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.
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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.
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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
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.
Anne says
19 July 2019 at 4:47 pmJust made this to cover my son’s Paw Patrol cake. Perfect thank you!
Anna says
1 April 2019 at 11:15 pmI 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!
Charlotte Oates says
3 April 2019 at 11:37 amThat sounds amazing! I hope your son had a lovely birthday.
Christina says
20 September 2018 at 2:46 amHi there. This is delicious! How many grams result from one batch of the recipe?
Charlotte Oates says
20 September 2018 at 1:08 pmOne batch of this recipe yields around 700g of buttercream
Shah says
14 August 2018 at 5:04 amHi!!
This looks amazing! W8ll the piping stay in humid weather if used for cake decorating?
Charlotte Oates says
14 August 2018 at 1:23 pmIt 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.
kelera says
18 June 2018 at 11:10 amwhat would the grams be in cups
Charlotte Oates says
19 June 2018 at 9:26 amIf 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.
Zara says
14 June 2018 at 12:49 pmI used this buttercream to decorate my daughter’s birthday cake and as you might expect it tastes crazy good and also is a good consistency for piping
Jaboo Hussain says
22 May 2018 at 6:02 pmHi
Can I make this the night before?
Charlotte Oates says
22 May 2018 at 9:03 pmIt 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
23 May 2018 at 7:14 pmThanks for the advice. I’ll make before I need it then.