Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Kiwi... Best Breakfast Ever.

The best grocery shopping days are always the ones when I find good kiwi.  Yesterday was one of those days.  =)

Usually, when I come home with kiwi, I eat some of it right away straight with a spoon.  Sooo delicious.  And then for the next few days I'll have toast for breakfast, and I'll top the toast with nutella and kiwi slices.  It's an amazing way to start the day... and kiwi is healthy, right?

Yesterday I needed to bake cupcakes for my actors (I'm a film student, so I don't pay them with money haha), and I saw the kiwis, and I thought, "hey, if it's good on toast, it can be awesome on a cupcake!"  And it was.  Except I didn't have any nutella (because I thought I did when I was at the store and then once I got back I realized I was out and didn't have time to go back.... argh).  So I just added a ton of frangelico to everything, and I think it worked pretty well!

These are chocolate hazelnut cupcakes, topped with whipped milk chocolate hazelnut ganache, and kiwis.

For the cupcakes:

(adapted from this recipe)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup frangelico liqueur

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in one mixing bowl. Combine the milk, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and liqueur in another bowl.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the milk mixture into it.  Mix until combined.  

Pour the batter into lined muffin tins, filling the cups 3/4 of the way.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean and the tops spring back when touched.  

Makes about 25 cupcakes.

For the ganache:

1 cup chopped chocolate  (I used about 3/4 milk and 1/4 bittersweet)

1 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp frangelico liqueur

Heat the cream in a saucepan until it begins to simmer.  Pour over the chopped chocolate.  Wait for a few minutes, and then whisk the mixture until it is smooth.  Mix in the frangelico.  Cover and chill until set.  This takes a long time, but I put mine in the freezer since I was in a hurry.  So, in the freezer, it took about 2 hours.  

Once it is set, whip it until it is light and fluffy.  Immediately spoon, pipe, or spread over cooled cupcakes.

Slice up some kiwi and put it on top, and it's ready to eat!  YAY!