Break Radio Silence Part Deux

Now you didn’t think I’d forget about the Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes would you? Nah, it’s not in my nature to let things slip through the cracks. That and I’m currently listening to The Ramones and The Stooges so I’m on a roll! All this energy is going straight into typing and blogging!

I’m going to be honest, the most simple thing I do in my life is eating a bowl of cereal, but as my friend Michael Spear can attest to, even that is hardly simple. So as with the Tiramisu Cupcakes, there are a few flavor enhancing steps added to the process. I don’t take shortcuts, so if you’re a Betty Crocker or Rachel Ray kind of person in the kitchen, you’re in the wrong place.

On to the recipe!

Hazelnuts

• 1 Cup Filberts/Hazelnuts
• Sheet Pan

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and toast the Filberts for 10 minutes. Once they become fragrant remove from the oven and pan into a kitchen towel. Allow to cool.
2. Making sure the nuts are securely tucked into the towel, roll your hand around the towel on your counter top. What this does is remove the skins off of the nuts so you are left with the beautiful lightly toasted little Hazelnut! Discard the skins and reserve the nuts for later.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (Yield 24 cupcakes or 1 double layer 8″ Cake)

• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons Soymilk, unsweetened and plain
• 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups Sugar
• 2-3 teaspoons Hazelnut Extract (expensive, but worth every penny I promise!)(See quick tip below for an alternative)
• 1/4 cup Safflower Oil
• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
• Toasted Hazelnuts

1. Keep your oven on at 350F and prepare your cupcake tins.
2. We’re making Vegan Buttermilk again! Vigorously whisk the daylights out of soymilk and vinegar and set aside to thicken for 5-10 minutes.
3. In your mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
4. Once the buttermilk is ready, add the sugar and hazelnut extract whisking to return to a frothy state. Slowly add the oil, while whisking, to incorporate the fats and maintain the desired texture of the buttermilk.
5. Turn on your mixer to a low speed, using the paddle attachment, and slowly add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Once the liquid is added scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and turn the speed up to a medium-high speed for about 20 seconds, then scrape the sides of the bowl once more. Return the speed to a medium-high speed and beat for a few seconds more or until the major lumps have been beaten out and the mixture looks billowy and luxuriously smooth.
6. Immediately fill your lined cupcake tins with the cake batter filling it 3/4 of the way full. Then for a secret surprise inside, I like to drop one Filbert in the center of the cupcake. As they bake the batter overtakes the nut and right below the surface lays a lovely little nut for you, your friends, or family to bite into! That and the oils from the nut add to the flavor of the cake!
7. Pop the cupcakes in the oven for 18-21 minutes. You want them bounce back at the touch of your finger or you can do the toothpick poke test. When the toothpick comes out clean from the cake they are fully baked!
8. Cool the cupcakes for 5 minutes in the tins then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Hazelnut Buttercream

• 1/2 tub Tofutti Cream Cheese, cold
• 6 ounces Earth Balance, cold
• 3 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon Hazelnut Extract
• Optional: Vanilla Beans from one pod
• Non Dairy Milk, on hand to thin if necessary
• Toasted Hazelnuts

1. Combine the Tofutti and the Earth Balance in your mixing bowl and beat until combined. A very important thing to keep in mind that Vegan “fats” have a higher water content than their dairy cousins, so start cold and DO NOT over mix. The water will separate and you will be left with something…well, weird.
2. Once the mixture is smooth add the (optional) vanilla beans, Hazelnut Extract, Cocoa Powder, and powdered sugar in small stages (3 is a nice number), start on a low speed and work up to a medium-high speed fully incorporating the sugar until the mixture is smooth.
3. Feel free to taste test your buttercream as you go along. I know I do. Sometimes I want the chocolate flavor lighter, or darker. Same with the Hazelnut, if you want Nutella flavored frosting you’re going to want to add more. With chocolate buttercreams I like to keep them a little bit stiffer than vanilla based buttercreams. I don’t know, maybe it’s something about me viewing Chocolate as being more robust and luxurious. Again, you don’t want this to be stiff, envision a thick Chocolate Mousse and you’re on the right track.
4. Fill your piping bag with a star tip 3/4 of the way full. Maintaining a light hand pipe the the buttercream starting on the edge of the cupcake and working your way in pipe in 3 turns. Do not add too much frosting to the cupcake, we don’t need to over power the cake. If you love frosting, save some to eat later with a spoon, but please respect the cake and it’s flavor.
5. Roughly chop up some of our reserved Filberts and place them on the buttercream to your liking. Remember, these are your cupcakes! Have fun with it, be relaxed and make them look like you want them to! No apologies and no excuses! Just love them and all their little imperfections!
6. Bon appetite!

Quick Tip:

• If spending $5 to $6 on Hazelnut Extract is a little hard to swallow (and I don’t blame you) add some additional Hazelnuts to the toasting process and after removing the skin place about 1/2-3/4 cup in your food processor and grind until a powder is formed. Like Hazelnut flour! Whisk into your flour mixture and reduce the flour by 2 tablespoons for every 1/4 cup of nuts you add. Then proceed as usual!