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This chocolate Nutella cake recipe is probably one of the best cake recipes on this planet! I adapted this recipe Serious Eats Devil’s food cake recipe to make this super moist, rich chocolate Nutella cake, topped with a fluffy light Nutella Swiss Meringue buttercream frosting. I use my homemade Nutella to make this recipe but feel free to shortcut it with a jar from the store. The best part about this cake is that you only need one pot to make it!
You can make this Chocolate Nutella cake totally vegan by using vegan butter, homemade Nutella made with vegan chocolate, apple sauce and vegan mayo as an egg substitute, non-dairy milk, and aquafaba! If you are using aquafaba for the Nutella Swiss Meringue buttercream, you can skip the double boiler step since you don’t need to cook the aquafaba to make it safe to eat. Just be sure to whip it up to soft peaks before adding the butter in.
One of the best parts of this cake is the crumb structure and texture! It is so light yet so rich!
If you make this cake be sure to tag me on social media @milkandcardamom!
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Chocolate Nutella Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Rich chocolate cake made with Nutella and topped with a fluffy Nutella Swiss Meringue buttercream. Makes one 9-inch cake.
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp (144 g) unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup (144 g) milk
- 1/4 cup (72 g) Nutella
- 6 tbsp ( 36 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (193 g) light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs ( or 1/2 cup apple sauce + 3 tbsp vegan mayo)
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (108 g) all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
NUTELLA SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
- 1/3 cup egg whites (or aquafaba)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 13 tbsp (188 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup (144 g) Nutella
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- chopped toasted hazelnuts (optional)
Instructions
Nutella Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and line a 9-inch round baking pan.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add butter and milk and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in Nutella, and cocoa powder until smooth. Add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir until well combined. Add eggs (or apple sauce and vegan mayo) and stir until smooth. Sift in the flour and baking soda and whisk until all the flour is just combined.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan before decorating, this should take about 2-3 hours.
Nutella Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Add egg whites (or aquafaba), sugar, cream of tartar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. If using aquafaba, skip step 2.
- If using egg white, set up a double boiler and place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir for 5 minutes or until the mixture hits 160°F. Then remove from the heat.
- Attach the bowl to the mixer and whisk for 12 minutes. Add butter a tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between each addition. Add powdered sugar, Nutella, and vanilla. Scrape down the bowl and whisk well. If it’s soupy or loose- pop the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes and then continue whisking. It should be creamy, smooth, and light.
Assemble
- Dollop the frosting into the center of the cooled cake and use a spatula to spread the frosting into an even layer on top. Decorate with chopped hazelnuts and enjoy!
Notes
You can make this cake vegan by using vegan butter, the suggested egg substitutes, non-dairy milk, and vegan Nutella. Cake adapted from Serious Eats
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
4 Responses
would you recommend making this without MERINGUE?
totally! top it with berries instead!
Looks great! 😃also can I use flax eggs instead?
Flax egg won’t work in this case! I would use the suggest egg substitutes instead.
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