This incredible Nutella cake is made with chocolate hazelnut cake layers, frosted with Nutella buttercream, and topped with chocolate ganache.
This cake is every chocolate cake and Nutella lover's dream. It is decadent, moist, fluffy, and chocolaty. We adapted this cake from our favorite chocolate cake recipe.
The rich and moist texture of the cake perfectly complements the creamy and indulgent flavor of Nutella.
This cake is perfect for any occasion from birthdays, to holidays, to events. It is always a crowd pleaser and disappears in a snap!
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
- Nutella flavor- this cake is loaded with Nutella flavor, it is made with Nutella both in the cake batter and the buttercream frosting.
- Texture- this cake has a tender and soft crumb that will melt in your mouth along with the silky smooth Nutella buttercream.
- One bowl cake- this cake comes together in just one bowl like plenty of my chocolate cake recipes which makes this process super easy and effortless.
- Nutella buttercream- this cake is frosted and topped with the most delicious and decadent Nutella buttercream. It has ½ cup of Nutella in it for lots of Nutella flavor.
- Perfect for freezing or making ahead of time- this cake freezes great and is great for making cakes ahead of time for special occasions like birthdays, holidays, or events.
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.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
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. Ensure that your baking powder and baking soda are not expired.
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 and adds lots of flavor.
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. Use unsalted butter for the frosting.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
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.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 (350f) and prep three 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, eggs, salt, oil, Nutella, vanilla extract, buttermilk, and sift the cocoa powder. Mix well with a whisk until combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined. Add the hot coffee, and mix well until the batter is smooth and there are no lumps of flour visible. Do not overmix.
Divide the cake batter into three 8-inch baking pans. I 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.
Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
How to make Nutella buttercream
Into a large mixing 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 powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add the vanilla extract, 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 70 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 ¼ 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.
Repeat with the third cake layer, and frost the entire cake. Place the cake in the fridge or freezer to allow the frosting to set before adding the drip design.
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.
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 buttermilk. 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.
Yes. You can bake the cakes in 9-inch cake pans or make â…” of the cake batter and use 8-inch cake pans.
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.
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.
You can freeze the whole cake or slice it into slices and then freeze it.
If you are freezing individual slices of the cake, I would recommend storing them in a ziplock bag and then transferring them to an airtight freezer-friendly container.
Make it ahead of time
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!
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. Swap the Nutella with dairy-free chocolate hazelnut spread.
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.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
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.
Hazelnuts- chop toasted hazelnuts and top the cake with the chopped hazelnuts for decoration or texture. Or, add a layer of chopped hazelnuts between each layer of the cake for an added crunch.
Nutella- add extra Nutella between each layer of the cake. First, top the cake layer with the frosting and frost the layer, and then melt some Nutella and drizzle the frosting with the slightly melted Nutella.
Do not melt it until it's too hot so it won't melt down the frosting.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- 8-inch cake pans.
- Cake strips
- Rubber spatula
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 (One Bowl)
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 room temp
- 1 cup Buttermilk room temp
- 1 cup Hot coffee
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Nutella buttercream frosting
- 1 ½ cups Butter softened at room temperature
- 2 cups Powder sugar
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- ½ cup Nutella
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Chocolate ganache
- 3.5 oz Dark chocolate
- 3.5 oz Heavy cream
Instructions
Make Nutella cake
- Preheat the oven to 180 (350f) and prep three 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar, eggs, salt, oil, Nutella, vanilla extract, buttermilk, and sift the cocoa powder. Mix well with a whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until almost combined. Add the hot coffee, and mix well until the batter is smooth and there are no lumps of flour visible. Do not overmix.
- 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.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting it.
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 and vanilla extract 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 70 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 ¼ 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.
- Repeat with the third cake layer, and frost the entire cake. Place the cake in the fridge or freezer to allow the frosting to set before adding the drip design.
- 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.
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 buttermilk. 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 the 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.
diana
whats better to use cup or measure by grams
RichandDelish
Hi! Grams are always the most precise way to weight ingredients.
Megan
Hi , is this self raising or plain flour ?
RichandDelish
Hi, it's plain flour.
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.
zilkzi
This cake was so so good. It looked like a brownie out of the oven but once we tasted it, it was moist and soft. It was heaven. It didnt last 5 min. Everyone basically vaccumed it up hahaha Best birthday cake ever!
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.