These chocolate cupcakes are one of the best desserts you’ll ever make – its super fudgy, rich, chocolatey and delicious, and to top it all you drizzle a big mound of luscious hazelnut cream.
Photo: Natalie Levin
Chocolate Cupcakes with Hazelnut Cream
For chocolate and praline cupcakes:
- 200 grams dark chocolate
- 125 grams butter
- 30 grams praline paste
- Pinch of salt
- 150 grams sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 50 grams cornstarch
- 20 grams cocoa powder
- 30 grams ground hazelnuts
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
For hazelnut cream:
- 250 ml. milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 40 grams sugar
- 20 grams cornstarch
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 125 grams butter
- 100 grams praline paste
Decoration:
- 100 grams melted dark chocolate
- caramelized hazelnuts bits
- Preheat oven to 170 degrees and grease the pan well.
- Chop the chocolate and put in a bowl.
- Add butter and solvent together in the microwave or over double-boiler until everything is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Add praline paste, salt and sugar and beat well until blended.
- Add the eggs one at a time, stirring between additions.
- Add cornstarch, cocoa powder, ground hazelnuts and baking powder and mix just until incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and filled up to about 2/3 of each hole.
- Bake the cakes for about 15-20 minutes or until set at the edges, but still slightly soft in the center.
- Cool completely and extracting from the mold.
- Hazelnut cream: in a medium pot heat milk to a simmer.
- In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla.
- Add about 1/3 amount of boiling milk over the egg yolk mixture while whisking until mixture is smooth.
- Add the remaining milk mixture into a bowl and beat well.
- Return the mixture into the pot and cook while constant whisking on medium-high flame until you get a thick pastry cream.
- Cool the cream in the refrigerator until it is completely set.
- Transfer the cold cream into a bowl and beat well.
- In a mixer bowl whip the butter with a paddle-attachment until it softens slightly. Add praline paste and blend until mixture is smooth.
- Add the whipped cream into the butter and mix just until creamy smooth.
- Transfer the cream into a piping bag fitted with large round piping tip.
- Pipe high mounds of cream to the top of each cake.
- Decoration: melt the chocolate in the microwave or over double-boiler.
- Pour the chocolate onto a baking paper and spread to about of 2-3 mm thick.
- Sprinkle generously hazelnut bits and cool for 1-2 minutes in the refrigerator until the chocolate begins to set, but still slightly soft.
- Use a 4-5 cm cookie cutter and cut the chocolate into circles. Cool completely in the fridge for half an hour.
- Place a chocolate and hazelnut disc on top of the cream and serve.
- The cupcakes are at their best on the day or two after preparation.
- Praline paste can be bought in baking specialty stores for products and raw materials.
- Keep the cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
- You can make the recipe in one 22 cm round cake. The baking time will be longer.
Photo: Natalie Levin