Nutella is everywhere right now. People are putting it in cookies, cakes, brownies, cheesecakes, rice krispie treats, eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon (Who would do that?! Seriously…I don’t even know…). It’s Nutella madness! But there’s a reason. The stuff is GOOD. I mean really, really good. So I decided I must bake with it. Somehow. What to dooooo???
And then I had an idea…another really, really good thing is raspberry beer. Specifically, Framboise Lambic raspberry beer. This stuff is beyond yummy, like drinking the ripest, juiciest, sweetest raspberries. I’ve wanted to incorporate it into my baking FOREVER. Hmmm, Nutella AND raspberry?? YES. Chocolate cupcake with Nutella ganache and raspberry beer buttercream??? DOUBLE YES.
Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but this is one of the best cupcakes I’ve made to date. I simply love this one-bowl dark chocolate cake recipe from Sweetapolita. It is super moist and reminiscent of a wacky cake just like my mom used to make and reminds me of birthdays past. The Nutella ganache is decadent and gooey and the light, airy raspberry buttercream is just the perfect frosting for the whole thing. Oh and dare I suggest TOTALLY perfect for Valentine’s day with the faint pinkness of the buttercream and the cute dark chocolate heart topper?? (You can find the mold for the chocolate heart here.)
Is this the perfect cupcake? Perhaps. The best use of Nutella EVER, in all baking history?? Maybe. A really, really super delicious crazy good cupcake?!? Definitely!
- 1½ c. All-Purpose Flour
- 1⅓ c. Granulated Sugar
- ½ c. Dark Cocoa Powder
- 1¼ t. Baking Soda
- 1¼ t. Baking Powder
- 1 t. Salt
- ¼ c., plus 1 T. Vegetable Oil
- ⅔ c. Buttermilk (I only had whole milk so that is what I used and it seemed to work fine.)
- ½ c., plus 1 T. Espresso or Strong Hot Brewed Coffee (I used the coffee)
- 2 Eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
- 1 T. Pure Vanilla
- ¾ c. Nutella Hazelnut Spread
- ½ c. Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, softened
- ½ c. Shortening
- 4 c. Powdered Sugar
- ½ c. Raspberry Beer (suggested: Lamboise Frambic)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 20 regular cupcake pans with cupcake wrappers.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, sift or whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Add all remaining ingedients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and beat or 2 minutes on medium speed. Spoon 3 tablespoons of cake batter into each cupcake tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan and cool completely.
- Place the Nutella in a medium size bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil and pour over the Nutella. Whisk or stir until smooth. Let cool completely.
- Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually beat in 2 cups of the powdered sugar and then ¼ cup of the raspberry beer. Beat in the other 2 cups of powdered sugar and the remaining ¼ cup of the raspberry beer. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Using a serrated knife or apple corer, cut out a small piece from the middle of each cupcake. Fill with 2 teaspoons of Nutella ganache. Pipe with raspberry buttercream.
