These fluffy chocolate cupcakes with salty, hazelnut-and-caramel-infused frosting are inspired by two classic European desserts: gianduja, Italian chocolate hazelnut bars dating back to the Napoleon era, and dacquoise, French hazelnut meringues layered with chocolate mousse or ganache.
I prepared my all-time favorite chocolate cupcake recipe – a vegan variety made with almond milk, olive oil, mashed banana, and chocolate chips, lightly adapted from a recipe by Nora Cooks – and frosted them with swirls of salted hazelnut praline buttercream.
The sea salt in the frosting, plus the bitterness of the chocolate in the cupcakes, balances out the sweetness of the crunchy, crushed-up shards of caramel in the praline paste.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, oat milk (or any plant-based or dairy milk of choice)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated, brown, or turbinado sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil
- 1 ½ very ripe bananas, mashed (approximately ⅔ cup)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup boiling water
Directions
- Prepare the batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine almond milk and apple cider vinegar, and set aside for at least 5 minutes, until curdled to form vegan buttermilk. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, mashed banana, vanilla extract, and curdled almond milk. In a medium bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold flour mixture into oil mixture until just combined, then add chocolate chips. Stir in boiling water until smooth.
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared pans. Lift and set down each pan on the counter, causing air bubbles to form. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until just set; the cupcakes may still be slightly gooey. Let cool in pans.
- Prepare the frosting: Prepare hazelnut praline following the recipe linked above (or another favorite hazelnut praline recipe, if you happen to have one.) In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, cream together butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and hazelnut praline (I used 4 tablespoons for maximum flavor.) Add salt, to taste. Set aside. If preparing in advance, refrigerate until ready to use.
- Decorate: Once the cupcakes are fully cool, pipe swirls of frosting on top. In a pinch, scoop frosting with a spoon and shape with a small offset spatula, or make a piping bag by cutting off a corner of a large plastic ziplock bag. Serve soon after preparing, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
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