A rose by any other name...

When Nicole paired me with Steph over at the Cupcake Project for Taste & Create VI, it took no time at all to decide which of her recipes I would try.

Those of you who've been reading for a while are already aware of my slightly incestuous love affair with Nutella. If Nutella represents a smooth and rich older cousin of sorts, the Ferrero Rocher is my sweet and sassy niece. Born in 1982 she grew up one of the most popular kids in her class.

And Steph makes a divine cupcake inspired by the chocolate hazelnut goodness of the Ferrero Rocher. I made a couple of modifications to her recipe -- some worked really well and others came back to bite me in the (_]_). I started by substituting half of the white flour for hazelnut flour, which gave my cupcakes a bit more hazelnut punch and a nice hearty texture. Then, since the European version of this chocolate delight carries a bit of an alcoholic punch, I spiked my gooey filling with a splash of Frangelico... enough to cause my tasters to take notice without impairing their ability to drive.

The one place where I wish I'd followed the recipe more carefully was in filling the cupcake foils. Steph is very clear... fill them half way as the cakes will rise. But since she said the recipe makes twelve cupcakes and I thought perhaps the hazelnut flour would calm them down a bit (yeah, and because I was too lazy to reach up into the cupboard for a second cupcake tin), I got a bit overzealous in the filling... and my cupcakes runneth over. Fortunately the deep rich chocolate ganache hides a world of sins. So while they may not be as pretty as Steph's, they taste quite nice.

Next time I make these (and there *will* be a next time), I'm going to try them in mini-muffin tins, so they more closely resemble their confectionery cousin.

Oh, and Steph? That's pronounced feh-REH-roh roh-CHAY...

Technorati Tags: Food | Food Blog Event | Cupcake | Key Ingredient: Hazelnut