This incredible Nutella cake is made by making three chocolate hazelnut cake layers, topped with Nutella buttercream, topped with chocolate ganache, and covered with toasted hazelnuts.
This cake is every Nutella lover's dream. It is decadent, moist, fluffy, and chocolaty. We adapted this cake from our favorite chocolate cake recipe.
If you like Nutella, and baking with Nutella, you should try out our favorite Nutella recipes like our No-bake Nutella cheesecake-, 3 Ingredient Nutella brownies, Nutella mug cake, and our Nutella tart.
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Why this recipe works
- Is made with three chocolate cake layers, topped with Nutella buttercream, and chocolate ganache, and covered with toasted hazelnuts.
- This cake is unbelievably moist and fluffy.
- Made with Nutella both in the cake batter and the buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
For the cake:
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Dutch cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our chocolate cake because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Baking powder and baking soda – to help the cake rise.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, the most common sugar in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Nutella- you will need 1 ½ cups of Nutella for this recipe. We like using Nutella for this recipe, but if you don’t like Nutella or are allergic to one of the ingredients, you can use any kind of chocolate hazelnut spread.
Eggs– To give the cake a good structure. Make sure you’re using room-temperature eggs.
Buttermilk- gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Hot coffee- make a strong hot coffee, you can use espresso, or instant coffee, both will work.
Vanilla extract- Vanilla extract Is an essential ingredient for chocolate cake.
Salt- We used kosher salt for this recipe. Salt doesn’t give the cake a salty taste, it helps to enhance the chocolate flavor.
For the Nutella buttercream frosting
Butter- make sure you are using room temperate butter.
Powder sugar- is known as confessional sugar. For a smoother buttercream, sift it before adding it to the butter.
Cocoa powder- we used Dutch cocoa powder. You can use natural cocoa powder as well.
Nutella- use Nutella or any other chocolate hazelnut spread.
For the chocolate ganache:
Dark chocolate- use the best quality dark chocolate that you can find.
Heavy cream- you will need 100 g of heavy cream for the chocolate ganache.
How to make even cake layers
Our biggest tip to make even cake layers is to use a scale and cake strips. Weigh the chocolate cake batter and divide it into two even pans.
Then use cake strips to make sure your cake layers bake evenly and don’t develop a dome on top.
Cake strips give you an evenly baked cake with a flat top.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 (350f) and prep three 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
In a big bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well with a whisk until combined.
Add the eggs, oil, Nutella, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Mix well until combined.
Add the kosher salt and the hot coffee, and mix well until the batter is smooth.
Divide the mixture into three 8-inch baking pans, we suggest using cake strips for even baking. (weight the batter for better results) and bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
How to make Nutella buttercream
Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
Add half of the powder sugar and the cocoa powder and carefully mix until combined.
Add the other half of the powder sugar and mix until smooth.
Add the Nutella to the mixture and mix until well combined and smooth.
Make the chocolate ganache
Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for about 50 seconds.
Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
Assembly
Pipe a small dollop of the frosting on the surface that you will frost on. Lay the first cake layer over the frosting dot.
Pipe â…“ of the frosting on top of the cake layer and spread an even layer.
Top with the second cake layer and spread another layer of frosting, we like piping the frosting on top of the cake layers, and smoothing it out with a straight spatula.
Repeat with the third cake layer, and frost the entire cake with a crumb coat. Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes, and frost the cake with the rest of the frosting.
Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake and use a spatula to carefully push the ganache around the edges of the cake until a drip design forms.
Make dollops of the remaining Nutella frosting around the edges of the cake. We used a 1M piping tip.
Finally, press chopped hazelnuts into the sides of the cake.
Expert Tips
- Don’t skip the coffee in the cake, you can’t taste the coffee, it simply enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers. Click here for the Amazon link.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making the buttercream, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the frosting.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Faq's
No! you can’t taste the coffee. Adding the coffee simply enhances the chocolate flavor. So, don’t skip the coffee in the cake!
Yes! This cake bakes great as a sheet cake or a cupcake! Make sure you change the baking time.
We like to use Dutch prosses cocoa powder because it gives the cake a deeper rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work! It’s just a personal preference.
Storing
This cake will last up to 4 in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. This cake tastes amazing the day after.
Freezing
You can freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months, some people find the cake tastes better after freezing it.
our tip is not to freeze it decorated or covered with frosting, because it can ruin the decorating on the cake, we suggest freezing the cake and decorating it when you defrost it.
If you’re not looking to impress anyone with your decorating skills, it’s absolutely okay to freeze the cake with the frosting on.
Make it ahead
You can make this cake ahead by freezing the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap each cake layer with a few layers of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours or in the fridge overnight.
When you are ready to frost and assemble the cake, make the frosting, chocolate ganache, and whipped cream and assemble the cake!
Variations
Frosting- Use your favorite chocolate frosting like dark chocolate frosting, stabilized chocolate whipped cream frosting, chocolate cream cheese frosting, etc.
Chocolate ganache- make a white chocolate ganache or milk chocolate ganache instead of a classic ganache.
Substitutions
Dairy-free- to make this cake dairy-free, replace the buttermilk with almond milk and replace the butter in the frosting with vegan butter. Also, replace the chocolate ganache with vegan chocolate ganache.
Egg-free- to make this cake egg-free, replace the eggs with â…” cup of applesauce.
More Nutella recipes
No-bake Nutella cheesecake- This no-bake Nutella cheesecake is rich in Nutella flavor, creamy silky smooth with a texture that is melt in your mouth delicious.
Nutella banana muffins- These Nutella swirl banana muffins are made with a deliciously moist and fluffy banana muffin batter, topped with Nutella swirls, and baked to perfection.
Nutella mug cake- This Nutella mug cake is gooey, rich, chocolaty, soft, tender, and dreamy. When you’re in the mood for a decadent dessert, this easy Nutella mug cake comes in handy.
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📖 Recipe
Best Nutella cake
Ingredients
Nutella cake:
- 3 cups Flour
- ½ cup Dutch cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- ¾ cup Vegetable oil
- ¾ cup Nutella
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 cup Hot coffee
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Nutella buttercream frosting:
- 340 g Butter
- 2 cups Powder sugar
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- ½ cup Nutella
Chocolate ganache:
- 100 g Dark chocolate
- 100 g Heavy cream
Instructions
How to make Nutella cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180 (350f) and prep three 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- Into a big bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well with a whisk until combined.
- Add the eggs, oil, Nutella, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Mix well until combined.
- Add the kosher salt and the hot coffee, mix well until the batter is smooth.
- Divide the mixture into three 8-inch baking pans, we suggest using cake strips for even baking. (weight the batter for better results) and bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
How to make Nutella buttercream:
- Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
- Add half of the powder sugar and the cocoa powder and carefully mix until combined.
- Add the other half of the powder sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add the Nutella to the mixture and mix until well combined and smooth.
How to make chocolate ganache:
- Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for about 50 seconds.
- Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
For the Nutella cake assembly:
- Pipe a small dollop of the frosting on the surface that you will frost on. Lay the first cake layer over the frosting dot.
- Pipe â…“ of the frosting on top of the cake layer and spread an even layer.
- Top with the second cake layer and spread another layer of frosting, we like piping the frosting on top of the cake layers, and smooth it out with a straight spatula.
- Repeat with the third cake layer, and frost the entire cake with a crumb coat. Place the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes, and frost the cake with the rest of the frosting.
How to decorate Nutella cake:
- For decoration, we made chocolate ganache, once the ganache is cooled slightly and thickened, we made drips all around the edges of the cake (with a piping bag).
- Once you are happy with the drips, pour more ganache on top of the cake and lightly smooth it out with a small offset spatula.
- Then I topped the cake with dollops of Nutella frosting around the edges of the cake.
- Press chopped hazelnuts into the sides of the cake.
Notes
- Don’t skip the coffee in the cake, you can’t taste the coffee, it simply enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers. Click here for the amazon link.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making the buttercream, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the frosting.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.
Meronda
Love, love, LOVE this cake recipe now! My son wanted a Nutella b.day cake- we decided on this recipe. I'm not the biggest fan of Nutella, but THIS cake tasted DELICIOUS and is PERFECTLY moist! The frosting, I added a splash of vanilla and 3 teaspoons of heavy cream to get a whipped tried frosting- also PERFECT taste and consistency!! And ganache- ALWAYS a delicious addition!! YUMMMMMM!! Thanks for sharing!!
Renee
Just made this for my husbands birthday and the cake was SOOO GOOOOOD!! I did use a different frosting recipe that has triple the amount of Nutella and no cocoa and sprinkled chopped hazelnuts on top too.
Antonella J. Abela
Can you skip the hot coffee? Would you just add the hot water instead?
RichandDelish
Hi! yes, you can skip the coffee and add hot water instead.