Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting
Serves 12
20 mins prep
20 mins cook
40 mins total
These chocolate cupcakes are moist and rich, filled with nutella, and topped with the silkiest nutella buttercream frosting. The cupcakes are an easy one bowl recipe – no electric mixer needed. They're the perfect cupcakes for a chocolate/nutella lover.
Cupcakes
Nutella Frosting
Assembly
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 180°C (355°F). Put liners into a 12 hole regular sized cupcake tin. Add instant coffee into the hot water and mix until dissolved. Set aside.
cup hot water
tsp instant coffee
In a large bowl, whisk together egg, sugars, salt, and vanilla until it lightens in colour. Add buttermilk and oil, whisk to combine.
cup brown sugar
cup granulated sugar
tsp sea salt
tsp pure vanilla extract
cup buttermilk room temperature
cup vegetable oil
large egg
Sift cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda right into the bowl. Fold with a whisk until just combined. Add dissolved instant coffee into the batter and fold. Sift the flour into the bowl and fold until just combined.
tbsp cocoa powder
tsp baking powder
tsp baking soda
cup all purpose flour
Scoop batter into the lined muffin tins, ¾ of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.
Nutella Frosting
Place softened butter into a large bowl or stand mixer. Beat the butter with a paddle attachment for 3-5 minutes or until very light and fluffy. The more you beat the lighter the frosting will be.
cup unsalted butter
Add powdered sugar (start off with 1 cup). Beat for 2-3 minutes or until it becomes light and fluffy again. Add sea salt, vanilla, nutella, and sifted cocoa powder. Beat until well combined and fluffy. Taste to see if you want to add more powdered sugar.
cup powdered sugar
tsp sea salt
tsp pure vanilla extract
tbsp cocoa powder
cup nutella
Add the whipping cream gradually, until the frosting loosens up and you get a silky smooth consistency. Do beat for too long after adding cream or the frosting might curdle.
tbsp heavy cream
Place the nutella buttercream into a piping bag with a star piping tip or the end snipped off. I used a Wilton 1M tip.
Assembly
Cut the centers out of the cupcakes with a small knife or apple corer. Do not cut all the way to the bottom of the cupcakes. Remove middles and fill with Nutella in a piping bag (or sandwich bag with the end snipped off). Save the cupcake centers as a snack or press them on top of the nutella.
cup nutella
Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. To make them look like mine, start piping from the center of the cupcake to the edges, and then continue to pipe another layer along the edge, leaving the center open. Sprinkle the cupcakes with chopped toasted hazelnuts and enjoy!
cup hazelnuts