Delicious Nutella and Snickers Cupcakes

So a couple of weeks back I did a 2.5km swim to raise money for sport relief and in all fairness it went pretty well! I beat my personal best and I’ve raised over £700 so far- good times. A part of that fundraising of course had to involve a good old fashioned bake sale. I got so many donations of delicious baked goodies and it was a real hit; my contribution consisted of my super gooey chocolate brownies and two versions of a delicious chocolate cupcake. It’s the same base mix but then different fillings and icing to make it that little bit different. Let me introduce to you Nutella and Snickers cupcakes!!

Both went down an absolute storm – in fact the Snickers cupcakes disappeared before the stall had even been set up with one woman claiming she’d had a ‘cake-gasm’. Now that’s a compliment if ever I’ve heard one!

For my birthday last month I received the most marvellous gift of a new kMix hand whisk (ultimate dream is a KitchenAid stand mixer but I think I’ll have to work up to that one!) so I think I have to partly thank that to how fluffy these guys were but seriously I don’t think I’ll be trying another chocolate cupcake recipe again unless it’s had some super crazy reviews or something.

I hope you like them! Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes

·         100g plain flour

·         20g coco powder

·         140g caster sugar

·         1 ½ tsp baking powder

·         1 pinch of salt

·         40g butter at room temperature

·         120ml milk

·        1 egg

Instructions:

1.       Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3.

2.       Mix together the dry ingredients and butter until well combined on a low speed with a hand mixer.

3.       Add the milk and beat again until properly mixed together.

4.       Add the egg and beat well. The mixture should be a light and fluffy texture.

5.       Spoon the mixture into 12 cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Now for the good bit!

Nutella Cupcakes

·         Nutella – 120g (filling), 80g (topping)

·         250g icing sugar

·         80g unsalted butter

·         25ml milk

Instructions:

1.       Take the centre out of the cupcakes either using a cupcake corer or a teaspoon making sure to keep them. Spoon in Nutella until your heart is content and place the centres back in.

2.       Make the icing by beating the icing sugar and butter together until well mixed and smooth.

3.       Pour in the milk and beat slowly. Once combined beat on a high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.

4.       Stir in the Nutella using a spatula until it is evening mixed.

5.       Using a piping bag, pipe the icing onto each of the cupcakes and voila! Gorgeous nutty chocolate cupcakes!

Snickers Cupcakes

Ingredients (topping):

·         2 Snickers bars chopped into 12 pieces (I eat the ends as they don’t look too pretty!)

·         160g unsalted butter at room temperature

·         2 tbsp smooth peanut butter

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         60ml double cream

·         450g icing sugar

·         1 jar of marshmallow Fluff

Instructions (topping):

1.       Combine the butter and peanut butter together with a hand whisk until well combined and light.

2.        Add the vanilla, cream and icing sugar and beat gradually from low to high speed until well combined and fluffy.

3.       Add the Fluff using a spatula until completely mixed in and then spoon into a piping bag ready to pipe.

Ingredients (filling):

·         1 tin Carnation caramel

·         80ml double cream

·         1 tbsp butter

·         70g salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Instructions (filling - Only start making this filling once the cupcakes are cool and you’re ready to use it):

1.       In a saucepan on a low heat add the caramel, butter, cream and peanuts.

2.       Stir occasionally until everything has come together into a smooth mixture.

Assembly:

1.       Take the centre out of the cupcakes either using a cupcake corer or a teaspoon making sure to keep them. Spoon in the peanut filling and place the centres back in.

2.       Pipe the topping onto each of the cupcakes and finish with a slice of Snickers. Delicious!!