These cupcakes were an experiment. I wanted to try to create a gourmet series of cupcakes. I started with ‘cappuccino’. I began with a regular chocolate cake mix. I substituted the water with strong brewed hazelnut flavored coffee. Before baking I sprinkled finely chopped hazelnuts on top of the cupcakes.

After the cupcakes cooled I used a #22 star tip to pipe whipped topping on top. Next came another sprinkling of hazelnuts.

To add the finishing touch, I placed slices of dark chocolate sticks in each cupcake. These cupcakes went great with a real cappuccino!