The Nutella cake is a soft and fragrant dessert, enclosing a creamy heart of hazelnut cream. Suitable to serve both at the end of a meal with coffee, and for breakfast or snack, the Nutella cake is a quick and easy recipe, so much so that it has become one of my flagship recipes for over 10 years. Born as a last-minute recipe, the soft Nutella cake can undergo some variations mainly due to the fact that you may find yourself without some ingredients. In particular, mascarpone, which, when added to the batter, makes the cake very soft, is not always present in my fridge and sometimes I have made this dessert using room temperature butter or cheese like Philadelphia.
The peculiarity of this Nutella-filled cake is that it is filled while still raw, distributing generous spoonfuls of Nutella in some points of the batter. The secret to keeping the Nutella soft after baking lies in the batter: being quite firm, the Nutella will initially stay on the surface, but after a few minutes in the oven, it will sink to the center of the cake and remain creamy in the end. Serve the Nutella cake while it’s still slightly warm and you’ll see what a delight!
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 299.93 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 40.90 (g) of which sugars 26.04 (g)
- Proteins 5.32 (g)
- Fat 13.78 (g) of which saturated 10.17 (g)of which unsaturated 0.72 (g)
- Fibers 1.51 (g)
- Sodium 86.15 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 72 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 a Nutella cake of 8 or 9 inches in diameter
To prepare the gluten-free Nutella cake I used 110 g of fine rice flour + 20 g of starch instead of all-purpose flour. If you are celiac remember that the following ingredients must have the “gluten-free” label: rice flour, starch, baking powder, Nutella, powdered sugar.
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup mascarpone
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (for the gluten-free version 110 g of fine rice flour + 20 g of starch)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- A few drops vanilla essence
- 6 oz Nutella® (approximately)
- as needed powdered sugar (for garnish)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- Electric whisks
- 1 Cake pan 8 or 9 inches in diameter
- Parchment paper
- 1 Spoon
- 2 Teaspoons
How to prepare the quick Nutella cake
For the English version of this recipe click here!
To make the Nutella cake, start by placing the mascarpone (or room temperature butter) in a bowl with the sugar, a pinch of salt, and the vanilla flavor (1) and work it with the electric whisk for a couple of minutes until you get a cream (2). Then add the first egg (3) and mix with the whisk for a minute.
When the first egg has been incorporated into the other ingredients, add the second one and mix well with the whisk until it is combined into the batter.
Finally, add the flour and baking powder (4) and beat with the whisk for another couple of minutes until you get a homogeneous and fairly firm batter (5).
Line a 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper. You can also make a slightly larger 9-inch cake with the same amounts, which will be slightly lower, while if you have a different size pan, consult this article which will help you adjust the amounts of the dessert in proportion. Pour the batter into it, leveling the surface well with a spoon (6).
Place small portions of Nutella (approximately a heaped teaspoon) on the cake, letting it drop with the help of another teaspoon, so that it stays on the surface (7) without mixing it into the batter (8).
Bake the Nutella cake in a preheated oven at 356°F (static) for about 30 minutes if you used an 8-inch pan, 25 minutes if you used a 9-inch one; you will see that as it rises, the Nutella will sink to the center of the cake creating a very nice decorative effect. When the Nutella cake is puffed up and golden, take it out of the oven and let it cool (9).
Decorate the Nutella cake with powdered sugar and serve it slightly warm or cold.
The Nutella-filled cake is also available as a video recipe, follow me on my YouTube channel!
Storage
You can store the Nutella-filled cake at room temperature for 4 or 5 days.
Tips and variations
Instead of Nutella you can use another hazelnut or chocolate spread, pistachio cream, or jam.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How can I replace the mascarpone?
Instead of mascarpone you can make the batter using the same amount of ricotta or another spreadable cheese, such as Philadelphia. You can also use butter in the same amounts, but you should soften it well at room temperature without completely melting it, otherwise, you won’t get the right consistency of the batter.
