Nutella Cupcakes
What’s better than a spoonful of Nutella? How about cupcakes filled with Nutella? These Nutella-filled cupcakes with Nutella frosting on top will blow your mind! A tender vanilla cupcake is packed with Nutella as a filling and then topped with a luscious Nutella frosting. Perfect for Nutella lovers!
Use up the rest of your jar of Nutella with my other Nutella recipes! I have recipes for Nutella Cookies, Nutella Brownies, and Nutella Cheesecake. If your chocolate hazelnut-loving heart leans more towards the flavor and texture of Ferrero Rocher, I have recipes for Ferrero Rocher cake, cupcakes, and brownies!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy Nutella cupcakes. These Nutella-filled vanilla cupcakes require no fancy ingredients or steps like separating eggs and whipping egg whites. Filling the cupcakes with Nutella is also easily done with the help of a piping tip or a cupcake corer (although in a pinch, you could also use a knife). The Nutella frosting also has basically one step—mix—and then you’re done! Just make sure you set out your butter, eggs, and buttermilk so they can come to room temperature. 😊
- Packed with Nutella flavor. From the fluffy Nutella buttercream to the Nutella filling in the middle, every bite of these Nutella stuffed cupcakes will satisfy your Nutella cravings.
Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted butter: Butter adds richness, tenderness, and structure to the vanilla cupcake in this recipe. It also is a key ingredient in the creamy Nutella frosting.
- Granulated sugar: Typically, we want our cupcakes to be light and fluffy. Brown sugar helps make baked goods dense and chewy, so we use white sugar for things like cupcakes instead.
- Vanilla extract: Key to making our vanilla cupcakes vanilla, we also add a bit of extract to the Nutella buttercream to complement the Nutella flavor.
- Buttermilk: Adding buttermilk to the cupcake batter helps the batter rise when it’s baked, and it adds moisture to the cupcake for the best cupcakes!
- All-purpose flour: For this cupcake, we’re using good, reliable, all-purpose flour.
- Nutella: The most important ingredient in this recipe is the Nutella, of course! We add pure Nutella as the filling for these cupcakes, then whip up some Nutella with butter and powdered sugar for the frosting.
How to Make Nutella Cupcakes
- Prep oven and pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set the pan aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add ½ cup of room temperature butter and ¾ cup of granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment. You can also use a large bowl and a handheld mixer. Cream butter and sugar together for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add wet ingredients. Add two large eggs one at a time. Eggs should be at room temperature. Mix thoroughly after each egg is added, then 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and ¾ cup of room temperature buttermilk. Mix to combine.
- Add dry ingredients. To your mixing bowl, add 1¼ cup of all-purpose flour, 1¼ teaspoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix ingredients together on low speed until no flour streaks remain, but be careful to not overmix!
- Bake cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners ⅔ of the way full. Bake cupcakes at 350°F for 19-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the cupcakes from the cupcake tin and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Core cupcakes. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a cupcake corer or a metal piping tip to carefully remove the center of each cupcake. It’s easiest to see how to do this via the pictures, but here’s my best description: insert the wide part of the corer or tip into the center of the cupcake, then gently pull it out. It should have the center of the cupcake inside. Save the centers for a snack!
- Make frosting. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or to a medium mixing bowl, if you used your stand mixer for the cupcakes), add 1 cup of softened unsalted butter. Beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, then add 4 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup Nutella, 1 tablespoon of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes, then use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. If the frosting is too loose, add a ½ cup of powdered sugar and mix again. If the frosting is too stiff, add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream and mix again.
- Assemble cupcakes. Use a spoon to dollop 1 tablespoon of Nutella into the center of each cupcake. Add a generous amount of Nutella frosting on top. For extra fanciness and Nutella flavor, melt any extra Nutella in the microwave for about 10 seconds and drizzle it over the top of your cupcakes.
Recipe Tips
Use room temperature ingredients for the best cake texture! Bringing your eggs, buttermilk, and butter to room temperature ensures that they will blend together smoothly, so you don’t risk overmixing your ingredients.
Make the Nutella frosting several days in advance and store it in the fridge. Then, when you make your cupcakes, set the frosting out to come to room temperature and become soft and spreadable.
If you don’t have a cupcake corer or a frosting tip, no worries! Use a small sharp knife, like a paring knife, to cut into your cupcake. Insert the knife at a slight angle. Try to aim for just halfway down the cupcake, then cut a small circle out of the middle. Use the blade of the knife to lift the center out.
I decided to make this Nutella cupcakes recipe vanilla cupcakes with Nutella filling because I thought a Nutella cake batter would be *too* much. But, if you feel differently, you can make my moist Chocolate Cupcakes or Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes instead! Or, experiment with other pairings of cupcakes with Nutella. Banana Nutella cupcakes sound really yummy, or Nutella Oreo cupcakes, or even Nutella Chocolate Chip Cupcakes!
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: These cupcakes will stay fresh and delicious for 2-3 days at room temperature and up to a week in the fridge, so you can make in advance if needed. The frosting can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge before you make the cupcakes.
Storing: Store leftover Nutella cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezing: Every aspect of this cupcake freezes well! You can bake and freeze the unassembled cupcakes, the frosting, even the Nutella! Or you can freeze the assembled cupcakes. Plain cupcakes and buttercream will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, while assembled frozen cupcakes will keep for up to a month. Learn more about freezing cakes in my How to Store and Freeze Cakes guide.
Recipe FAQs
After baking your cupcakes, you’ll remove part of the center of the cupcake and use a spoon to fill it with Nutella.
Nutella itself does contain cocoa powder. However, there is no other cocoa powder added to this recipe.
You could easily use another chocolate hazelnut spread to make these cupcakes! Although different brands may have different consistencies, so you may need to add more powdered sugar to the frosting, for example.
Nutella is made of hazelnuts, cocoa powder, sugar, and a few other ingredients.
More Cupcake Recipes
Nutella Cupcakes
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs - at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk - at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Nutella Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup Nutella
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Filling and Topping
- 3/4 cup Nutella
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and buttermilk and mix to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix on low speed until no flour streaks remain. Don’t overmix.
- Portion the batter into the cupcake wells filling each cavity 2/3 full. Bake for 19-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, use a cupcake corer (or a metal piping tip) and remove the center of each cupcake. Refer to the blog post step-by-step photos to see how to use a metal tip for coring a cupcake.
Make the Nutella Frosting
- Beat butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, Nutella, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix on low for 30 seconds until somewhat combined, and then turn mixer speed to medium high and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. If the frosting is too slack, add a ½ cup of powdered sugar to stiffen it up. If it’s too stiff, add a tablespoon of heavy cream and mix again.
- Use frosting right away or store in an airtight container for up to 7 days or up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator and then beat for a few seconds. Add a splash of heavy cream if needed.
- Place the frosting in a piping bag for easy frosting.
Assemble the Cupcakes
- Use a spoon to dollop a tablespoon of Nutella into each cupcake. Then swirl a generous amount of Nutella frosting overtop. If desired, you can melt the remaining Nutella in the microwave for 10 seconds or so, until it’s a drizzle-able consistency. Then use a fork and drizzle the Nutella over the tops of the frosting, if desired.
Storing
- Store cupcakes at room temperature, in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 7.
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