This Vanilla Nutella Cupcake recipe is for soft vanilla cupcakes, filled with Nutella, swirled with a fluffy Nutella buttercream, and decorated with toasted hazelnuts and Ferrero Rochers!
If you love baking cupcakes, I have so many Easy Cupcake Recipes from Scratch for you to try!
Why This Vanilla Nutella Cupcake Recipe Works
- Recipe name: Vanilla Nutella Cupcakes
- Ready in: 1hr 15 minutes
- Serves: 24 cupcakes
- Main ingredients: Flour, eggs, oil, sugar, Nutella, icing sugar, butter, Ferrero Rochers, and milk.
- Perfect for: Birthday parties, Valentine's Day dessert for work, and an easy make-ahead summer dessert for the whole family to enjoy. If you're making this for a party dont skip the cake! See this post on The Best Chocolate Cake Recipes for Beginners for some inspo!
- Why I love it: These vanilla cupcakes with Nutella frosting are filled with a surprise Nutella centre, which I just love!
- Calories: 449kcal
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
If you are Nutella-obsessed, you have to try out these puff pastry Nutella Croissants or the decadent Ferrero Rocher Chocolate & Nutella Cake.
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Key Ingredients
- Sunflower oil - These cupcakes use oil instead of butter for extra moistness! Use a neutral-tasting vegetable oil, like sunflower or canola, for this recipe.
- Self-raising flour - If you can't find self-raising flour, you can use cake flour or all-purpose flour mixed with baking powder.
- Vanilla extract - Choose a high-quality vanilla extract rather than vanilla essence to achieve a rich vanilla flavor. You can also use vanilla bean paste.
- Cocoa powder - Choose a high-quality, chocolatey cocoa powder, such as Dutch-process cocoa, for this recipe.
- Whipping cream - Heavy cream refers to creams that have a fat content higher than 36%, in South Africa, these creams are often called whipping cream. Please don't make the mistake of confusing this with double thick cream, it isn't the same!
- Nutella - Use Nutella in this recipe or another chocolate-hazelnut spread. Try using a fresh jar so the chocolate hazelnut spread has a smooth, spreadable consistency.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
You may want to bake chocolate cupcakes instead of vanilla ones. If that's the case, use this recipe for Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes. Then continue with the frosting and filling from this recipe.
If you'd like to try a frosting made with melted chocolate and Nutella instead of Nutella and cocoa powder, see this Ferrero Rocher Cake Recipe.
How To Make Vanilla Nutella Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F) and line 24 cupcake liners in two 12-hole cupcake pans. Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Step 2: Sift together the salt and flour, then add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
- Step 3: Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a jug, then slowly pour it into the cupcake batter while the mixer runs at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
- Step 4: Pour the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a jug or ice cream scoop, filling each case two-thirds of the way up. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in their tins for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a cooling rack.
Nutella Buttercream Frosting
- Step 1: To a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the icing sugar, cocoa powder, and unsalted butter. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Step 2: With the mixer's motor running at low speed, slowly pour the cream into the frosting mixture. Once all the cream has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes.
- Step 3: Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat the frosting again at medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, until light and fluffy and at the perfect consistency.
- Step 4: Add the Nutella to the whipped frosting and beat again until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle.
- Step 5: Use an apple corer or cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, and fill the center with a teaspoon of Nutella by either using a spoon or a piping bag.
- Step 6: Pipe a swirl of Nutella frosting onto each cupcake. Decorate each cupcake with toasted hazelnuts, Ferrero Rocher chocolate, and extra swirls of Nutella. Serve and enjoy!
Storage
Cupcakes cool quickly and dry out just as quickly, so try to frost them the same day that they are baked. If you don't have time to decorate them that day, store them in an airtight container or cover the cupcake trays in plastic wrap.
For any frosted leftover cupcakes, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, out of direct sunlight.
Expert Tips
- Always use room temperature ingredients when baking.
- Test the true temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer.
- Beat the frosting until it's light and fluffy.
- Make sure the cupcakes are cool before frosting them.
Vanilla Nutella Cupcakes FAQs
Check the temperature of your oven and make sure you haven't overfilled the cupcake cases. Overfilling the cases can result in misshapen cupcakes.
Wait - having room-temperature butter is the most important step in a successful frosting. Choose to wait until the butter has reached room temperature before making this recipe, or cube the butter and heat it gently in the microwave, being careful not melt it.
When in doubt, keep mixing - getting a fluffy frosting takes time, so if your frosting looks too hard to spread, then keep beating it. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl often so the frosting mixes evenly.
To freeze these cupcakes, place any leftover cupcakes in a freezer-safe, air-tight container and freeze them for up to three months. Defrost properly before consuming them.
More Baking Recipes With Nutella
These cupcakes are special and will be an absolute hit at any birthday party celebration! If you'd like to serve these alongside an easy birthday cake, take a look at my roundup for Easy Homemade Birthday Cake Recipes for Beginners.
Happy Baking, With Love, Kitty
Please leave a star rating and comment below if you tried this recipe! And if you're wondering what to try next, have a look at these Hazelnut Chocolate Cookies!
📖 Recipe
Vanilla Nutella Cupcakes
Equipment
- 2x 12-hole cupcake pans
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 120 ml sunflower oil
- 3 eggs extra-large
- 250 g sugar white, granulated
- 290 g self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 270 ml milk whole
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nutella Buttercream
- 600 g powdered sugar
- 20 g cocoa powder
- 300 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 200 ml whipping cream
- 200 g Nutella
Decorating
- 100 g Nutella
- 12 Ferrero Rocher chocolates halved
- 50 g hazelnuts roasted and chopped
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 24 cupcake liners into two 12-hole cupcake pans.
- Add the oil, eggs, and sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Sift together the salt and flour, then add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture. Beat at low speed until just combined.
- Combine the milk and vanilla extract in a jug, and slowly pour this into the cupcake batter with the mixer's motor running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again, making sure it is lump-free.
- Pour the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners using a jug or ice cream scoop, filling each case two-thirds of the way up. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in their tins for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a cooling rack.
Nutella Buttercream
- To a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the icing sugar, cocoa powder, and unsalted butter. Beat at medium speed until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- With the mixer's motor running at low speed, slowly pour the cream into the frosting mixture. Once all the cream has been added, increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for 5 minutes.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat the frosting again at medium-high speed for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy and the perfect consistency.
- Add the Nutella to the whipped frosting and beat again until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your chosen nozzle.
Decorating
- Use an apple corer or cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, and fill the center with a teaspoon of Nutella by either using a spoon or a piping bag.
- Pipe a swirl of Nutella frosting onto each cupcake.
- Decorate each cupcake with toasted hazelnuts, Ferrero Rocher chocolate, and extra swirls of Nutella. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Only decorate the cupcakes once they have cooled. To help them cool quicker, remove them from the cupcake pans and place them on a wire rack.
- Make sure the Nutella has a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- If your Nutella is a bit stiff and hard to pipe into the center of the cupcakes, microwave it for a few seconds, then stir well.
Jen says
Such a great recipe, these were amazing! Everyone loved them