Day 179 – Candied-Hazelnut Cupcakes

Sometimes, just sometimes, you come across a recipe where the end result looks infinitely cooler than you thought it would. These Candied-Hazelnut Cupcakes (recipe below from Martha Stewart) are totally that. Read on. You’ll see.

    

The cupcakes are extremely dense and fairly moist. Very muffin-like.  They have a surprisingly sweet, nutty flavor. The hazelnuts are extremely strong. Not overly strong, I’m just surprised cause they’re normally not a super-intense nut.

The frosting is a cross between a ganache and a buttercream. It’s smooth and thick and easy to spread.  It has a very chocolatey flavor. Sweet, but leveled. You can really taste the cocoa powder and the semisweet chocolates.

    

Together it’s a lot like a chocolate-covered hazelnut cupcake. You get the nut. And the chocolate. They mesh together nicely. If you’re not a nut-in-your-food fan though, these will not be your style. So, keep that in mind when you’re baking them.

    

Note: In mini form, you really just get the chocolate frosting. I’m not gonna say that’s bad, I’m just gonna say it’s chocolatey.

    

Note:  It’s quite a bit of time and effort to make the candied hazelnut. They are beautiful, but I’m not sure spending that much time on a topping is my cup of tea.

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 3

• Frosting Taste: 4

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 4.5
• Ease of Making: 2.5 (more time-consuming than difficult)
• TOTAL: 18

RECIPE

Candied-Hazelnut Cupcakes (recipe from Martha Stewart)

Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup whole unblanched almonds, toasted
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 large egg whites

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 pounds best-quality semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Candied-Hazelnuts:

• 24 hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water

For directions visit Martha Stewart.

*Tomorrow: Tiramisu Cupcakes*