Ferrero Rocher Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 12 Ferrero Rocher candies
Buttercream:
• 1 cup butter
• 3 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. heavy cream, if needed

Directions

For the cupcakes:
1. Preheat to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with 12 paper muffin cups. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until incorporated, about two minutes more. Add the egg and vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
4. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate, and mix it in by hand with a rubber spatula.
5. Divide the batter evenly into the paper cups. Press one Ferrero Rocher into the center of each cupcake. Try to cover the chocolates with batter by nestling it, but don’t worry if it’s not completely covered.
6. Bake for 22 – 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centers comes out clean. Don’t worry if you can see the candies after baking; we’ll be covering the tops with frosting.
7. Transfer the muffin pan to a cooling rack and allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes before taking them out of the pan. Cool to room temperature before frosting.
For the Nutella buttercream:
8. In a large bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy.
9. Next beat in nutella, vanilla and salt until smooth and fully combined. If you feel your buttercream is too thick, add cream one tablespoon at a time and beat to combine.
10. When cupcakes are cooled, pipe on frosting. Enjoy!