When I was asked if I’d like to review Hello Cupcake! by the publisher, I just couldn’t say no because I love cupcakes and cupcake cookbooks! Written by cookbook author and food stylist Leila Lindholm, the book is filled to the brim with sweetness and cuteness! The recipes are so yummy-sounding and the photos so delightful that I couldn’t wait to start baking! Some of the many cupcake recipes include Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes, Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes, Sticky Pecan Upside-Down Cupcakes, and Rocky Road Cupcakes. Not only that, there are also some great whoopie pie recipes sprinkled throughout the book, too…like Ginger Raspberry, Chocolate Mint, and Banoffee whoopie pies. I decided to combine two of Leila’s recipes…I made the Walnut Brownie Cupcakes, but instead of topping them with whipped cream and fresh raspberries (which would definitely be amazing), I decided to try her Nutella Frosting that she had as part of her Easter Cupcakes recipe.

The Walnut Brownie Cupcakes are rich and chocolatey, with chunks of dark chocolate, and the Nutella Frosting is pretty amazing too! The ingredient amounts in the recipe are written in ounces and grams, so I did have to make some conversions into cups and I’ve included my conversions below. The recipe also says it makes 12 cupcakes, but I ended up with 15, which was definitely a good thing, because these are so yummy! 🙂 I also filled my baking cups a little more than the recipe instructed, so my baking time was a little longer, and I’ve noted that below also.

Here’s the recipe…enjoy!

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WALNUT BROWNIE CUPCAKES with NUTELLA FROSTING from Hello Cupcake!

Makes 12- 15 cupcakes 

• 200 g (7 oz) walnuts, or 1 3/4 cup
• 175 g (6 oz) butter, or 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 150 g (5 oz) granulated sugar, or 3/4 cups
• 150 g (5 oz) light muscovado or brown sugar, or 3/4 cups, packed
• 150 g (5 oz) good-quality cocoa powder, or 3/4 cups  (I used Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Cocoa powder)
• 50 ml (1 3/4 fl oz) golden syrup (substitute honey or light corn syrup) or 3 1/2 Tablespoons
• a pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 150 g (5 oz) all-purpose flour, or 1 1/4 cups
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 200 g (3 1/2 oz) good-quality 70% dark chocolate (I used a 4 oz Ghirardelli bar of 60% dark chocolate)

Preheat oven to 175˚C or 345˚F.

Toast the whole walnuts in a hot and dry frying pan (I skipped this step).

Whip the butter, sugar, and brown (or muscovado) sugar until creamy. Add the cocoa, syrup, and salt. Whisk in one egg at a time.

Mix the flour with the baking powder and sift it into the other ingredients. Coarsely chop the chocolate and add it and the whole walnuts to the batter.

Line muffin tin(s) with paper cup liners  and fill the cups 2/3 full with the mixture (I filled mine closer to 3/4 full, and I still ended up with 15 cupcakes instead of 12; if you fill them 2/3 full, you may get 16 or 17).

Bake them in the middle of the oven for about 15-20 minutes (if you fill your cups 3/4 full like I did, your baking time will be 25-28 minutes). Test cupcakes with a toothpick; they should be a little sticky in the middle. Remove from oven and cool completely.

You can either garnish these cupcakes with whipped cream and fresh raspberries or top them with Nutella Frosting (see recipe below)…

NUTELLA FROSTING

• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) Nutella, or 1/3 cup
• 400 g (14 oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar, or 3 1/2 cups
• 4 Tablespoons good-quality cocoa (I used Hershey’s Natural Unsweetened Cocoa powder)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 150 g (5 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tablespoon coffee

Mix the Nutella, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and cream cheese until creamy (I think it works best to blend the Nutella and softened cream cheese first, then add the other ingredients). Add the coffee and whip until fluffy (this is a thick frosting; if you’d like it thinner you can add a little more coffee). I went a little lighter on the frosting and had a good amount left over, so feel free to frost these heavier—you should have plenty to do that!

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I love chocolate cupcakes, and these brownie cupcakes are a new favorite of mine! What’s your favorite cupcake flavor?

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