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+ servings
Nutella cake on a cake plate.

Best Nutella Cake (One Bowl)

This incredible Nutella cake is made with chocolate hazelnut cake layers, frosted with Nutella buttercream, and topped with chocolate ganache.
5 from 68 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cool time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 slices
Calories 699 kcal

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 699kcalCarbohydrates: 94gProtein: 7gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 23gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 451mgPotassium: 297mgFiber: 5gSugar: 50gVitamin A: 695IUVitamin C: 0.04mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 4mg
Keyword nutella cake, nutella chocolate cake, nutella layer cake
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