline on top, and you’re done!

A cheeky peek inside