Nutella Cupcakes

Nutella stuffed cupcake, with bite taken out

These Nutella cupcakes are the ultimate recipe for Nutella lovers. Moist chocolate cupcakes are stuffed with a dollop of Nutella and decorated with the creamiest Nutella frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Nutella Cupcakes, Nutella Stuffed Cupcakes

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 18

Cooling 30

Total Time 2 15

Servings cupcakes

Calories 544kcal

Author Fiona Dowling

Equipment

2 12-cavity muffin pans

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (57 grams) finely chopped
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (156 grams)
½ cup cocoa powder (40 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil (120 ml)
⅔ cup granulated sugar (136 grams)
½ cup brown sugar (105 grams) lightly packed
2 large eggs room temperature
¼ cup sour cream (60 ml)
½ cup milk (120 ml) 1%, 2% or whole milk - I prefer whole milk

Nutella Stuffing

⅔ cup Nutella (about 200 grams)

Nutella Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams) slightly softened
3 - 3 ½ cups powdered sugar (330 - 385 grams) AKA icing sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup Nutella (about 225 grams)
2-4 tablespoons milk or cream (30-60 ml) 2%, whole milk, heavy creamy, whipping cream or table cream
hazelnuts optional, for decorating

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a 12-cavity muffin pan with muffin papers. You will end up with about 16-18 cupcakes in total, so you will need 2 pans.
Add the finely chopped chocolate to a heat proof bowl. Microwave for 45-second intervals on medium power (not high power, which is typically the default). Stir between each interval until melted. Alternatively, melt in a double boiler over low heat. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. If the cocoa powder is lumpy, sift it first. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar until you no longer see clumps/lumps of brown sugar.
Whisk the melted chocolate and vanilla extract into the oil and sugar mixture until smooth - you will still have granules of brown sugar, which is totally fine.
Whisk the eggs into the oil, sugar & chocolate mixture. I always do this by hand, but an electric mixer on low speed works too. Be careful not to over mix if using an electric mixer.
Whisk in the sour cream, followed by about ⅓ of the flour mixture.
Then whisk about ½ of the milk into the bowl, followed by about ⅓ more of the flour mixture. Whisk in the final ½ of the milk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture until smooth.
Spoon the cupcake batter into the prepared pans, filling each cupcake liner about ½ to ⅔ full. Do not fill ¾ full or to the top of the cupcake liner. If you only end up with 12 cupcakes in total, your liners are too full and your cupcakes can overflow and sink as they bake.
Bake 1 tray of cupcakes in the middle of the preheated oven. They will bake for about 17-20 minutes, or until the tops look set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few muffin crumbs. A toothpick should not have muffin batter on it.
Cool the cupcakes in pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to continue cooling.

Nutella Frosting

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
Add in 2 cups powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Start with the mixer on a low speed, then gradually increase the mixer until medium speed.
Then beat in the Nutella until smooth and creamy. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.
Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, alternating with a tablespoon of milk/cream until the desired sweetness and thickness is reached.

Assembling the Cupcakes

Ensure that the cupcakes are 100% cooled. Use a paring knife, cut a cone shape into the top of each cupcake. Only cut about ⅓ to ½ of the way into the cupcake - do not cut to the bottom of each cupcake or the cupcakes will fall apart.
Drop a spoonful of Nutella into each cupcake.
Slice off the bottom of cupcake cone shape that you cut out, so that you have just a disc of chocolate cupcake. Place the disc shape of chocolate cake on top of the Nutella filling.
Frost the cupcakes. I used a piping bag with a 1M piping tip.

Notes

Chocolate: Semi-sweet or 50-60% dark chocolate work well for this recipe.
Room Temperature Ingredients: The eggs, milk and sour cream should be room temperature before making the cupcakes. Take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior to making the cupcakes.
Nutella: This recipe uses about ⅔ cup to stuff the cupcakes and ¾ cup for the frosting. A 13 ounce (375 gram) jar will not be quite enough Nutella to both fill and frost the cupcakes. You will need a 26.5 ounce (750 gram) jar for both the filling and frosting and will have leftover Nutella. If you don't plan to stuff the cupcakes, a 13 ounce (375 gram) jar will be enough for the frosting only.
Make Ahead Tips: Make the cupcakes the day before you plan to serve. Cool fully, then store in an airtight container at room temperature overnight. Fill & frost the day you plan to serve. Fully cooled cupcakes can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Then thaw in the fridge. Fill & frost once cupcakes are thawed.
Storage: Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cupcake with Nutella filling and frosting, assuming that the recipe yields 16 uniform cupcakes and that a full ⅔ cup is used for the filling and all the frosting is used.

Nutrition