Easy Gourmet Cupcakes: Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Welcome back to easy cupcake baking with the Loverbees. You're gonna love this one. This is my favorite chocolate cupcake y'all.

Make someone's day with these Easy Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes!

These Easy Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes are visions of chocolate deliciousness. Just picture it - chocolate cake filled with chocolate hazelnut spread, frosted with rich and creamy chocolate hazelnut buttercream, and sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts. It's gonna be hard to eat just one or two of these babies.




This week's cast of characters: a box of chocolate cake mix, jarred chocolate hazelnut spread, and a little bag of chopped hazelnuts. Let's bake!

First, bake up a batch of chocolate cupcakes using your favorite chocolate cake mix.

While your oven's on, go ahead and toast your hazelnuts. I highly recommend toasting them. Not only does it greatly enhance the hazelnut flavor, but these little packets of chopped nuts are not always the freshest. Toasting them helps tremendously with that.




Once your cupcakes have completely cooled, use the back end of a wooden spoon to make a hole in the center of each cake.

Fill a Ziplock freezer bag with a 7 oz jar of chocolate hazelnut spread, twist the top closed, snip off 1/3 inch off of one corner, and squeeze the filling into the center of each cupcake until you see it coming out of the top.




Now, whip up your buttercream. Cream two sticks of softened butter with 14 ounces of chocolate hazelnut spread for 30 seconds.




Beat in 3 cups of powdered sugar.




Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla and a pinch of salt.




Beat in 2 more cups powdered sugar.




Beat in some milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the buttercream is the right consistency for piping - not too soft, not too stiff. Then, scrape down the bowl and beat on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.




Frost your cupcakes and immediately sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts.

Win Employee of the Month by giving your boss a batch of these Easy Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes.

You may find it hard to stop eating these. Not speak'n from experience or anything. 😉

Gorgeous and delicious Easy Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes.

Easy Gourmet Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
Makes about 27 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the chocolate cupcakes:
1 15.25 oz box chocolate cake mix
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/4 cup whole milk
4 large eggs
* These ingredients are based on a cake mix that calls for 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of oil. I added an extra egg, subbed whole milk for the water, and subbed melted butter for the oil, and then doubled the amount of butter.

For the chocolate hazelnut buttercream:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 7 oz jars chocolate hazelnut spread
5 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
1 to 5 Tbsp milk

1 7 oz jar chocolate hazelnut spread for filling
2.25 oz bag chopped hazelnuts (1/2 cup) for topping

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners (My batter actually made 27 cupcakes).
2. In a large bowl, add all of the ingredients for the cupcakes and mix well using a hand mixer, whisk, or wooden spoon. The batter should be smooth.
3. Scoop a scant 1/4 cup of batter (or use a size 20 cupcake scoop) into each liner.
4. Bake cupcakes for the time recommended on your cake mix box for cupcakes. Check them at the earliest time by inserting a toothpick into the center of one of the cupcakes near the center of the oven until it comes out clean.
5. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 15 minutes and then remove from the pans to cool completely.
6. Toast your hazelnuts while your oven is still on. Pour them onto a baking sheet and bake for about 5 to 7 minutes. Then, cool completely.
7. When your cupcakes are cooled, use the end of a wooden spoon to make a hole in the center of each cupcake being careful not to punch through the bottom.
8. Fill a Ziplock freezer bag with one 7 oz jar of chocolate hazelnut spread, twist the top closed (you can use a twist tie, if you like), snip off a 1/3 inch off of one corner, and squeeze filling into each cupcake until you see the filling coming up out of the top of the cupcake.
9. For the chocolate hazelnut buttercream, beat the butter and two 7 oz jars of chocolate hazelnut spread for 30 seconds.
10. Scrape down the bowl and beat in 3 cups powdered sugar.
11. Scrape down the bowl again and beat in 2 tsp of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
12. Scrape down the bowl and beat in 2 more cups powdered sugar.
13. Scrape down the bowl again and beat in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a good pipable consistency - not too stiff, not too soft.
14. Scrape down the bowl again and beat on high for 3 minutes until frosting is light and fluffy.
15. Snip off one corner of another Ziplock freezer bag a little smaller than your piping tip. Slide in your piping tip and set bag in a tall cup to easily fill with frosting.
16. Twist the top of your bag closed and pipe frosting onto each cupcake.
17. Immediately sprinkle with toasted nuts.