Nutella Frosting
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This delicious Nutella frosting is a thick and creamy American-style buttercream recipe. It has the perfect chocolate hazelnut flavor without being too sweet. It pipes beautifully and has a silky smooth finish that’s absolutely beautiful. 
This Nutella buttercream will elevate any cake, cupcake or brownie recipe. It’s incredibly creamy with a delicious Nutella flavor and a glossy finish. What I especially love about this frosting is that it isn’t too sweet -which I find so many frosting recipes are. It’s creamy, simple to make and tastes incredible. You can pile it high on top of cupcakes using your favorite piping tip, slather on a thick layer with knife, or eat the leftovers with a spoon (I won’t tell).
I love this Nutella buttercream on chocolate cupcakes, a pan of classic chewy brownies, pumpkin sheet cake or banana cake.
Ingredients for Nutella Frosting
You’ll need 6 ingredients for this recipe:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into cubes – it should not be starting to get slimy
- 3/4 cup Nutella – be sure to use commercially prepared Nutella, homemade can separate
- 3 cups powdered sugar (AKA icing sugar) – you may use a little more depending on how sweet you like your frosting
- 1/4 teaspoon salt – to cut the sweetness
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons milk or cream – heavy cream, whipping cream or table cream work well, for anyone in the UK – do not use double cream as it is too thick for frosting
Making Nutella Frosting
This recipe is incredibly straight forward and similar to making any American-style buttercream. Unlike an Italian-style or Swiss-meringue buttercream, there’s no boiling eggs involved.
- You’ll start by beating the butter until soft and creamy – ie the butter shouldn’t look lumpy anymore.
- Then add in the salt, vanilla extract and 2 cups powdered sugar. Start by beating together on a low speed, then gradually increasing to medium speed until everything is combined.
- Beat in the Nutella. Be sure to turn off the mixer a few times and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure there aren’t any lumps of butter at the bottom.
- Then you’ll mix in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with a tablespoon of the milk/cream. You can taste test the frosting as you go to determine how sweet you like it. I used exactly 3 cups powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. You could use up to 4 cups powdered sugar if you prefer something sweeter.
How Much Frosting Does this Make?
The amount of frosting that you need for cakes and cupcakes is definitely rather subjective. But here’s approximately how much this recipe will yield:
- 12-18 cupcakes, frosted with a piping bag and piled high – as pictured
- 24 cupcakes, frosted with a knife
- a 9x 13 inch (23×33 cm) sheet cake, with the top frosted
- a 2-layer 8-inch round cake
- for a 3-layer 8-inch round cake, multiple the recipe by 1.5
- for a 2-layer 9-inch round cake, multiple the recipe by 1.5
- for an 8×8 inch (20×20 cm) or 9×9 inch (23×23 cm) square pan of brownies or cake, divide the recipe by 2
Thick, creamy and with the perfect chocolate hazelnut flavor – this Nutella buttercream frosting is incredible. Here’s a few other recipes it tastes delicious on:
- Golden Yellow Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Banana Cake
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
- Banana Chocolate Chip Layer Cake – multiply the frosting recipe by 1.5
Nutella Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) , slightly softed
- 3 - 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (330-385 grams) , AKA icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup Nutella (225 grams)
- 2-4 tablespoons cream or milk (30-60 ml), 2%, whole milk, whipping, cream, heavy cream or table cream
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until soft and you no longer see lumps.
- Add in 2 cups powdered sugar along with the vanilla and salt. Beat together until combined.
- Then add in the Nutella and beat until creamy.
- Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with 1 tablespoon of cream or milk until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached.
Notes
- Nutella: Be sure to use commercially prepared chocolate hazelnut spread. Choose one that is smooth and creamy, without any chunks of nuts. Do not use a chocolate hazelnut spread where oil sits on top.
- Storage: Use immediately and store frosted cakes and cupcakes at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge. Frosting can be made in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Alternatively, frosting can be placed in an airtight, freezer container and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge. After frosting has been in the fridge (whether for storage or thawed from frozen) place on the counter for about 10-20 minutes to bring to room temperature. Then beat with an electric mixer to soften it up. You may need to add 1 more tablespoon of milk/cream.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only, based on the frosting being divided between 18 cupcakes (not including the cupcake).
