Chocolate hazelnut cupcakes are decadently delicious and perfect for Nutella lovers! Made with moist dark chocolate cupcakes, filled with chocolate hazelnut spread, swirled with chocolate hazelnut buttercream frosting, and topped with a Ferrero Rocher! You simply can’t go wrong with these Nutella cupcakes!
Ingredients for Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Chocolate chips – Use dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips for a deep chocolate flavor.
- Dark cocoa powder – Dark cocoa powder also adds a rich chocolate flavor to the cupcakes.
- Boiling water – Use boiling water to melt the chocolate chips and hydrate the dark cocoa powder.
- All-purpose flour – Creates the structure for the cupcakes.
- Granulated sugar – For sweetness.
- Baking soda – Leavening agent to help the cupcakes rise.
- Salt – Enhances the chocolate flavor and provides some contrast to sweentness.
- Eggs – Large eggs, room temperature.Vegetable oil – You can also use any neutral baking oil in place of vegetable oil.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract enhances the chocolate flavor of the cupcakes.
Chocolate Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature butter for easy creaming.
- Powdered sugar – Confectioners’ sugar or icing sugar. You do not have to sift the powdered sugar unless there are lumps.
- Chocolate hazelnut spread – Nutella! A delicious spread made with hazelnuts and cocoa.
- Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract adds another great layer of flavor in the buttercream and enhances the chocolate and hazelnut flavors.
- Salt – A pinch of salt cuts the sweetness of the buttercream.
- Heavy cream – Heavy cream helps the buttercream whip up to be smooth and creamy.
Additional Ingredients
- Chocolate hazelnut spread – Stuff the cupcakes with Nutella to amp up the chocolate hazelnut flavor.
- Ferrero rocher candy – Ferrero rocher candy placed on top of the buttercream swirl is the perfect garnish to add visual appeal, more chocolate hazelnut flavor and a great crunch!
Tools & Supplies for Making Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
How to Make Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
There are several components and steps to making these delicious chocolate hazelnut cupcakes. Here is the basic breakdown of the steps:
- Bake chocolate cupcakes: Combine cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and boiling water. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add chocolate mixture. Add eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Portion the batter into cupcake liners and bake!
- Fill the cupcakes: Use an apple corer or your own preferred method to core the cupcakes. Fill the chocolate cupcakes with chocolate hazelnut spread using a piping bag.
- Make the chocolate hazelnut buttercream: Whip the butter. Add powdered sugar. Add in chocolate hazelnut spread, vanilla extract, and salt. Drizzle in heavy cream and whip until smooth and creamy.
- Frost the cupcakes: Pipe the chocolate hazelnut buttercream frosting onto the cupcakes using a piping bag and Wilton 1M piping tip.
- Garnish: Add a Ferrero Rocher candy to the top of each cupcake.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes Recipe Tips
Filling the cupcakes
To fill the cupcakes, I recommend coring the cupcakes with an apple corer to make room for the Nutella filling! If you have another way to core a cupcake, go for it! Using an apple corer is my personal favorite method because it is quick, easy, and a multi-use tool in my kitchen. Use a piping bag to pipe the Nutella into the center of the cupcake.
How to assemble the cupcakes
To assemble the cupcakes as pictured, first, core the cupcakes. Pipe Nutella into the center of the cupcake. Use a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip to pipe a generous swirl of Nutella buttercream to the top of the cupcake. Finally, add a Ferrero Rocher candy to the top of the buttercream swirl!
Storing and serving
Store the chocolate hazelnut cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days! To serve, remove from the fridge about an hour before serving and allow the cupcakes to come to room temperature so the buttercream softens.
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Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Cupcake pan/cupcake liners
- Apple corer to core the chocolate cupcakes
- Piping bags/Wilton 1M tip
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- ¼ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- ¼ cup dark cocoa powder
- ¾ cup boiling water
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread Nutella
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Additional Ingredients
- ½ – ¾ cup chocolate hazelnut spread Nutella, for filling the cupcakes
- 12 Ferrero Rocher candies
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl or a glass liquid measuring cup, stir together chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and boiling water until the cocoa powder is dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
- Add vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined and smooth.
- Use a large cookie scoop to portion the cupcake batter into the cupcake liners, approximately ¾ full.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes bounce back slightly when touched.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Chocolate Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add in room temperature butter. Whip the butter for 5 minutes on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on the lowest speed setting until fully combined.
- Add in chocolate hazelnut spread and continue to mix on low until combined.
- Continue to mix on low speed and add in vanilla extract and salt. Drizzle in heavy cream. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Turn the mixer on high and whip for an additional 2-3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to ensure the frosting is well mixed.
Assembling the Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes
- Core the center of the cooled chocolate cupcakes with an apple corer. Plunge the corer â…” of the way into the cupcakes, twist, and remove.
- Use a piping bag filled with chocolate hazelnut spread to fill the center of the cupcakes.
- Use a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M piping tip to pipe the chocolate hazelnut buttercream frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
- Top each cupcake with a Ferrero Rocher candy.
Notes
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