As I said before, my relationship with Nutella is a complicated one. I love it without any hesitation, but my passion for it – which can be traced back to a weakness for chocolate and hazelnuts – can lead me towards a path of great indulgence, or better, of overindulgence. As I always say, everything in moderation, but it does seem to me that moderation and Nutella don’t go together well.
So I turn to baking and to using Nutella in my desserts, instead of being tempted to stick a spoon in the jar and lick it to the end of times. It was a complicated log recipe that first caught my attention, but since I spent a few days preparing for my upcoming classes, I was ready for something simple. And on Hetal Vasavada’s blog, Milk and Cardamom, I found the recipe I was looking for. A one layer Nutella chocolate cake, frosted with a silky Nutella Swiss meringue buttercream. I was ready to roll! I added a little more Nutella to the buttercream – because, why not? And I was surprised to see that she used some confectioner sugar in the frosting, but I went with it and actually, the result was spectacular. I could easily eat that buttercream by the spoonful, as so could any member of my family!
ENJOY and Happy New Year!
Gluten-free Chocolate Nutella Cake
Course: RecipesDifficulty: Easy30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
- For the Nutella Chocolate Cake
144 g 144 unsalted butter – 10 Tablespoons
144 g 144 milk – 2/3 cup
72 g 72 Nutella – 1/4 cup
36 g 36 unsweetened cocoa powder – 6 Tablespoons
193 g 193 light brown sugar – 3/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 salt
1 1/4 teaspoons 1 1/4 vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons 2 glycerin
3 large 3 eggs
138 g 138 Simona’s Flour Mix – 3/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons
1 1/4 teaspoons 1 1/4 baking soda
- For the Nutella Swiss Meringue Buttercream
80 g 80 egg whites – 1/3 cup
100 g 100 granulated sugar – 1/2 cup
1/8 teaspoon 1/8 cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 salt
188 g 188 unsalted butter, softened – 13 tablespoons
60 g 60 confectioners’ sugar – 1/2 cup
210 g 210 Nutella – 2/3 cup and 1 Tablespoon
1 teaspoon 1 vanilla extract
chopped roasted hazelnuts (optional)
Directions
- For the Nutella Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and line a 10-inch round baking pan with parchment paper.Â
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, vanilla, and glycerin and stir until well combined. Add eggs and stir until smooth. Sift in the flour and baking soda and whisk until all the flour is 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. Place on a cooling rack and cool completely in the pan before decorating,
- For the Nutella Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Add egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer.
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 until cool. Add butter a tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between each addition.  I added the butter when the meringue was too cold and it curdled. Don’t panic if it happens to you. Just place it quickly on top of the double boiler, and whisk vigorously until it starts coming together.
- Add powdered sugar, Nutella, and vanilla. Scrape down the bowl and whisk well. It should be creamy, smooth, and light.
- Place the cooled cake on a serving plate. Dollop the frosting into the center of the cooled cake and use a spatula to spread the frosting into an even layer on top. I used a 1/4 cup of buttercream to decorate with a piping bag. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and enjoy!Â
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