Can you believe that I never tried Nutella until I was in college? Wild, I know, but that’s what comes with growing up in a basically sugar free household. Needless to say, since then I’ve been trying to make up time by enjoying it a frequently as possible so I decided to dedicate a whole cake to it! This is single layer chocolate cake topped with Nutella, Nutella buttercream, roasted hazelnuts for crunch and Ferrero Rochers! Honestly, this cake is so tasty that it will quickly become a favorite!
RECIPE TIPS:
- How to make the cake some easily out of the pan: One of the most frustrating parts of baking cakes is when you get so excited to pull your cake out of the pan and it sticks. The best, foul-proof method is to grease your pan with shortening or butter, and dust with flour or cocoa. For chocolate cakes I like to use cocoa because when you use flour it a leave a white film around the outside. I use a small sandwich bag to scoop some of the shortening into the pan and thoroughly grease it. Add about 1 Tablespoon of cocoa and rotate until every area is covered!
- Hazelnuts: Using hazelnuts around the outside edge of the cake is optional. You can order them online or find them in your local grocery store. If you aren’t able to find them you can also use macadamia nuts. They taste similar and give the cake that crunch it needs.
- Ferrero Rochers: Once in awhile when we were at the grocery store with our mom as kids, my mom would be a packet of Ferrero Rochers . We would each share a bite! It was the most decadent, incredible bite and this cake really brings all of those nostalgic flavors to me.
- Cake pans: For this recipe I used a 9 inch round cake pan. If you only have a smaller size you can bake this recipe in an 8 inch but add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
Because this cake is an ode to Nutella, I frosted the cake with both Nutella frosting and straight up Nutella. I covered the top of the cake with Nutella and swirled the buttercream around the edges. I figured I spread it on toast, why not spread it on cake?! But if you’d prefer you can also frost the top of the cake with the Nutella frosting instead.
If you are intimidated by using a piping bag, no worries, it’s not required! Use a butter knife, spread over the top an sides of the cake and wha la, you have a masterpiece 🙂
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Ferrero Rocher Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ¼ cup salted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup Nutella
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
- ¼ cup strong coffee
For the frosting:
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- ½ cup Nutella
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup heavy cream or milk
Garnish:
- 8 Ferrero Rochers
- ½ cup Nutella
- ½ cup roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped You can also use macadamia nuts if you cannot find hazelnuts!
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour (I use cocoa powder) a 9 inch cake pan and set aside. In a medium bowl or stand mixer beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vegetable oil until combined. Add in Nutella, vanilla and eggs and mix on medium speed until the eggs are fully incorporated, about 20 seconds.
- Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and buttermilk to the mixture. Mix on slow until just combined. Add in hot coffee and mix on medium low speed until incorporated. Pour batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes or until baked through (sides of the cake will pull away from the pan and the center will spring back if you tap it). Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before flipping out of the pan onto a cookie sheet. Let cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a stand mixer beat together butter and Nutella. Add in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt and beat until smooth. Add in heavy cream or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches desired consistency. Fit piping bag with 1M tip and fill the bag with the frosting.
For assembly:
- Once the cake has completely cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to level off the top of the cake. Top with ½ cup of Nutella and spread to the edges of the cake. Roughly chop roasted hazelnuts and sprinkle around the edge of the cake on top of the Nutella. Pipe rosettes around the egdes on top. Unwrap Ferrero Rochers and place on top of each rosette of frosting. The cake will be good covered with clear wrap for up to 3 days!
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