Smooth Nutella buttercream is so easy to make and is the perfect topping for cupcakes, birthday cakes, layer cakes, or anywhere else you might need a little buttercream really!
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to share my recipe for Nutella cupcakes and if you follow me on… well any social media really, you will have noticed that last week I decided my willpower was strong enough to not eat all of them if I made them.
It turns out I was wrong, I don’t have nearly enough willpower and simply couldn’t resist giving them a try. But, it you’re going to crack and eat something a bit naughty, I’d suggest that Nutella cupcakes are definitely the way to go 🙂
I was going to dive straight into posting the recipe for those cupcakes but then I decided that the buttercream deserved a post all to itself. Yes, it’s the perfect Nutella-y topping for the cupcakes, but it’s also yummy in it’s own right and it would make a brilliant topping to all sorts of other flavours of cupcakes, birthday cakes, layer cakes or anywhere else you might want to use a bit of buttercream.
It took a bit of trial and error to get the balance of butter, sugar and Nutella right in this buttercream. I started by making standard buttercream (made with 1 part butter to 2 parts sugar) and simply mixing in plenty of Nutella for flavour but I found it far too sweet. In the end I found that using equal amounts of butter and icing sugar gave a much better flavour.
As with my standard vanilla buttercream, you need to add just a little milk to get the buttercream to a nice spreadable consistency, perfect for covering a cake or piping onto cupcakes. You’ll need less milk than you would with standard buttercream as the addition of Nutella gives it a softer, smoother texture anyway.
What You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have all of the equipment needed.
NOTE – These are affiliate links which means that if you purchase from Amazon after clicking on one the product links below I may earn a small commission. All of the products linked are ones I use in my kitchen.
Weighing Scales- Measuring Spoons
- Knife – to cut the butter
- Electric Mixer (or a bowl and hand mixer or wooden spoon)
- Sieve
- Piping Bags – if you’re planning on piping the cupcakes
- Piping Nozzle – To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the video you’ll need a JEM 1B nozzle. To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the pictures you’ll need a Wilton 2D nozzle.
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
Subscribe to the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen mailing list to get your FREE printable grams to cups and cups to grams conversion charts for twelve popular baking ingredients
Nutella Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
- 175 g unsalted butter - at room temperature
- 175 g icing sugar
- 350 g Nutella
- A dash of milk - I use skimmed but any is fine
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the butter (175g) into cubes and beat in an electric mixer until soft.
- Add the icing sugar (175g) and beat until fully combined. To try and avoid the sugar flying everywhere I add the sugar a spoonful at a time and keep the mixer on a low speed until it has started to mix with the butter.
- Add the Nutella (350g) and beat until fully combined.
- Take a look at the consistency of the icing, is it spreadable? If not add ½ tsp milk and mix until fully combined. Check the consistency again and repeat until it is just spreadable.
- Once you’ve got the consistency right, it’s ready to use.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Gluten-Free
- Egg-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Sharon Thorne says
Thank you so much for this! The proportions were spot on! I so often have to tweak internet recipes but yours is perfect! Delicious and just the right consistency for spreading/filling
Jess says
Lovely with Mary Berry’s cupcake recipe