Hazelnut cupcakes with Nutella®
A tiny little cake for a great Christmas
Cupcakes are also known as fairy cakes, due to their tiny measures and their artistic look. Can you resist when you find a cupcake in front of you, filled with Nutella® and topped with merengue? We bet you'll feel like you have no other option than taste it.
INGREDIENTS for 10 servings
110g soft butter
220g granulated sugar
2 eggs
120g ground hazelnuts
115g flour
½ teaspoons (2g) baking powder
a pinch of salt
120ml whole milk
150g Nutella®
2 egg whites
185g granulated sugar
50g water
METHOD
- For the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and position the baking rack in the middle of the oven.
With a whisk, cream the butter and the sugar for 5 minutes. Then mix in the eggs and the ground hazelnuts, followed by the milk.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, the baking powder and the salt then fold in the previous mixture until just combined.
Spoon the batter into 10 muffin paper cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean)
Let the cupcakes cool down on a wire rack
Using a small knife, cut the top of each cupcake and spoon out a little bit of the crumb (you will use as cupcake lid later)
With a piping bag, fill each cupcake with 15g of Nutella® and top with the lid
- For the meringue:
In a small pan, heat 150g of sugar and the water until it reaches 118° C (245° F)
In the meantime, whisk the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer, gradually adding 35g of sugar until soft peaks form
Once the sugar syrup reaches 118° C (245° F), turn up the speed of the mixer and pour the syrup along the sides of the bowl. Continue whisking until the bowl sides are barely warm
Fill a piping bag with the meringue and pipe it on top of the cupcakes
Caramelize the meringue using a blow torch or, alternatively, under the oven broiler set at the highest temperature
