Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cupcake with Hazelnut Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting

Over at Mommies United they are having their weekly cupcake courier giveaway. Hop over and get in on the fun! And pick up some great cupcake recipes along the way.

I love cupcakes, I may be pretty handy in the kitchen but I will admit that I didn't think of this recipe myself. It came from the best blog ever! I have found a couple of recipes that I have tried out from there. They have all turned out wonderful. This one has got to be the best!!


The cupcake -

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. instant espresso coffee
1 stick salted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup Frangelico (or other Hazelnut liqeuer)
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees.
2. Line cupcake pans or spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda and espresso powder to blend. Then add in the pieces of butter until you have small pea sized pieces and loose flour remains in the bowl.
4. Mix in the egg, vanilla and Frangelico (or other Hazelnut liqeuer). (Note the batter will still look bumpy.)
5. Mix in the sour cream and milk and blend until the batter looks very moist and lumpy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to incorporate all the batter.
6. Fold in the hazelnuts and chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. The tops should spring back slightly to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.
8. VERY IMPORTANT: Cool cupcakes completely before frosting!

Hazelnut Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting -

1 (8 oz.) brick cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbsp. evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. instant espresso
4 tsp. Frangelico (or other Hazelnut liqeuer)

1. In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and evaporated milk together until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.
3. Fill icing bag and pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with hazelnuts.