Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

These Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes are made with a moist chocolate hazelnut cupcake base, are cored and filled with a Nutella Whipped Cream filling with chopped hazelnuts, decorated with a swirl of chocolate hazelnut buttercream and topped with a Ferrero Rocher! 

Needless to say I’ve been on a bit of a Ferrer Rocher kick! My sister shared these chocolates with me and I loved them so much! I obviously had to make them into a Ferrero Rocher Cake and Ferrero Rocher Brownies, and I’m officially obsessed! 

Why This Recipe Works

• Ferrero Rocher in cupcake form. I’m obsessed that these Ferrero cupcakes literally have every element of the chocolate represented! The moist chocolate hazelnut cupcake is cored so we can put in some creamy Nutella filling studded with chopped hazelnuts. Ferrero Rocher chocolate have a whole hazelnut in the middle and have the crushed hazelnuts in the chocolate coating on the outside. 
• Hazelnut flavor is prominent. I really wanted a Ferrero Rocher cupcake recipe that delivered on the hazelnut flavor. To get this, we use hazelnut emulsion and chopped hazelnuts.

Ingredient Notes

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: For more information on unsweetened cocoa powder and how it is different from other types of cocoa powder (and when to use it) see my Cocoa Powder Guide!
• Flour: This recipe calls for all-purpose flour, so no need to use cake flour. 
• Eggs: Be sure to use room temperature eggs. This will help them incorporate into the batter more smoothly, resulting in a better bake. 
• Buttermilk: Use room temperature buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk will react with the baking soda, giving a nice rise to the cupcakes. It also helps the cupcakes stay be really moist and tender!  
• Hazelnut Emulsion: This helps kick up the hazelnut flavor! Emulsion is a bit different than extract. See my FAQs below. 
• Vegetable Oil: Cakes or cupcakes made with vegetable oil instead of butter will be much more moist because oil is a liquid at room temperature and butter is a solid at room temperature. 
• Heavy Cream: This is to make the whipped Nutella filling that is studded with toasted chopped hazelnuts. It provides a lighter consistency and texture to the filling. 
• Milk Chocolate Bar: Using a milk chocolate bar in the frosting gives us a smooth and rich chocolate bar flavor to the buttercream, which enhances the Ferrero Rocher aspect of these cupcakes. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make the Ferrero cupcake batter. Whisk the dry ingredients until combined. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed for 1 minute or until well combined. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk starting and ending with the dry ingredients. (Dry, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry). Don’t over mix!

2. Fill the cupcake liners. Fill the liners half full. If you fill them over halfway, they will spill over! 
3. Bake. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

4. Make the Nutella whipped cream filling. Beat the heavy cream in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the Nutella and beat until smooth. Fold in the chopped toasted hazelnuts. Place in piping bag or Ziplock bag with the corner cut.
5. Make the chocolate hazelnut buttercream. Melt the chocolate a microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Let cool for 5 min. In a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes. On low speed, add the powdered sugar. Once combined, add the vanilla and hazelnut emulsion. Beat for 30 seconds. Pour in the melted chocolate and beat on high for 2 minutes until light in color and fluffy. Scrap the sides as needed. Add heavy cream if needed and beat again for 1 minute. 
6. Assemble the Ferrero Rocher cupcakes. Take the cores out of the cupcakes (see Recipe Tips for details). Pipe the whipped Nutella filling, then pipe the buttercream on top. Top with an unwrapped Ferrero Rocher. 

Recipe Tips

Don’t over mix the cupcake batter when you get to the stage of combining the wet and dry ingredients. At this stage, if you over mix, the cupcakes will have a tougher consistency to them. 

Only fill the cupcake liners half full. If you fill them more than that, you’ll get cupcakes that have big muffin tops! We don’t want that! I like to use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to help portion out the batter. 

If you don’t have a cupcake corer, don’t worry! You can use a piping tip. I use my 1M tip. Hold the piping tip over the cupcake with the larger side of the piping tip pointing into the cupcake. Push the piping tip into the center of the cupcake and twist down until you reach halfway into the cupcake. Twist and pull the piping tip out of the cupcake. The core will be removed! Continue until all cupcakes have been cored. 

This buttercream will make enough to frost the cupcakes with a generous swirl on top (just like the you see in the blog post photos).

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Store the cupcakes covered or in an airtight container in the fridge.

To freeze undecorated Ferrero cupcakes, let them cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container or Ziplock bag. The cupcakes will keep in the freezer for 1-2 months. Remove and let thaw in the fridge before decorating.

Store the buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days prior to using (if you want to make it in advance). Store in the freezer for 1-2 months. Let thaw in the fridge overnight (if frozen). Remove from the fridge (whether previously frozen or not) and let come to room temperature. Whip up to return the hazelnut buttercream to a light and fluffy texture before piping. 

For information on storing and freezing cakes, check out my How to Store and Freeze Cakes guide!

Recipe FAQs

Nutella Recipes

• Nutella Stuffed Nutella Cookies
• Creamy Nutella Cheesecake Recipe
• Nutella Brownies