• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Charlotte's Lively Kitchen logo

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Baking & Desserts
      • Biscuits & Bars
      • Cakes
      • Cheesecakes
      • Chocolates
      • Cupcakes
      • Icing
      • Ingredients
      • Jams, Curds & Spreads
      • Meringues
      • Savoury Baking
      • Scones
      • Sweet Sauces
      • Vegan Baking
    • Lunch & Dinner
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Breakfast
    • Drinks
  • Conversions
    • Grams to Cups Conversions
    • Oven Temperature Conversions
    • All Baking Tools
  • The Food Calendar
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • HOME
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • – BAKING & DESSERTS
  • – LUNCH & DINNER
  • – SIDE DISHES & SAUCES
  • – BREAKFAST
  • – DRINKS
  • CONVERSIONS
  • CALENDAR
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • PRIVACY
×
Home » Baking & Desserts » Icing » Nutella Buttercream

15 May 2016

Nutella Buttercream

58.4K shares

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!

Skip to the recipe

A piping bag full of Nutella buttercream surrounded by Nutella cupcakes topped with Nutella buttercream roses.

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.

This morning I’m mostly testing my willpower 😋 Must photograph cupcakes, must not eat cupcakes, must not eat cupcakes, must not eat…

A photo posted by Charlotte Oates (@charlotteslivelykitchen) on May 10, 2016 at 3:51am PDT

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.

Nutella buttercream bing piped onto a Nutella cupcake.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.

A glass full of piped Nutella buttercream with a jar of Nutella in the background.

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-8

Nutella Buttercream

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! Recipe VIDEO below.
4.89 from 9 votes
Print Rate Save Go to Collections
Active Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Prevent your screen from going dark

INGREDIENTS

Metric - US Cups/Ounces
  • 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

 
This recipe makes enough for 12 buttercream cupcake roses or for a thin covering over a 20cm round sandwich cake with a layer in the middle.
I've piped this buttercream onto my delicious 3-ingredients Nutella cupcakes. Take a look at my mix-and-match cupcake index for a selection of other cupcake and buttercream flavours.
WANT TO HEAR ABOUT NEW RECIPES FIRST?SUBSCRIBE to the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen Mailing List

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 122mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 365IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1.3mg

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.


A close up of a glass full of piped Nutella buttercream with a jar of Nutella in the background.

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.

Nutella buttercream being piped onto a Nutella cupcake.

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!

58.4K shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    November 05, 2022 at 4:12 pm

    5 stars
    Fantastic buttercream, not overly sweet with just the right amount of Nutella flavour. I could eat this straight from the bowl

    Reply
  2. Holly says

    February 25, 2022 at 6:28 pm

    Can I freeze this buttercream?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      February 27, 2022 at 11:49 pm

      Yes, you can freeze buttercream but it will need to be rewhipped once thawed.

  3. Angela says

    September 16, 2021 at 10:27 am

    This looks very yummy! I’m planning to make it to fill as a thin layer and coat an 8inch vanilla cake. In terms of time and storing, would I be able to use it on a cake the night before it will be eaten and store in fridge? Also not planning to pipe but just spread it as adding some edible decorations on it which i can do the morning of day it will be eaten. Would that work out OK? Very much a first time baker here.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      September 16, 2021 at 10:06 pm

      You’re absolutely fine to do it the day before.

  4. Helen says

    July 18, 2021 at 4:02 am

    5 stars
    This icing tasted amazingly good, was very easy to make and looked great on top of our cupcakes. Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Orla says

    June 14, 2021 at 11:44 am

    5 stars
    Beautiful buttercream! I’m the person that wipes most buttercream off cupcakes as I find it sickening but not this! If you like Nutella you’ll love this!

    Reply
  6. Laura says

    June 07, 2021 at 9:53 am

    Hi,
    what brand of icing sugar do you recommend?thanks

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      June 07, 2021 at 11:43 am

      I use whichever they have in the supermarket. The one I currently have in my cupboards is Silver Spoon.

  7. Rachael says

    November 24, 2020 at 7:46 pm

    Hi,

    If there is buttercream left over can it be frozen 🙂

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      November 25, 2020 at 1:53 pm

      I’ve not tried freezing this particular buttercream but I would expect it to be OK. You may find it’s a little stiff after defrosting. If it is, you’ll need to beat in a little more milk to soften it.

  8. Amita says

    November 16, 2020 at 10:06 pm

    Can I use the Nutella Buttercream under fondant

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      November 17, 2020 at 8:34 am

      You can, it doesn’t crust like some buttercreams so don’t make it too thick, but I’ve used it and it’s worked well.

  9. Amita says

    November 14, 2020 at 9:49 pm

    I’m planning on making a 2 layer 7 inch round cake. Will the quantities above for the Nutella buttercream be enough to fill and crumb coat this cake before I cover with fondant

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      November 16, 2020 at 9:06 pm

      It depends on how thick you want your buttercream, but I would expect it to be enough.

  10. Frances Henry says

    August 27, 2020 at 2:38 pm

    I’m a first timer.
    I’ve baked the two layers of cake and they are currently cooling.
    I want to do a layer of swirls then a layer on top. You said the ingredients you listed would do a layer cake thinly. I would like to make a lot, without doubling the amounts so I’ve some to practice and then plenty to decorate. What amounts do you think I should increase too?
    Many thanks
    Frances

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      August 28, 2020 at 12:34 pm

      What size is you cake?

  11. Claire Kaye says

    July 01, 2020 at 6:32 pm

    Would this work with a vanilla madeira cake recipe?
    And also if I needed the outer icing to be yellow what would you recommend? Inside and outside different? What would taste OK together? Thanks

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      July 01, 2020 at 7:09 pm

      Yes it will work with a vanilla Madeira cake. For the outside I’d recommend a vanilla buttercream or a white chocolate buttercream. Both will go well.

  12. Tam says

    December 10, 2019 at 11:21 am

    5 stars
    This buttercream reminded me how much I love Nutella. Perfectly sweet, but not too sickly, and tastes just like Nutella but creamier. Used to ice some Kinder Bueno cupcakes on top of some chocolate sponge. Will be making again!

    Reply
  13. Andre says

    September 05, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    I just made it and I covered my husband’s cake for his feast!!! What can I say. Wonderful recipe!!!!!

    Reply
  14. Anne says

    July 19, 2019 at 4:47 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this to cover my son’s Paw Patrol cake. Perfect thank you!

    Reply
  15. Anna says

    April 01, 2019 at 11:15 pm

    5 stars
    I made this to fill and coat a chocolate cake for my son’s birthday. I topped the cake with dark chocolate ganache and decorated it with Ferrero Rocher, Malteasers, wafer rolls and chocolate coated biscuit sticks. It was delicious and not too sweet. My daughter has requested I make it for her birthday too!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      April 03, 2019 at 11:37 am

      That sounds amazing! I hope your son had a lovely birthday.

  16. Christina says

    September 20, 2018 at 2:46 am

    5 stars
    Hi there. This is delicious! How many grams result from one batch of the recipe?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      September 20, 2018 at 1:08 pm

      One batch of this recipe yields around 700g of buttercream

  17. Shah says

    August 14, 2018 at 5:04 am

    Hi!!
    This looks amazing! W8ll the piping stay in humid weather if used for cake decorating?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      August 14, 2018 at 1:23 pm

      It depends on just how hot and humid it’s going to be. if you’d expect butter to go funny where you are then the buttercream probably will too (as butter is such a major ingredient). Try and keep them refrigerated for a long as possible if you are making them somewhere humid.

  18. kelera says

    June 18, 2018 at 11:10 am

    4 stars
    what would the grams be in cups

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      June 19, 2018 at 9:26 am

      If you look just below the ingredients list in the recipe it says “US Cups/Ounces”. If you click there you’ll find the cups measurements.

  19. Jaboo Hussain says

    May 22, 2018 at 6:02 pm

    Hi
    Can I make this the night before?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 22, 2018 at 9:03 pm

      It tends to crust over as it sets to its best to make it just before decorating. It will keep for a few days on a decorated cake though.

    • Jaboo hussain says

      May 23, 2018 at 7:14 pm

      Thanks for the advice. I’ll make before I need it then.

« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe




Primary Sidebar

Charlotte Oates about me

Hi, I'm Charlotte Oates. Welcome to my lively kitchen where I share delicious, simple baking recipes, baking tools and calculators, and lots of tips and tricks.

Find out more
Facebook logo - when clicked this will open the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen Facebook page Pinterest logo - when clicked this will open the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen - Pinterest page Instagram logo - when clicked this will open the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen Instagram page Twitter logo - when clicked this will open the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen twitter page

Latest Post

  • The Food Calendar 2023 – International & UK Food Days, Weeks and Months

Featured Recipes

  • Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
  • Biscoff Cake
  • Oreo Cheesecake (No-Bake)
  • Chocolate Orange Cake
  • Easy Lemon Cake (All-In-One Lemon Sponge)
  • Easy Lemon Cheesecake (No Bake)
  • Lemon Buttercream
  • Easy Coffee Cake
  • White Chocolate Buttercream
  • Coffee Buttercream

Footer

About

Contact

Privacy Policy

↑ back to top

Copyright © 2022 CLK Digital Limited