Sweet Chick's Cacao Cupcakes with Hazelnut Buttercream

Method

For the cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced.
• Line a muffin tray with patty pans.
• Combine cacao powder and hot water in bowl. Set aside.
• Add flour, bicarb soda, and caster sugar in a bowl; stir to combine.
• Combine dry ingredient mixture, cacao mixture, buttermilk, eggs and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on a medium speed until combined. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to mix in any bits the electric mixer didn’t reach.
• Using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, fill the patty pans halfway with the mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until springy on top and the skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
  

For the buttercream

• Using a food processor, blitz 1 cup of roasted hazelnuts until a fine paste forms. Sift the paste through a sieve until you are left with smooth hazelnut butter.
• Beat unsalted butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer on high, until a fluffy buttercream forms. Scrape down the sides halfway through to mix in any clumps and continue beating.
• Add the hazelnut mixture to the buttercream and mix on low until combined.
• Reserve about 18 hazelnuts and cut them in half. Finely chop the remaining hazelnuts.
• Fill the piping bag with the hazelnut buttercream. Pipe peaks of buttercream onto cupcakes.
• Top with finely chopped hazelnuts, one half of a hazelnut and fragrant rose petals.