recipe from Raspberry Eggplant
makes 8 cupcakes
Cupcakes
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
Nutella (for filling)
Heat an oven to 350 F. Line 8 wells of a muffin pan with cupcake papers.
Put the hazelnuts and sugar into the bowl of a mini chopper and pulse until the nuts are ground – you want some texture so do not grind them too finely. Evenly distribute the ground nuts between the lined wells of the pan and set the pan aside. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and light brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, and mix until combined. Make sure that you mix the butter and sugar very well, this stage beats air into the batter and makes sure your batter is light. First time I made it, I skimped this step and ended up with dense cupcakes :( .
Add half of the flour mixture, all of the yogurt mixture, and then the remaining flour, mixing on medium speed after each addition until just combined.
Distribute the batter between the cups. Bake until lightly golden around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean, 16-18 minutes.
Frosting
4 ounces fresh blackberries
1 tbsp sugar
[Alternately, 2 tbsp blackberry jam in place of the blackberries + sugar]
1 cup butter, room temperature
6-8 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
To make the frosting
Slice 4 berries in half lengthwise and set them aside.
Puree the remaining berries along with the sugar. Strain the blackberry puree through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Gently simmer the puree over medium-low heat until it is thick and reduced to about 2 tbsp; this will take 10-12 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside to cool.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium-high speed until creamy. Add half the powdered sugar and the vanilla. Beat until combined. Gradually add the rest of the sugar (I rarely exceed 6 cups sugar) until the frosting reaches your desired consistency/taste.
Add the reduced blackberry puree (or jam) and mix to combine.
Once the cupcakes are cooled, fill using the cone method with Nutella and blackberry jam and then frost the cupcakes and top each with a berry half.
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