The muffins with Nutella heart are irresistible pastries, perfect for breakfast or a sweet snack. The dough, inspired by the original American muffin recipe, like the classic blueberry muffins, is soft and fragrant, but the real surprise is the creamy Nutella heart hidden inside. Who could resist? The preparation of these Nutella cakes is simple and quite fast. To keep the Nutella heart soft, there is a little trick: freeze the Nutella in small cubes, using ice cube trays or silicone molds. Placing them in the dough just before baking, you will get a delicious creamy heart that will not mix with the rest of the muffin, remaining soft and delicious. An important detail to get soft and well-baked muffins is to work the dough with a spoon, avoiding the use of electric whisks. This step is crucial to not incorporate too much air, thus maintaining the typical consistency of American muffins. The muffins with Nutella heart can also be made with gluten-free rice flour, making this delicious homemade snack suitable for everyone.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 12 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 282.70 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 39.68 (g) of which sugars 20.51 (g)
- Proteins 4.53 (g)
- Fat 12.58 (g) of which saturated 8.89 (g)of which unsaturated 3.37 (g)
- Fibers 1.05 (g)
- Sodium 147.03 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 75 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 12 muffins with Nutella heart
To prepare the gluten-free Nutella muffins, I replaced the all-purpose flour with the same amount of fine rice flour. If you are celiac, remember that the following ingredients must have the label “gluten-free”: rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, vanillin, Nutella.
- 4 oz butter (soft)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or fine rice flour gluten-free)
- 1/3 cup potato starch
- 1 packet vanillin
- 1 packet baking powder (16 g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- to taste Nutella® (about 130 g)
Tools
- 1 Ice tray
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Muffin pan for 12
- 12 Cupcake liners paper for muffins
- 1 Ice cream scoop
- Plastic wrap
How to make Nutella heart muffins that stay soft
To make the Nutella heart muffins, start by preparing the Nutella cubes that will be frozen and inserted into the muffin batter. If you have it, you can use an ice tray lined with plastic wrap, or silicone molds for chocolates. Fill 12 cubes, pouring about a teaspoon of Nutella into each (1). Place the tray to set in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the batter: for classic American muffins, you would need buttermilk, which is not easy to find in Italy. However, you can replace it with 3/4 cup of cold milk to which you add about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (2). Stir well and let it rest for 5 minutes. Cut the butter into pieces and keep it at room temperature until it is soft and the consistency of a pomade (3).
Place it in a bowl and add the sugar. Work it vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a cream (4). Then add the first egg (5) and mix with the spoon to incorporate it. Only when it is perfectly amalgamated with the butter, add the second egg (6) and mix it in perfectly.
Finally, pour in the buttermilk (or the milk and lemon juice mixture) a little at a time (7), mixing well. Do not worry if small lumps form at this stage (8), it is normal and they will disappear in the next step. Once the soft ingredients are mixed, move to the dry ones: pour into the bowl the all-purpose flour (or the gluten-free rice flour), starch, baking powder, vanillin, and baking soda (9).
Mix carefully until you obtain a thick and homogeneous mixture (10). Line a paper liners in a 12-muffin mold. Fill each liner about 2/3 full (11). Since the dough is thick, I find it easier to use an ice cream scoop, which does not need to be fully filled; consider that you should have some batter left. Otherwise, you can use two spoons. Take the Nutella cubes from the freezer and place one in the center of each muffin, without letting it sink too much (12).
Cover each cube with a teaspoon of the remaining batter (13). Bake the muffins with Nutella heart in the preheated oven at 350°F (static) for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool (14).
Your Nutella muffins will be very soft and have a creamy heart that is impossible to resist. They are perfect for breakfast or a delicious snack!
Storage
Nutella muffins stay soft for 4-5 days at room temperature, best kept in a cake container or under a glass dome.
Tips and Variations
This is the basic batter for American muffins that can be enriched with your choice: chocolate chips, pieces of fruit, a bit of jam, or some salted caramel.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Can I bake muffins directly in paper liners?
No, the muffin batter rising would cause them to lose shape. If you don’t have a muffin pan, it’s better to use disposable aluminum liners also used for crème caramel.
