*This Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Hazelnut Dream Cake is truly a cake for a celebration. Layers of super-moist chocolate cake are filled with homemade nutella, frosted with smooth chocolate Italian meringue buttercream, drizzled with rich chocolate ganache, and topped with a crunchy chocolate hazelnut truffle.
Most of you probably don’t know this, but back in the day I used to be a maker of wedding cakes. And by back in the day, I mean in my earlier twenties. I loved making intricate, fondant covered masterpieces covered in sugar paste flowers and marzipan pearls.
Over the years, my love for wedding cake making has dissipated significantly. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good cake. I love pretty cakes. I love eating cakes. I would eat a cake here, I would eat a cake, there, I’d eat a cake anywhere! But my love for spending endless hours covering cakes in fondant delicacies has given way to an appreciation of simple, buttercream covered single tier cakes. They’re easier to assemble, elegant in they’re single-level simplicity, and if I’m being completely honest, much more enjoyable to eat (fondant isn’t exactly in my top 5 favorite foods. Or 500).
This Chocolate Hazelnut Dream Cake is my idea of the perfect cake. If I am going to make someone a celebratory cake of my choosing, this is the one I will pick. It is incredibly good. My favorite chocolate cake layers are stuffed with Nutella (you can use store bought or you can make your own) and then covered in the greatest frosting of all time. Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream. It’s sweet and salty and smooth and melts away into nothing within two seconds in your mouth.
Scroll past the recipe for a few notes!
- One recipe Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (or you can use store-bought Nutella or similar)
- 8-10 Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles (I used Fererro Rocher)
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder
- 2 cups Unrefined Cane Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Eggs (XL), room temperature
- 1⅓ cups Buttermilk, room temperature
- ⅔ cup Coconut Oil, melted
- ¾ cup Hot Water
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 2 cups Fine Raw Cane Sugar
- 6 Egg Whites, room temperature
- 3 cups (6 sticks) Salted Butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
- ¾ cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush 3, six inch round cake pans with melted coconut oil and line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper. Brush the parchment with melted oil, as well. Set aside.
- Place the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, and buttermilk. Add mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Add the hot water to the cake batter. Whisk until smooth and combined.
- Divide the mixture between the prepared baking pans.
- Bake cakes in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (moist crumbs attached are ok).
- Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the egde of the cakes and remove from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap and place on a level surface in the freezer.
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- FOR THE GANACHE:
- TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
- Remove cakes from freezer and peel off the parchment rounds on the bottom of each layer.
- Place one cake on a cake stand or serving plate.
- One recipe Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (or you can use store-bought Nutella or similar)
- 8-10 Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles (I used Fererro Rocher)
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder
- 2 cups Unrefined Cane Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Eggs (XL), room temperature
- 1⅓ cups Buttermilk, room temperature
- ⅔ cup Coconut Oil, melted
- ¾ cup Hot Water
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 2 cups Fine Raw Cane Sugar
- 6 Egg Whites, room temperature
- 3 cups (6 sticks) Salted Butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
- ¾ cup Dark Chocolate Chips
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush 3, six inch round cake pans with melted coconut oil and line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper. Brush the parchment with melted oil, as well. Set aside.
- Place the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut oil, and buttermilk. Add mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Add the hot water to the cake batter. Whisk until smooth and combined.
- Divide the mixture between the prepared baking pans.
- Bake cakes in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (moist crumbs attached are ok).
- Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the egde of the cakes and remove from pans. Use a serrated knife to make sure each cake layer is level. Wrap in plastic wrap and place on a level surface in the freezer.
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium/high heat. Place a metal or glass bowl on top of the pan. Add the egg whites and sugar to the bowl and whisk constantly for several minutes, until the mixture is hot to the touch and sugar has completely dissolved. When you rub the mixture between your fingers it should be smooth, not grainy.
- Pour the mixture into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and whisk on medium speed for several minutes. Once the mixture has cooled down completely, whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- With the mixer running on medium speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, until all the butter has been added and mixture is thick and creamy. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and mix in until evenly distributed.
- FOR THE GANACHE:
- Place chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring constantly once the chips begin to melt, until you have a smooth, pour-able mixture. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
- Remove cakes from freezer and peel off the parchment rounds on the bottom of each layer.
- Place one cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread a layer of chocolate hazelnut spread over the cake, making it level. Place another cake layer on top and spread chocolate hazelnut spread over it so that it is smooth and level. Place the last cake layer on top of the nutella spread, bottom side up.
- Add a crumb coat of frosting to the cake to make the whole cake smooth and even.
- Frost the cake with the remaining frosting, reserving about 1 cup of frosting. Smooth the top and sides of the cake out with a bench scraper or off-set spatula. Since the cake layers are frozen, the frosting should firm up quite quickly. When the smoothed frosting is cold, add a few swipes of chocolate hazelnut spread randomly around the cake. Smooth the spread out with the spatula, giving the cake a tone on tone watercolor look.
- Drizzle the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides a little bit. Place in the fridge.
- When the ganache has set, remove from fridge and place the remaining frosting in a piping bag fitted with a Large French Star Tip. Pipe rounds of frosting around the top of the cake, two high.
- Top each frosting mound with a truffle.
- Refrigerate until service.
NOTES:
*This cake is easiest to assemble when the cake layers are frozen. When you spread the buttercream on the cake and begin to smooth it, the frosting will begin to firm up, making is easier to smooth evenly and to swipe the Nutella on the outside of the frosting for a streaked effect.
*When making the frosting, make sure that your sugar is completely dissolved into the egg whites before whipping. If the sugar is still grainy it will throw off the texture and you will not be able to achieve stiff enough peaks.
*Let this cake sit out at room temperature for an hour or two before cutting, if it’s being refrigerated prior to service. The Nutella may be hard to cut through if it’s been chilled too firmly. Use a hot, wet knife to cut the cleanest slices!
This cake is just perfect and I love your photography, beautiful photos!
Thank you for the kind comment, Lili! I appreciate it!
!!!!! Speechless and Stunned don’t even begin to cover how I feel about this masterpiece! Wow, just WOW!
Haha, you’re so sweet, Tori! Thank you for the kind comment!
A completely glorious cake from top to bottom! Is there anything better than Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. Beautiful photography.
Thank you so much for the sweet comments, Di! xo
Just stunning! I adore anything hazelnut so this cake is a dream!
Thank you so much, Laura! Hazelnut & Chocolate are where it’s AT! =)
What a beautiful cake and post – gorgeous pics! I think I can say with confidence I could happily eat that whole cake myself, chocolate and hazelnut is one of my all time favourite combinations – thanks for the recipe – off to pin 🙂
Thank you so much, Patricia! I’m with you on the whole cake eating thing!
This is a beautiful cake and awesome pics as always.
I would like to try it, but I have a question what kind of cocoa are you using in the cake regular or Dutch Process cocoa powder ?.
Thank you Lourdes! I actually used raw cacao powder to make this, but you could use any kind of cocoa powder.
I gotta say I prefer fondant covered cakes over buttercream but this one is just amazing! Simple but elegant! Just beautiful and the pictures are fab!
Thanks for the kind comment, Julia!
I need a BIG slice of this!! Chocolate cake is my absolute favourite. In awe of your beautiful photography.
How deep are the 6 inch pans you used? This cake looks fabulous! My Nutella loving daughter wants this for her 11th birthday. 🙂 Beautiful photography!
Thank you Angela! My pans are 3″ deep 🙂
OH wow! If I can’t find whole wheat flour can I use cake or AP flour? Will the texture and stability be the same? I was JUST looking for a chocolate hazelnut cake recipe! So excited to try this!!!!!
Yes! AP flour will work just fine in this cake 🙂
Looking for a beautiful but delicious cake for my daughter’s sweet 16 Birthday party this cake looks awesome ! Hope it’s not to difficult to make..
Thanks Gina! I don’t think it’s too hard to make, just takes a bit of patience 😉
Tthis cake is simply gorgeous. I love the streaks of nutella in the frosting. I know it would not look at beautiful as yours but if i used two 9″ cake pans how should I change the baking temp and time? If I slice the 2 layers I could make a four layer to give it more height and stuff with more nutella! Thank you so much for this recipe. Looking forward to making it.
Thank you so much, Donna! You could do 9″ pans, you would just need to cut the baking time down a bit. The cake won’t be very tall, however. I would suggest xing the recipe by 1/2 and baking three 9″ cakes instead if you are wanting it to have the height.
Hi! Planning to make this beaut tomorrow! In the event I dont have 6” pans, can I use 2- 8” instead? Not sure if that’ll mess up the baking time.
yes! two eight inch pans will work, just watch the cakes and maybe reduce the cook time a little. Hope you like!
Truly this is a dream cake
… I’m gonna make this for my boyfriend’s birthday
Thank you Sudeshna! Happy birthday to your boyfriend, I hope he likes the cake if you end up making it =)
It’s amazing. I’m truly impressed:)
Stunning! Do you have a recipe for the chocolate hazelnut spread or did you use the commercial stuff?
You bet! Here is the recipe link: https://www.thekitchenmccabe.com/2016/02/04/chocolate-hazelnut-spread-gluten-dairy-refined-sugar-free/
Was wondering if anyone had an issue making the frosting? Followed the instructions to a T, but it just became the consistency or marshmallow fluff.
Ah. I looked at your note again. I thought I dissolved the sugar completely (checked it and everything), guess not?
Hi Kris!
Actually, if your frosting turned out more like marshmallow fluff it is most likely that the whipped egg white and sugar mixture was too warm when the butter was added to it, so it made the butter melt causing the frosting to be a bit runny. If your butter was too soft to begin with, that could have caused it too. I would suggest adding the butter in a softened, yet still slightly cool state. This frosting is a bit technical! Xo
Ok. Will try this next time. Thanks!
When making the frosting would I be able to whisk it to stiff peaks by hand. It looks amazing!! I’m making this cake for my brothers sixteenth birthday tomorrow!! Thankyou so much x
Hi Amy! Yes, you could whip to stiff peaks using a hand with, it will just take a long time. Happy birthday to your brother!
Hello, what can I substitute Himalyan salt with?
Any other salt will work =)
Thanks so much 🙂 going to make this beauty today!
Wondering if the frosting keeps well in the fridge if I wanted to make it a few days in advance. Or is it not recommended? Thanks!
I would not recommend making the frosting ahead of time, simply because it firms up a LOT when refrigerated. You could try setting it at room temperature for several hours before using it but the texture may not be quite the same as when it is fresh made. If you do make it ages of time, let me know how it works out! 🙂
Hi,How big is the cake?
Is it possible for 15 people to finish it?
Wow, this is a dream! I love how you added the hazelnut truffle at the top, those are my favorite candies!!
This cake looks divine and I desperately want to make it for my birthday, however i have two questions.
Will cake flour work? Also i cant find cane sugar where i am in Australia, what can i substitute it with please?
If I use the nutella spread, how much do I use for each layer? Thanks!
You can use as much as you like, just as long as the cake layers stay even =)
Hi! For the frosting, can I use unsalted butter instead? And how much salted must i add then?
Thank you!
Hi. This cake is amazing. I want to try and make it this week. Do you know how much store bought Nutella I would need?
Just a regular sized jar should suffice. You can fill the layers with as much or little Nutella as you like 🙂
Hi your cake looks amazing!! Can I check what was the oven setting? Did you use the oven fan and was it top and bottom heat? Thanks!
I love these tall exquisite cakes….BUT, WHERE do I get a box tall enough to take it anywhere?????
I want to make this cake for a friend’s birthday. She is not a fan of very sweet dessert. I wonder how sweet is the frosting? And I wonder if I could put powdered sugar for the frosting?! I read your note about the sugar being dissolved before whipping and thought is puting powdered sugar would help? Thank you so much for your time. The cake and pictures look amazing!
Hello! How is it Nutella Stuffed? Thank you ! … making it now! Excited to see results <3
Hello! I can’t seem to find whole wheat flour around me, can I use wholemeal flour. And is it a self raising flour? Thank you!
Hi! Whole wheat flour is not self-raising, just simply ground wheat berries. You could use oat flour in it’s place, or all-purpose, too =)
I’m going to make this for my sons birthday this weekend. I hav a question about the two types of cane sugar. What’s the difference between fine raw cane sugar and unrefined? Thanks for your help.
They are both unrefined, fine is simply a smaller crystal.
Hi! Congrats for your recipe, looks delicious.
I am going to cook this cake tomorrow. Could you tell me any easiest way to make the frosting? Is there other recipe without cooked egg whites? I am not good with heat+eggs (I scramble everything! Haha)
And where sall I add the nutella? I can’t see it on the list. Is is for the frosting? And how much nutella?
🙂 sorry you have answered this already there are so many comments. Thank you!
Where do I find unrefined cane sugar in Australia? Is this cake sickly sweet or ok with the nut/chocolate combination
It took my breath away… Could I use caster sugar instead of cane sugar or that may spoil the cake?
Thanks you! Caster sugar will work fine =)
This looks amazing! I’m going to try to convert it to Gluten Free. Wish me luck and please, if you have any tips I am open to suggestions.
This looks incredible..My husband’s birthday is on next week. I may make this.
🙂
Please share if you have any other birthday cake recipe.