nutella filled cupcake with nutella frosting
It’s no secret that I love Nutella (see Nutella Braided Baguette!), or any thing gianduia for that matter. One of my favorites is Baci chocolates made by Perugina in Italy. I even went to the factory once. They are the yummiest little chocolates with a single hazelnut in the center. They are wrapped in a little fortune cookie style love note. Anyway, they have the same choco-hazelnut flavor as Nutella.

This week I got to bring cupcakes to a board meeting and I really wanted to somehow incorporate Nutella. So of course I Googled “nutella cupcakes” to see what others had done. I came very close to making Self Frosting Nutella Cupcakes by Donna Hay. They looked delicious and very simple to make, but I just don’t find it much fun to copy an exact recipe that people have made over and over. Part of the fun is creating something new. So, I decided to make Nutella filled cupcakes with a Nutella butter cream frosting. It really was quite simple, so don’t get nervous here and go running to the Donna Hay recipe!

Cut some of the top of the cupcake off using a paring knife at an angle.

Fill with a dollop (around a teaspoon) of Nutella.

Replace the top.

Frost with Nutella Icing and a hazelnut.

easy-mix yellow cupcake batter
from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans

makes 12
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg and yolk and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in the flour mixture until it in incorporated and the batter is smooth. Fill cups 3/4 full. Bake 20 minutes, or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool.

Using a paring knife, cut at an angle so that you can remove a small cone from the top of the cupcakes. Take a little of the tip of the cone off. Place a small teaspoon of Nutella into the hole. Replace the cone that was taken off.

Frost with Nutella Icing, recipe below. You won’t need much frosting since these have the Nutella in the center. Top with toasted hazelnuts.

Nutella Icing, adapted from:

  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 cup creamy Nutella
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • toasted hazelnuts for garnish (optional)

Place the confectioners’ sugar, Nutella, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
*I doubled the cupcake recipe and that made a perfect number for the amount of frosting. If you want 12 cupcakes, you will have extra icing – I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding another use for it like licking the beaters, dipping crackers, etc.