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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.

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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.
4.88 from 8 votes
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Active Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
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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.
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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. lisa says

    May 16, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    These might be a really stupid question, but do you need to use butter not marg to make butter cream? I used marg and it was runny.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 16, 2018 at 9:00 pm

      Yes, I find marg is too soft. It will firm up if you refrigerate it but I find butter much easier to get the right consistency.

  2. Chloé says

    February 25, 2018 at 3:02 pm

    Can you half this recipe??
    BTW love the idea

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      February 27, 2018 at 9:22 pm

      Yes. As long as you keep the ratio of the ingredients the same you can make as much or as little as you like.

  3. Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says

    January 10, 2018 at 10:20 am

    5 stars
    Perfect buttercream. I made it back in December as a filling for my son’s birthday cake and also used leftovers on some cupcakes. Simply heaven! 🙂

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      January 11, 2018 at 10:15 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, I hope your son had a lovely birthday x

  4. Janet says

    December 23, 2017 at 11:31 am

    Can the cakes be frozen once decorated with this buttercream?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      December 31, 2017 at 5:50 pm

      I’ve not tried it – sorry.

  5. Inaayah says

    December 11, 2017 at 8:55 pm

    Hi Charlotte,

    I’m looking forward to making this on Saturday for a 40th birthday layer cake. I just want to ask does this buttercream crust over? Would really appreciate your response! X

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      December 11, 2017 at 9:43 pm

      It does a bit but not as much as a standard buttercream as the Nutella keeps it softer.

  6. Robert says

    November 18, 2017 at 10:56 am

    Thank you for this recipe Charlotte!!
    I was making a birthday cake and was lost for motivation for a good nutella dressing.
    FYI, the kids loved it!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      November 19, 2017 at 7:49 pm

      Mine too! 🙂

  7. Bugi says

    October 24, 2017 at 9:52 am

    Wow wow this is lovely… What nozzle did u use? And how many cupcakes did it cover?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      October 24, 2017 at 6:58 pm

      Aaargh, I’m so sorry I don’t have that tip any more as I bent it and it stopped piping nicely so I’m not too sure. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.

  8. Jessica says

    October 13, 2017 at 2:14 am

    I’d really like to try your recipe but could not find how to convert it to American units! I feel so silly but can you help me out? We measure in table & teaspoons,& cups
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      October 15, 2017 at 7:18 pm

      3/4 cup butter
      3/4 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
      1 cup + 2 tbsp nutella
      A little milk

  9. Boyan Minchev says

    July 03, 2017 at 9:51 am

    This Nutella buttercream dessert is amazing, thank you for sharing this recipe with us.

    Reply
  10. Emma @ The Happy Journal says

    February 14, 2017 at 4:36 pm

    I can vouch for how great this recipe is. Just typed in Nutella Butter Icing to Google and this was the first one that came up. The quantities of the ingredients were perfect (although I ended up using less Nutella as it was all I had) and the texture is light and fluffy. I hope my fiance will be happy with his birthday cake! I would definitely recommend!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      February 15, 2017 at 12:16 pm

      That’s fantastic. I hope your fiancé has a lovely birthday x

  11. Rena Heath says

    November 29, 2016 at 5:40 am

    Do the cupcakes need to be refrigerated with this frosting or can they be left out?

    Thx!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      November 29, 2016 at 9:39 pm

      Technically you should probably keep them in the fridge as there’s butter in the buttercream but I’ve kept them out for a day or so and not had any problems.

  12. Vanessa Amador says

    November 11, 2016 at 5:08 pm

    what if you cant get icing sugar… will powdered sugar work??

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      November 12, 2016 at 11:08 pm

      Yes, they’re the same thing with different names in different countries.

  13. Hollie says

    October 25, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    Hi Charlotte! I planned to make a hazelnut praline buttercream to fill a chocolate cake but won’t have the time – does this taste hazelnutty or will there be too many chocolate flavours going on?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      October 26, 2016 at 9:14 am

      It tastes just like Nutella but with a lighter texture so it depends whether Nutella is hazelnutty enough for you. If definitely has a more hazelnutty flavour than my chocolate buttercream.

  14. Surbhi says

    September 07, 2016 at 12:21 am

    Hey Charlotte, would you recommend Nutella buttercream only on a chocolate/Nutella cupcake or would it go well with vanilla too?

    Thanks
    Surbhi

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      September 07, 2016 at 6:17 pm

      It would go brilliantly on a vanilla cupcake. The reason I posted it on it’s own rather than with the cupcakes was to encourage people to add it to whatever they wanted rather than just sticking to the Nutella cupcakes I made.

  15. Kate - gluten free alchemist says

    May 29, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    Yep. Nutella is great in creams and buttercreams! Love the swirly piping too xx

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 30, 2016 at 8:11 am

      Thanks Kate, it’s the only style of piping I can do so I really need to get on and learn some more!

  16. Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says

    May 18, 2016 at 11:02 am

    Ooh your nutella buttercream sounds (and looks) delicious Charlotte. Your iced roses are fab too….i really must practice my piping skills!
    Angela x

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 19, 2016 at 4:32 pm

      Thanks Angela. I need to practice mine too as that’s the only thing I can pipe! Take a look at the tutorial on Gym Bunny Mummy, that’s where I learnt to do it from – it’s really simple.

  17. Martin @ The Why Chef says

    May 17, 2016 at 9:44 am

    That cup of pure buttercream is criminal! I need it in my life! Just need an excuse to make it now… ‘Tuesday’s’ are a thing to celebrate, right?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 19, 2016 at 4:36 pm

      It’s a very dangerous thing to make, far too tempting!

  18. Emma @ Supper in the Suburbs says

    May 16, 2016 at 8:28 pm

    Omg this is genius why have I never done this?! Looks amazing

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 19, 2016 at 4:37 pm

      Good question! You really should make some as soon as you can 🙂

  19. The Purley Girly says

    May 16, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    Yummy! This buttercream sounds incredible. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 16, 2016 at 4:29 pm

      Thanks, I’ve got a little bit leftover in the fridge and I’m having to try very hard not to go and eat it all up!

  20. Juventia | Foodiestory.com says

    May 16, 2016 at 9:45 am

    Oh I love the shape of those roses. Love your piping skill! I can never make it look that pretty!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      May 16, 2016 at 10:04 am

      Thanks Juvenita. It’s the only piping I can do, I really should learn some more styles. It’s actually really easy, if you take a look at my vanilla buttercream post there’s a link to the tutorial I learnt from.

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