Starting this week with a touch of decadence in the form of this Nutella chocolate cake.
Consisting of three layers of chocolate cake, filled and coated with a Nutella French buttercream then finished with a chocolate drip, hazelnuts and ferrero rochers. It’s super simple and really straight forward, once you have everything made that is.
This is certainly one for those who love chocolate, every element of this cake has chocolate to it – which could be overkill to some people but not to others, all depends about your personal preference I suppose.
Anyway, lets get started, shall we?
Ingredients:
Cake:
345g granulated sugar.
200g plain flour.
50g cocoa powder.
1.5 tsp baking powder.
1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda.
200ml whole milk.
45ml vegetable oil.
3 eggs.
1.5 tsp vanilla extract.
Buttercream:
250g granulated sugar.
65ml water.
70g egg yolks.
1 whole egg.
500g butter, room temperature.
Drip:
60g dark chocolate chips.
40g milk chocolate.
100ml double cream.
Decoration:
Chopped hazelnuts.
Ferrero rocher.
Method:
Cake:
Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep work. Starting by weighing up all of your ingredients, preheating your oven to 180˚/350˚f and get any equipment you may need ready, such a mixing bowl and whisk. Don’t forget to line your 3×6 inchbaking pans with parchment.
To start on the recipe, you’ll want to start by placing the granulate sugar, plain flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, passing though a sieve first to remove any lumps that may be in the dry mix. Once they have been sifted, whisk together with a whisk – set aside until needed later on.
Into another mixing bowl you’ll want to combine the wet ingredients, which are the milk, vegetable oil, chocolate and vanilla extract, whisk them together until everything is fully combined.
You can then add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until everything is combined and you have a semi thick cake batter – it should look slightly granular, this is normal.
Now you can take the boiling water and add it into the cake batter – this may sound unconventional but for this recipe it works and makes the best chocolate cake recipe.
For ease, you can transfer the cake batter into a jug. This is optional and can be poured from the mixing bowl.
Take your cake tins that have been lined with parchment and pour the batter into them – distributing the cake batter equally between the can tins, as this helps them raise the perfect amount once baked. Once all of your tins have been filled, you can transfer the pan into your preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre.
Buttercream:
To start on the buttercream recipe, grab a small-medium saucepan and place in the water and granulated sugar and mix the two until combined, then place on the hob over a medium-high heat. You want this mixture to reach 121˚c, it takes a short while.
While you’re waiting for your mixture to come up to temperature, you can work on the egg part.
Whisk together the egg yolks and whole egg over a medium-high speed until everything is combined and the mixture is a pale yellowish colour and increased a significant amount.
Once your sugar mixture has come up to 121˚c, you can remove it from the heat and steadily pour it over the egg mixture over a low speed. Once all the mixture has been added, crank the speed upto a high and whisk until you can touch the bottom of the bowl with the back of your hand.
Now that the mixture has whisked together and is cool enough, you can start adding your butter, piece by piece. At first, you may notice the mixture looks quite loose and this is normal. As the butter is added and incorporated, the mixture will thicken and start looking like a buttercream.
Add in the Nutella and whisk until everything has been fully incorporated.
If you think the mixture is too loose, don’t worry. Continue to mix it over a high speed until it thickens and place in the fridge and chill until firm. When you need it, remove from the fridge around 60 minutes before you intend on using it, this will ensure it comes up to room temperature.
Assembly:
To start the assembly of the cake, take your plate/stand/board and smear a small amount of the buttercream into the centre of it. This will act like the glue, keeping the cake secured in place. Place your first layer off cake on, pressing it down just to secure it in place.
Then you can go ahead and layer on the buttercream generously, spread and level it as best you possibly can.
Coat the entire cake in a generous layer of buttercream. Smooth and level it out as best you possibly can, you may need to go over some parts more than a few times to achieve the perfect finish.
Around the bottom edge of the cake, you can apply an uneven line of chopped hazelnuts, just to add more flavour, texture and colour.
If you’re using a drip, apply it at this stage. To make this, simply take 60g dark chocolate chips, 40g milk chocolate chips and 100ml double cream and heat for 1 minute in the microwave. Stir until melted and smooth, then use, I like to let mine chill a little first and apply to a cake that has been chilled.
Reserve enough buttercream to pipe rosettes on top of the cake. This is an ideal way to add height and make your cake look more professional – trust me, it works.
Then to finish the cake, you’ll want to place a whole Ferrero Rocher onto the top of each rosette – then you’re done. A very quick, easy and straightforward method and recipe for a gorgeous celebration cake – it’s not the most creative recipe but when it comes to chocolate, it speaks for itself.
That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.
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