This chocolate Nutella cake is rich, moist, and topped with a creamy Nutella buttercream frosting and perfect for hazelnut flavor fans.
I love Nutella. If you're not sure what that is, it's a creamy chocolate, hazelnut spread that's great on basically anything.
I actually had a lot of fun testing this cake out. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a challenge, but I had fun taste-testing everything. About halfway through the testing, I had to buy a new oven, but that's a story for another day.
I really wanted to have this Nutella cake come out with a nice light hazelnut flavor, but when I tried adding actual Nutella to the cake ingredients, it kept sinking and coming out super dense. The Nutella is just too heavy for it.
So, I had to adjust and go another route. I'm a big fan of LorAnn extracts and I ordered myself some hazelnut extract, which is the predominant flavor of Nutella. I wanted that light flavor, but without the cake turning out so heavy and it worked.
It's such a fluffy texture with a rich chocolate flavor and then you add that buttercream frosting to it, which does include Nutella, and it's just heavenly. My grown kids loved it and my grand-daughter could not get enough of it.
Why You’ll Love This Cake
- Rich, chocolate flavor with a light hazelnut touch
- Moist chocolate cake layers that stay soft
- Easy to make and mix together
- Buttery Nutella flavored buttercream
- Perfect for birthdays, get-togethers or any celebration
Pro Tip
Don't skip the coffee or hot water. You need that liquid in the cake. If you're not a fan of coffee, don't worry, the cake won't taste like coffee, but it does bring out the chocolate flavor. If you don't have coffee though, just use hot water instead, but don't omit the liquid.
Recipe
Chocolate Nutella Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly: spooned into the measuring cup and leveled off - don't scoop and pack the flour into the cup)
- ¾ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed cocoa-see FAQ section in the post for questions)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons hazelnut extract (I used LorAnn Oils extract)
- 1 cup buttermilk, near room temperature
- 2 large eggs, near room temperature
- ¾ cup hot coffee or hot water
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature (2 sticks) (If you don't have salted butter, just use all unsalted and add a pinch of salt.)
- ½ cup Nutella spread
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon hazelnut extract (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 4 – 5 cups confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour (or spray) two, 8-inch round cake pans that are 2 inches deep. (Alternatively, use parchment paper on the bottom of the pans.)
- In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients for the cake (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar). Mix well with a whisk and set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the liquid ingredients (vegetable oil, vanilla extract, hazelnut extract, buttermilk and eggs) to a mixing bowl and whisk well. Do not add the coffee or hot water yet.
- Add those liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. (Not the hot coffee or water yet.) Mix with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed only until the ingredients are well combined (about 15-20 seconds). Be very careful not to mix too long or at too high a speed, as that will cause a dense, rubbery, and possibly dry cake.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again on medium speed for only about 5-10 seconds more.
- Add the hot coffee (or hot water) and mix on medium speed until well combined (about 15-20 seconds). Again, be careful not to over-mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for about 5-10 seconds more. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bang the pans on the counter slightly to pop the bubbles a bit. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 25-35 minutes. Ovens vary, so start watching closely at about 25 minutes. It may take a little more time depending on your oven. A toothpick inserted into the center of each cake layer should come out with either a few moist crumbs on it or clean, but no raw batter. If the toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs and no raw batter, go ahead and remove the cake layers from the oven. Baking cakes for too long will cause them to turn out dry.
- Set the cake layers on wire racks to cool for about 10-15 minutes, then turn them out of their pans and let them cool completely on the wire racks before adding the frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, Nutella, vanilla extract, hazelnut extract and 1 tablespoon of milk with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed until smooth.
- Add the cocoa powder and mix on low until combined, then on medium until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Add 4 cups of confectioner's sugar and mix on low until combined, then on medium to medium-high until fully incorporated. The confectioner's sugar can be added a bit at a time, so it doesn't make a mess. Start with 4 cups and then test the texture and taste. If it's good, stop there. If it's too thin or you want it even sweeter, feel free to add a bit more confectioner's sugar. If it's too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk and mix again. Repeat if needed to reach the desired consistency.
- Optional: Mix on low speed for a couple of minutes to make the buttercream smooth, or mix on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes to make it light and fluffy.
- Once the cake layers are cooled, add the frosting and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Share
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Steps to make this cake with step-by-step photos
(The detailed printable instructions are in the recipe card above.)
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two, 8-inch round cake pans that are 2 inches deep.
Step 2:
In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients for the cake and whisk well.
Step 3:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the liquid ingredients (except for the hot coffee or water) and whisk well.
Step 4:
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until just mixed.
Step 5:
Add the hot coffee or water and mix again only until well combined.
Step 6:
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bang the pans on the counter slightly to pop the bubbles a bit. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 25-35 minutes. Ovens vary.
Step 7:
Set the cake layers on wire racks to cool for about 10-15 minutes, then turn them out of their pans and let them cool completely on the wire racks before adding the frosting.
Step 8:
Make the frosting and once the cake layers are cooled, frost the cake.
Step 9:
Enjoy!
Tips & FAQs
I don't recommend using Nutella in the cake batter. See my post above this. In my recipe testing, adding Nutella made the cake very dense and caused the cake to fall because of its fat content. The hazelnut extract gives the cake that Nutella flavor without causing texture issues. If you just want a chocolate cake and don't necessarily need the added flavoring, feel free to omit it.
This recipe calls for natural unsweetened cocoa powder. Dutch-processed cocoa reacts differently with baking soda, and using that instead could cause issues with the cake texture. For more information on the differences between the cocoa powders, see this post: Why Does A Recipe Say Not to Use Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder?
Full-fat buttermilk is best here as it helps give the cake a very moist and tender texture. If you can't get it, you can substitute by using 1 cup of milk and replacing one tablespoon of it with either white vinegar or lemon juice. It is not the same thing, however, it can work in a pinch.
You need to have that liquid in the cake in order for it to bake properly, so while you can omit the coffee, you'll need to use hot water instead. Also, please note that the coffee is used to help bring out the flavor of the chocolate and the hazelnut. The cake does not end up with a coffee taste when using coffee.
Yes, feel free to make this cake ahead of time and cover the cooled cake layers with plastic wrap. Store at room temperature for a few days or in the freezer for a couple of months.
Most likely the cake batter was mixed at too high of speed or was mixed too long. This cake should not turn out dense and the biggest culprit is mixing too long. Only mix until the ingredients are well combined. You do not want to mix a scratch cake batter as long as a cake mix batter.
Yes, most likely although I haven’t tried it out. If you do try it, make sure to grease and flour or spray the pan and bake for the same temperature and about the same amount of time. The cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out either with a few moist crumbs on it or clean.
Tried This?
If you give this recipe a try, I'd love to know what you think!
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