enchanting Ferrero Rocher muffins

remember the Ferrero Rocher recipe? well, here we have the better, new, improved and bigger (most importantly!) version of Ferreros... in a muffin! Those who tried did not regret and I was happy to discover a new great recipe and utilise special muffin tulip cases, which my best friendie Alex gave me as a part of my b-day present :) (remember that I also collect muffin cases? she always manages to find the greatest ones and then it takes me ages to put a recipe in them); now let's indulge ourselves in a sweet world:

Ferrero Rocher muffins

Ingredients:

(makes 12 extra big ones)

1 1/2 cups sifted flour (plus more if needed)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup crystal sugar

20g vanilla sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

240g Nutella

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

115g melted butter

100g chopped hazelnuts 

+ 12 big whole hazelnuts (for the hearts)

now.. before the recipe I will share with you my research on how to achieve extra fluffy muffins//tricks that work:

- before incorporating the wet ingredients into the dry, form a well in the flour and pour the liquid there, then mix from the walls of the bowl in within

- never allow your mixture to be truly smooth, lumps are okay, stir the dough around 5 times only

- put the oven 10C degrees hotter than the recipe suggests until the oven is heating up and when putting the muffins inside return to normal degrees

- avoid a lot of "wet" stuffings - lots of fresh fruit will keep the dough around the fruit from baking because of the juices, the muffin will not bake right and will not rise that much :)

preparation:

1. dry ingredients together: mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and all types of sugar in a big bowl; let aside with a well inside

2. Eggs are beaten, milk is added, Nutella is incorporated in the liquids (that was a hard one); the melted butter is added last.

3. then the wet ingredients are poured into the dry ones, mix quicky with a wooden spoon (as we learned lumps can be left in the dough)

4. chopped hazelnuts are added too; then the muffin cups are filled up to 2/3 of their volume with a big hazelnut inside to form the crunchy heart surprise (i like to put "hearts" in my muffins, question is... am I trying to bring them to life?)

5. muffins are baked in preheated at 200C oven until they are done (for the big muffins takes longer up to 25mins, so keep an eye on them)

then they are left to cool off on a metal rack before putting them into an air tight container to sustain the moisture and softness of these goodies...

i eventually kept them in a big tin box until served; I should mention they are best served on the same day or morning after, but I am sure you will discover yourself it is hard to keep them for long ;)

even my tea cups love muffins, especially these muffins!

while I am ta it there is no way I am gonna miss telling you about the new wooden spoon i acquire for less than a euro at a local store; I don't know if I will er cook with it, it is just too pretty to be dipped in bolognese sauce, don't you think? of course my cup has to say something about that too

"I love my spoon"

yes, indeed :)

how do you like this recipe? any other visions on the Ferrero dimension?

hope you enjoyed :)