Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes with Easy Buttercream Frosting
Enjoy rich decadence with these chocolate Nutella cupcakes! Moist chocolate cake infused with coffee and topped with an easy Nutella buttercream frosting.
I love making treats for all kinds of special occasions and I have discovered another reason to celebrate. Nutella! World Nutella Day is February 5, and I have the perfect dessert for all you Nutella lovers out there.
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Today I am sharing a recipe for delicious chocolate Nutella cupcakes with you. It starts with a homemade chocolate cupcake, which is topped with a decadent and fluffy Nutella buttercream, then garnished with cute chocolate hugs and kisses.
Nutella Cupcakes
While some of you may be intimidated by the idea of making a cake from scratch, don’t let that dissuade you. I am here to show you just how simple it can be. Let’s get started!
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Servings: 12 cupcakes
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Cool Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Cupcake Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Butter, unsalted
- Vegetable oil
- Cold brew coffee – regular brewed coffee can be used instead. Just allow the hot coffee to cool first.
- Large egg
- Buttermilk – whatever you have in the fridge works too.
- Vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – room temperature.
- Powdered icing sugar
- Nutella
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
Topping Decorations
- Milk chocolate melting wafers – dark or white chocolate would work too.
Cupcake Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Add cupcake liners to a muffin pan and set aside.
2. Melt the butter and allow to slightly cool.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, oil, coffee, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix together until the batter is fully combined and smooth, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.
6. Using a 1-tbsp cookie scoop, scoop 3 tbsp of mixture into each cupcake liner. Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to come to room temperature before frosting.
Chocolate Instruction
- Warm milk chocolate wafers in the microwave in 30 second increments, until fully melted and smooth.
- Transfer to a piping bag with a very fine tip and pipe “X”s and “O”s onto parchment paper.
- Allow chocolate to set and harden.
Frosting Instruction
- To make the frosting, add butter to a large mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, beat on medium high speed for 1 minute. Reduce speed and slowly add in powdered sugar.
- Pause to scrape the sides of the bowl and add in nutella, cream, vanilla, and salt. Continue to mix until frosting is smooth and fluffy.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag.
Variations
- Use your favorite box of chocolate cake mix instead of making the cupcakes from scratch.
- Substitute the chocolate cake and make vanilla Nutella cupcakes.
- Add a fruit or Nutella filling. Use a cupcake corer, apple corer, or spoon to make a small hole in the center of each cupcake. Fill the hole with your desired cupcake filling, then frost and decorate as usual.
- Top your cupcakes with fresh strawberries if desired.
- Add cream cheese to the frosting.
- Try a whipped cream frosting, instead of buttercream.
- Turn this recipe into a cake.
Try these candy corn cupcakes, these Valentine’s cupcakes or this buttercream frosting recipe.
Tips and Tricks
- You can use an electric mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or whisk attachment for this recipe.
- Feel free to use your own favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. Once the cupcakes are cool, continue with the recipe as written.
- Do not attempt to add frosting to the cupcakes until they are fully cooled. Adding frosting to warm cakes and cupcakes can cause it to melt and not set as firmly as needed.
- These cupcakes can be left at room temperature, covered, for up to 2-3 days, or stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, covered with plastic wrap or sealed in an airtight container.
Whether you whip up a batch of these yummy treats for World Nutella Day, serve them to your loved ones on Valentine’s Day, or make them just because, you are bound to receive rave reviews!
If you love this Chocolate Nutella Cupcake recipe, please give it a five-star review and share it on Facebook and Pinterest so others can enjoy it too.
Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup cold brew coffee
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Add cupcake liners to a pan and set aside.
- 2. Melt the butter and allow to slightly cool.
- 3. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, oil, coffee, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- 4. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- 5. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix together until the batter is fully combined and smooth, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.
- 6. Using a 1-tbsp cookie scoop, scoop 3 tbsp of mixture into each cupcake liner. Bake for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- 7. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to come to room temperature before frosting.
Nutrition
