The Cake Merchant

Nutella Bomb Cupcakes

Nutella Cupcakes

The original title of this post was One Bowl Cupcakes with Nutella Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting, but per my fiancé’s request, I went with a more interesting title. Actually, his exact words were, “These are my favorite cupcakes you’ve ever made. Can you please not name them something boring?” Other reactions included, “Holy @#%! these are good,” and “It’s like a Nutella bomb went off in my mouth!” Hence, Nutella Bomb Cupcakes were born.

You may be thinking that there is entirely too much frosting on these cupcakes. That’s where you’re wrong. Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a magical concoction of which there can never be too much. Unlike American Buttercream, it’s not super sweet, and there’s no powdered sugar involved. Personally, I think a one to one ratio of frosting to cake is perfect.

Nutella Cupcakes

Why did I choose Swiss Buttercream for these cupcakes? If you remember my Dark Chocolate Speculoos Truffle Cake post, Nutella, like cookie butter, is rather sweet. If you make buttercream by whipping butter with loads of powdered sugar, there’s only so much Nutella you can add before it becomes sickeningly sweet. Making a Swiss buttercream allowed me to add the better part of a jar of Nutella to the frosting- I have no shame.

This cupcake recipe is adapted from one of my favorite layer cake recipes that I used here and here. It makes a baker’s dozen- about 13 cupcakes. That’s enough for you to sneak one and still act innocent.

Nutella Cupcakes-3

The frosting recipe makes quite a lot- enough to pile it high on each cupcake. If you’d rather go easy on the frosting (but why would you?) you’ll have some left over. I don’t really understand how leftover frosting is ever a problem, but if you’re one of those practical folks, Swiss Meringue Buttercream freezes really well.

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One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Swiss Buttercream Frosting

Yield: about 13 cupcakes

Ingredients

    For the Cake:
  • 1 cup (125 grams) all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (45 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) sour cream
  • 3/4 cups (175 ml) room temperature water
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
    • For the Frosting:
  • 4 large egg whites (4 ounces, 113 grams)
  • 4 ounces (113 grams) granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 339 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into 2 inch chunks
  • 1/2 cup (130 grams) Nutella

Instructions

    For the Cake:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
  2. Line 2 muffin pans with 13 paper liners.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
  4. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk until blended.
  5. Add the water in 1/4 cup at a time and whisk until combined.
  6. Whisk in vinegar and vanilla to blend.
  7. Add the egg and whisk until combined.
  8. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure all of the ingredients are well combined.
  9. Divide the batter equally among the cupcake liners.
  10. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out almost clean (it's ok if a few crumbs stick to it, but should not look shiny).
  11. Cool completely on wire racks.
    12. For the Frosting:
  12. Combine the egg whites, sugar, and salt in a bowl (I used the bowl of my stand mixer).
  13. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water, nor should the water be at a rolling boil. It's the steam that's going to heat the egg whites, since we don't want scrambled eggs.
  14. Heat the egg white mixture until it reaches 145-150 degrees fahrenheit, whisking frequently so as not to get scrambled eggs.
  15. Remove the bowl from the heat, and whip the egg whites on medium high using the whisk attachment of your stand mixer.
  16. Whip the egg whites until they become fluffy and double in volume. The bowl should be cool to the touch (this will usually take several minutes).
  17. Turn the mixer down to medium low, and add the butter in one chunk at a time, until it has all been incorporated.
  18. If the mixture looks curdled at this point, this is normal. Just keep whipping for a few more minutes until it comes together. If the mixture looks soupy, you can add a few cubes of chilled butter, or stick the whole bowl in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes and then continue beating.
  19. Once the buttercream has become smooth, and the Nutella and beat until incorporated.
  20. Transfer the buttercream into an 18 inch piping bag and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.
https://cakemerchant.com/2014/02/12/one-bowl-chocolate-cupcakes-nutella-swiss-buttercream-frosting/

Cake recipe adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Comments

  1. These look amazing — I’ve already pinned them!! Your husband’s reaction is so cute, and probably completely deserved too. I haven’t tried Swiss buttercream, but it sounds lots better than regular American. I always spill the powdered sugar all over the counter, and I don’t really like the aftertaste it leaves in the frosting. Plus any excuse for using more Nutella is perfect in my book! 🙂

    P.S. It’s totally true about a baker’s dozen… I need that excuse to “taste test” one!

    Reply

  2. Oh my gosh!! These really do look like Nutella bomb went off. I’m so glad you listened to your man on the name. So so beautiful! And I agree with you, Swiss Meringue buttercream is just perfect when you want to make something so sweet.

    Reply

  6. haha your fiance’s reaction is amazing. Totally something I could see my husband saying. These cupcakes do sound super awesome – all that chocolate and that frosting (I love swiss meringue buttercream)!!

    Reply

  7. Lol I think your finace is onto something. Nutella bomb cupcakes definitely caught my eye! Short, sweet, and VIVID! The frosting on these is just gorgeous. Droolinggg.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Erica! Aaron is always coming up with funny names for my desserts, but I hardly ever use them. He’ll be happy to know this one was appreciated.

      Reply

  10. Ummmm these are amazing! I already made a tired “bomb” joke on Instagram, so I’ll spare you, but you should know that I’m thinking it in my head. 🙂 Swiss meringue buttercream is my favorite, I use it for almost everything–and yet I’ve never added Nutella to it! Pastry chef fail. Off to the kitchen!

    PS. Your fiance is hilarious, my husband hates my boring recipe names too. I should probably be less descriptive and shake things up a little more!

    Reply

    • I almost ended this post with, “These cupcakes are the bomb!” Great minds think alike. I’m always reluctant to shake things up with titles because I’m thinking about SEO, but I’m glad I did this time.

      Reply

  18. Thank you soooo much for this recipe!!! I just made it today and my hub has eaten almost half of them!!
    The frosting is definitely the BOMB!! I looove it!! Super easy directions!! First time ever making buttercream frosting and swiss buttercream is RiDiKilus!! It’s out of this world!! Thank u!! I’m making the spekuloos cake tomorrow. But i think the nutella is just a tinsy smidge yummier so I’m using that instead. And the cake is chocolatey good, light and fluff exactly how i like my cakes!! Thank you!!!

    Reply

  19. Hi, made these before and there delicious. Made again with different patty pans and they seemed to have dropped a lot after coming out of oven.? Also, noticed you use baking soda, not baking powder? Not sure if I’ve done anything wrong. Tried one and they still taste good.
    Ange

    Reply

    • Hi Angela,
      Sorry to hear your cupcakes fell. They may have needed a little more time in the oven, or perhaps your oven temp was too low. Do you have an oven thermometer? I used baking soda in this recipe because it reacts with the vinegar to give the cake some lift.

      Reply

  21. Hi! Just wondering what the best way is to set up the the mixing bowl over the boiling water without it touching, and approx how long does it take for them to reach the correct temp? Do you know if apple sauce would sub well for the oil?

    Thanks! They look amazing!

    Reply

    • Just make sure you have a pot that’s not too wide so you can set the bowl on top and it doesn’t touch the water at the bottom. Room temp egg whites will get to the right temp faster than cold egg whites. Also, if you use pasteurized egg whites (in the carton), you really only need to take it up to 120-140 degrees, so the process goes a little faster. I haven’t tried this particular recipe with applesauce, but it will probably affect the texture. I’d recommend trying to sub 1/2 the oil with applesauce.

      Reply

      • thanks Natasha,
        I tried and this is the best choc cupcake recipe ever.
        Love it….the recipe is simple and the cake turned out to be moist and soft.
        I cannot believe that it only needs 1 egg.
        Thanks again…

        am looking forward to get a yummy moist & soft vanilla cake now. If you have another great recipe, please share…

        thanks again,
        Evi

        Reply

    • I’ve never tried making swiss buttercream with a hand mixer before. If your hand mixer is powerful enough, you can probably so it, but it might take longer to get the meringue whipped up.

      Reply

  25. Once you’ve tried French buttercream, or Swiss Meringue buttercream, you won’t go back to the sickly sweet American kind.

    Reply

  26. Does this frosting harden like a typical buttercream (that uses powdered sugar) would? It looks “wet” almost in the photos like it would melt easily.

    Reply

    • This doesn’t crust like a powdered sugar frosting. It holds up well at room temperature, but can start to melt if you plan to transport it on a hot day.

      Reply

  27. I have made these so many times and I always get the recipie off Pinterest. This is my first time on your blog and let me just tell you, i am in love with everything here. Ive always hoped i would find a cake version of these cupcakes without having to try and make it myself and you have it! So glad i stopped by. I will definitely be making everything that you have posted. Good luck with everything and keep posting! Xx

    Reply

  28. wow these cupcakes are amazing!!! My best friend calls the recipe her secret weapon & I can see why! Made these for my birthday & the double batch did not last long…. granted people kept coming back for more! excited to try some other recipes 🙂

    Reply

  29. gave this recipe a try last night for a co-worker’s birthday and it is a winner!
    I’ll start out by saying that the consistency of the chocolate cake batter was concerning to me. It reached the consistency of a typical cake batter about half way into the process of stirring the ingredients and by the time I included all the ingredients, It seemed watery. by that point I was already committed. I used a ice cream scoop to scoop the (watery) batter into the cupcake linings. I placed them in the oven and double checked the time to bake…18-20 minutes. Hmmm…I had my doubts as I thought the consistency would probably require additional baking time so I set my timer to the max 20 minutes right off the bat and moved on to making the nutella swiss buttercream. I peeked in on the cupcakes about 10 minutes in and they seemed to be progressing nicely in the oven which helped ease my fears. I visually inspected them a few more times prior to the timer going off and all seemed well. When I pricked the cupcakes with a toothpick, to my delight, they were perfectly done. toothpick came out clean.

    my second concern with the cupcakes were the egg whites in the buttercream. I thought the egg may lend an “eggy” taste to the frosting. I took the leap of faith and decided to press on with the mission. I took great comfort in the instructions when it said that the eggs and butter mixture may have a curdling effect but to continue on, and so I did as it does what it’s told. 😉 the most difficult part about this frosting is waiting for the egg whites to reach the 145-150 degrees while continually beating the mixture over a double boiler. After that point the recipe was a breeze. I will caveat that I thought my frosting was not firm enough to be piped so I placed the entire bowl w/whisk in the fridge for 20-30 minutes then proceeded to beat the frosting once again to try and achieve a more firm product for piping. once I frosted the cupcakes I placed them in the fridge for the following morning. The cupcakes were a huge hit in the office. Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe!

    Reply

  31. I tried these a couple of years ago and they were AMAZING! I tried to do the Swiss buttercream in my Bellini Intelli. It took a long time to cool the jug though. I’m trying it again soon and might just mix over simmering water. Thanks for the recipe ☺

    Reply

Trackbacks

  4. […] Of course, there was one problem with this dessert.  It has a decided lack of chocolate in it.  Not that it needed chocolate.  You wouldn’t want it in there.  But you wouldn’t want to host Bunco without some chocolate on the menu either.  So I made a second dessert.  I made brownie bites, and I was going to frost them with this amazing nutella buttercream.  This is, honest to goodness the best frosting on the planet.  I got the recipe from the cake merchant http://cakemerchant.com/2014/02/12/one-bowl-chocolate-cupcakes-nutella-swiss-buttercream-frosting/#m… […]

    Reply

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