They say “you can’t buy happiness but you can always buy chocolate and that’s kind of the same thing”. Not until recently when I watched “Charlie and the chocolate factory” I hadn’t known the fact that chocolate triggers your love hormones, makes you feel in love. These cupcakes will definitely tingle your love buds because they aren’t made with chocolate rather adorned with it. Above all, harmonising everything you love with it i.e. Ferrero rochers, cream cheese and Nutella, well it’s sure a chocolate sensation.
My 8 year old went nuts for this. He started to rate it for me saying “on a scale of one to a million, I rate these a million mom”, I was gushed with love. The exhilarating happiness in his eyes and how he gobbled down two at once was evidence enough of his likeness to these cupcakes and my paid off effort and time into these. Surprisingly, these don’t need much effort or time as the ingredients are very quick to mix and put together and baked to perfection in under 20 minutes. So is the same for any cupcake, but what makes these exceptionally different is the love of that million out of a million rating 
and obviously, how effortlessly royal and elegant these look.
Moving on, first thing is first, one key ingredient with this, ButterMilk. Buttermilk is a sour liquid used in baking to keep cakes and pastries moist and soft. If there is no buttermilk available, don’t stress, the simple way to do as I do it is to make it at home. For every 1 cup of milk you add 1 tsp of either vinegar or lemon juice and leave it aside for 5 minutes. You’ll see the milk will split and create lumps in itself. Now I’m not a science person so I can’t explain the scientific reason for this, all I know is that, that’s how buttermilk is formed and yes it is sour but it gives your bake a very moist texture.
Coming to the recipe, this is extremely quick to assemble, just make sure you pre-heat your oven while you are putting this together. I’ll talk about the Frosting in a minute and prior to that I want to talk a little about the chocolate candy balls. I have baked these cupcakes with both frozen Ferrero rochers and as is. I personally think there is not much of a difference with freezing them or not, it doesn’t effect in its overall turn out. Some say, the chocolate sinks down but for some reason mine never does whether or not I have frozen the Ferrero rochers or not before placing them into the batter. So it’s really all upto you. I bought my pack of Ferrero rochers the morning I baked these and just straight away baked.
The chocolate is supposed to be sandwiched in the batter by placing it midway filling the cupcake liner and covering it all over with the batter.
Now, let me come to that succulent and luscious Frosting, oh my! mama mia! Was finger licken’ awesome. It was so frothy and so glossy in texture and so creamy and rich in flavour, I was demanded to let it be licked out of the mixing bowl by my kids. My kids ate it on its own in separate bowls even before I started to frost the cupcakes. Well, if you put Nutella and cream cheese into anything I would be licking my bowl clean too. Just to assure, it’s never that you are addicted to chocolate, rather it’s Nutella that’s addicted to you. A spoonfull of Nutella everyday for everyone and the world will be a much happier and more peaceful place, I bet. In all honesty, whoever invented it was an evil genius.
My hubby is not a very chocolaty fan and I even found him licking the frosting off of the cupcake. So I’m definite to say, it was pretty amazing.
Now, before you start, there are a few things to be taken heed of; firstly, with any perfect bake, always ensure never to over-bake. Many a times you will feel your bake is either too dry or too hard and not chewy enough or moist enough, most of the time it is because you are giving it a little too much heat than it deserves. Secondly, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, butter, eggs, water and cream cheese. You might think it’s no biggy, well trust me, it is a biggy. Thirdly, sift the dry ingredients in to prevent any lumps. This helps to make the flour light and makes the batter fluffier. Baking is very technical, and these are little things that makes your bake perfect, so, definitely take heed. Having said that, let me go back to frosting and say, once you’ve whipped it up, let it rest in the fridge for 10 to 20 minutes as it makes it easier to pipe on the cupcake.
Lastly, if you don’t have a piping bag or piping nozzles, don’t worry. Take a regular plastic food freezing bag and fill it with the frosting and tie the back. With a pair of scissors make a small cut at one corner and pipe the frosting on.
These are so quick to make, half an hour of your time from your busy routine and you’ve got the talk of the table at your disposal. Just chuck all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix – and I didn’t even use a hand mixer, I just used a plain whisk, line and bake.
Hence, endorsing Jessica Simpson, “I am a woman who wants her chocolates” and want it in all its glamour, and the end result,
This recipe will make 12 cupcakes.– * Cupcakes * –1 cup – all purpose flour3/4 cup sugar1/2 cup unsalted butter (115 grams)1/2 cup cocoa powder1/2 cup buttermilk1/2 cup water1 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp salt1 1/2 tsp instant espresso or coffee1/2 tsp vanilla extract2 eggs12 Ferrero rochers– * Frosting * –1/2 cup unsalted butter1 cup powdered sugar1/2 cup cream cheese, softened1 tblsp heaped cocoa powder5 tblsp heaped NutellaAdditional Ferrero rocher for decorating the top
- In a mixing bowl with a plain whisk or a hand mixer cream together the butter and the sugar. Once it’s wel combined add in the eggs and mix to incorporate. Sift the dry ingredients in i.e. Flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the vanilla extract, coffee, buttermilk and water and mix to combine. The batter will be very smooth and silky.
- Line the cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill about a tablespoon of the batter in. Place a Ferrero rocher in the middle and spoon the batter over to cover it.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350* (175*) for 15-18 minutes. Keep an eye on them and take care not to over bake.
- Once baked take out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.
- For the Frosting, mix together sugar, butter, cream cheese, cocoa powder and Nutella. Whisk together for a good 3-5 minutes to make it nice and frothy.
- Pour in a piping bag with a round nozzle.
- Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes to help firm up a little to pipe on smoother.
- Drizzle Nutella on top of the frosting and style with a Ferrero rocher.
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