Baking

Nutella Cupcakes recipe

Name: Nutella Cupcakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 230g plain flour (I use organic); 1 tsp baking powder (4g); ⅓ tsp bicarbonate of soda (2g); 150g sour cream; 100g milk (dairy or plant-based); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 105g room temperature butter (I use salted); 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil (15ml); 170g caster sugar; ¼ tsp salt (I use kosher); 1 egg plus 1 yolk (70g); 200g Nutella

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Vanilla and Nutella cupcakes that remain soft three days after baking.

Prep20m
Cook20m
Total40m

cake chocolate cupcakes vegetarian

The Nutella Cupcake recipe I posted years ago has been bugging me. It’s now had a complete overhaul. Honest, no holds barred feedback has been sought at every stage (from kids too, who are the best testers because they won’t lie to spare your feelings).

My research included a massive trawl through a hundred Nutella cake recipes. I now realise that baking with Nutella is tricky. Even the most well reviewed recipes have displeased someone, somewhere.

I’ve made so many of these cakes because my new criteria is strict: enough structure to keep the Nutella aloft, but also softness. And no oiliness.

This recipe borrows from Nicola Lamb’s Marble Cake (the book version); you’ll need to separate an egg but the ingredient ratios are key. Egg whites are considered tougheners (slightly more so than yolks) so one-egg-plus-one-yolk is deliberate.

Finally, finally, I’m happy with the texture of this cake. Anyone who lives within a 10 mile radius of me has surely eaten one. They remain light and moist on days 2 and 3. Thank you, sour cream.

Shout out to my most important cake tester, Luna, aged 7, who declared her cake “VERY YUMMY” and awarded it 100 out of 1000, which I’m taking in the spirit it was intended ♥ Thank you, Luna!

Lastly, I wouldn’t usually ask you to follow the instructions to the letter — I hardly ever do — but this is a fickle recipe and trial and error has taught me a lot. So, as a heads-up:

Don’t overmix at any stage — when creaming the butter and sugar together and when stirring wet ingredients into dry. Over-mixing makes for a doughy texture.
Room temperature ingredients mix better.
Add 1 teaspoon of Nutella to the centre of the batter. It’s disappointing when the inside of the cake is just plain vanilla.
Use good quality flour. I’ve found that plain flour (plus raising agents) is more reliable than self-raising.
For the best rise, start with a high oven temperature then turn the heat down. This helps to form a slightly domed top. Sunken cupcakes still taste good but don’t look as appealing.

Notes

Nicola Lamb provides the milk measurement in grams so I have too. It makes sense as you just weigh it alongside the other ingredients.

Recipe credit

Loosely based on Nicola Lamb’s Marble Cake with Chocolate Frosting (I’ve omitted the frosting and cocoa) and Sweetly Cakes Nutella Muffins.

Recipe

Nutella Cupcakes

Prep20m
Cook20m
Total40m

Makes: 12

Ingredients

230g plain flour (I use organic)
1 tsp baking powder (4g)
⅓ tsp bicarbonate of soda (2g)
150g sour cream
100g milk (dairy or plant-based)
1 tsp vanilla extract
105g room temperature butter (I use salted)
1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil (15ml)
170g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt (I use kosher)
1 egg plus 1 yolk (70g)
200g Nutella

Method

Preheat your oven to 230°C (210°C fan). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cases.
In a medium bowl, combine 230g of plain flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder (4g) and ⅓ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (2g). Whisk and set to one side.
Add 150g of sour cream, 100g of milk (not a typo - weigh the milk!) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to a jug. Set to one side.
In a large bowl, cream 105g of room temperature butter, 1 tablespoon of oil (olive or vegetable), 170g of caster sugar and a ¼ teaspoon of salt (I use kosher) together until just combined and fairly smooth. I use my hand mixer.
Whisk in 70g of eggs (1 egg plus 1 yolk).
Scatter a third of the flour over the butter mixture and stir in gently using a spatula. Repeat until the flour has been used up. Don’t mix until completely combined. The mixture will be thick with dry patches of flour throughout.
Pour the sour cream mixture into to the flour mixture. Stir gently until mostly incorporated. Don’t overmix. The batter might look lumpy with a few dried flour patches. This is fine.
Use a table spoon (i.e. for cereal, not the measuring kind) to add 1 heaped spoonful of batter to each paper case.
Add 1 teaspoon of Nutella to each case then distribute the remaining batter, covering the Nutella.
Finally, top each cake with 1 heaped teaspoon of Nutella and use a skewer to swirl it into the batter.
Bake at 230°C (210°C fan) for 5 minutes then turn the oven down to 190°C (170°C fan) for another 10-13 minutes. The internal temperature will reach 96-100°C when fully cooked. A cake tester should come out clean but skewer from the side inwards to avoid the Nutella. Store the cakes for up to 3 days in an airtight container or, alternatively, freeze them.