Rich Dark Nutella Buttercream Frosting
If you love Nutella, this Nutella buttercream frosting will probably be your favorite. It’s an absolute heaven over cakes, cupcakes, and between macaron shells. Rich, creamy, and decadent, this frosting takes no more than five minutes to mix. And, it is the perfect consistency to pipe pretty swirls on cupcakes or pipe boarders or designs around cakes.
If I have to make Nutella buttercream at our home, I have to make twice the amount I need for my cupcakes or cakes. Because both Rhea and Aadi love Nutella (honestly, all kids do). And I also love Nutella myself, so I can’t complain.
Of course, Nutella is a brand name for hazelnut spread, but it has a distinctly unique flavor. It’s made of ground hazelnuts, vegetable shortening, and cocoa powder. You can make hazelnut spread at home, but it’s not the same as Nutella.
For those of you who don’t get Nutella, you can make a homemade hazelnut spread using this recipe.
Homemade hazelnut spread
- Pulse the hazelnuts in a food processor until you have a paste consistency – hazelnut butter.
- Then, add all the other ingredients and mix on high for 3 to 4 minutes more or until you have a smooth glossy hazelnut spread
- Transfer to a mason jar with a tight lid.
- This spread will last at room temperature for up to a month.
- Make sure you keep the lid closed when not using it.
- You can use this in the recipe below to make a hazelnut buttercream frosting.
One buttercream recipe with many different flavors
I believe in using tools that help simplify the cake-decorating process. By now, you must have seen this recipe – one buttercream recipe with many different buttercream flavors. In it, I shared how you can create many different flavors from just one simple basic recipe. And it includes all American buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream, and Italian meringue buttercream.
When do I use it? Well, when I have my velvet American buttercream frosting already made, and I don’t mind that it has meringue powder in it, I just add some flavoring to that recipe to create a new flavor. For example, I add 1/2 cup Kahlua to 4 cups of already prepared buttercream frosting.
Why make it from scratch?
However, making a flavored buttercream from scratch has the advantage that you can control the amount of liquid, which means you can control the consistency of the buttercream.
So, the next time you want to make a delicious Nutella buttercream frosting to pipe pretty swirls on a cupcake or cake, make it from scratch using this recipe. This one has the perfect consistency for pipe swirls or borders around a cake.
Step-by-step instructions
- Add hot water to the cocoa powder and create a paste. Set aside to cool.
- Cream the butter, Nutella, salt, and fresh cream until light and fluffy.
- Add the cocoa powder and vanilla -mix for a minute more until all the cocoa is well incorporated.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure it’s all one color.
- Finally, start adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time.
- Once all the powdered sugar is in whip until for three to four minutes until you have whipped cream consistency
- The mixing helps build volume, which gives this buttercream a piping consistency. So don’t skimp on the whipping.
If you love Nutella, you may also love these two recipes by BakeAlish – Nutella Overload Cupcakes and Nutella Swiss Roll Cake.
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Dark Nutella Buttercream Frosting
If you love Nutella, this Nutella buttercream frosting will probably be your favorite. An absolute heaven over cakes, cupcakes and between macaron shells. Rich, creamy and decadent this frosting takes no more than five minutes to mix and is the perfect consistency to pipe pretty swirls on cupcakes or pipe boarders or designs around cakes such as this one.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (226 g) Unsalted Butter (2 sticks)room temperature
- ¾ cup (225 g) Nutella or hazelnut spread
- 1 lb (450 g) Powdered Sugar (about 4 cups)
- 4 tbsp Whipping Cream
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp (15 g) Cocoa Powder optional
- 4 tbsp Hot Water (if using the cocoa powder)
Method
- Add hot water to the cocoa powder and create a paste. Set aside to cool.
- Cream the butter, Nutella, salt and fresh cream until light and fluffy.
- Add the cocoa powder paste and vanilla -mix for a minute more until all the cocoa is well incorporated.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure it’s all one color.
- Finally, start adding the powder sugar one cup at a time.
- Once all the powdered sugar is in, whip for three to four minutes until you have whipped cream consistency
- The mixing helps build volume to the fat and cream which gives this buttercream a piping consistency. So don’t skimp on the whipping.
Hi Veena. One of my customers asked nutella frosting. I was searching for the recipe. Then I thought, wait, why am I searching other blogs when Veena is there? I checked your website and FOUND IT!!!! I just have a little doubt with the quantity. Will this recipe be sufficient to fill and frost two layers of 8 inch heart cake? Please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Thank you, Preethi. I am happy you came to my blog first. Appreciate the vote of confidence. Yes, the recipe says it should work for a 2 layer 8-inch cake. Let me know how it was. It used to by my son’s favorite frosting, now he does not like frosting. Still loves Nutella though – teenagers!