Bake test: THE BEST Hummingbird Bakery Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

I ask myself - why have I never made these before?

The Hummingbird Bakery Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes are going down as the best ones I've ever made from the cook book.

They tick all the right boxes. Chocolate - tick. Hazelnut (my favourite) - tick. Fluffy - tick, tick. Easy - tick. Easy to decorate for a fumbler like me - tick.

Chocolate - tick, hazelnut - tick, fluffy - tick, sweet - tick... tick, tick, tick.

Honestly, they are fluffy, have a little gooey surprise in the middle and look pretty good too when decorated. I have no patience or hand for finessing and this was easy to make them look tasty to eat.

This theory was proved right as I had made them for a meeting I was going to go, but my family descended and smashed through them. My step-dad even eating two of them. So I took the rest to my morning Yummy Mummy yoga session, we totally deserved them, and the girls gave them rave reviews too.

Please, enjoy them.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Cupcakes
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp plain flour
2.5 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup caster sugar
1.5 tbsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
40g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup hazelnut spread (like Nutella)
36 whole, shelled hazelnuts to decorate
Hazelnut and Chocolate Frosting
350g / 2 cups icing sugar
80g / 5 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup hazelnut spread (like Nutella)
2 tbsp milk

1. Preheat oven to 170C and line muffin tray with paper cases.
2. Beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined (I manually use a whisk for this).
3. Slowly pour the milk into the flour mixture, beating until all of the ingredients are well mixed. Add the eggs and a tablespoon of the hazelnut spread and beat well (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side as you go).
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two thirds full. Generally 1 tablespoon of mixture will do it.
5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the cake bounces back when touched.
6. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the pan before turning out to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. When the cupcakes are cold, hollow out a small hole in the centre of each one and fill with hazelnut spread. Replace top and spoon frosting on top.
8. Frosting: Beat all ingredients, except the hazelnut spread, together until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it will become. Stir in the hazelnut spread by hand until evenly mixed. Spoon onto the cupcakes and top with three hazelnuts per cupcake.