This homemade Nutella frosting is unbelievably creamy and made from 6 simple ingredients. It holds its shape when piped and tastes fantastic on chocolate cupcakes, pumpkin cake, vanilla cake, and so much more.
Not in the mood for chocolate buttercream, but still crave something totally rich and indulgent? Let me take care of that for you. This Nutella frosting has a lighter chocolate taste from the Nutella, plus irresistible hazelnut and vanilla flavors. It pairs perfectly with chocolate, vanilla, mocha, pumpkin, banana, and basically any other flavor cake flavor.
As far as texture goes, it reminds me of the filling from my dark chocolate mousse cake. Creamy and airy, but decadently rich. One spoonful and you’ll lose all self control. Trust me, I know from experience!
Nutella Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: Start with room temperature butter here. Remember that room temperature butter is cooler than you think. If the butter is too warm, the frosting will taste greasy.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Confectioner’s sugar is the bulk of this frosting, sweetening it and binding the ingredients together.
- Nutella: Chocolate hazelnut spread is the star of the show today. Tip: if you’re not using a fresh jar, the Nutella can get a little thick and clumpy. Make sure you give it a good stir before measuring and using in this recipe.
- Heavy Cream or Milk: Liquid thins out and adds creaminess to the frosting. You can use heavy cream or milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds incredible flavor.
- Salt: A pinch of salt offsets all the sweetness.
What Tastes Best with Nutella Frosting?
- Mocha Cupcakes (pictured)
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- White Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
- Banana Cupcakes & Banana Cake
- Pumpkin Cake
- Vanilla Cake (make 1.5x frosting)
- Zebra Cake (make 1.5x frosting)
- Valentine’s Day Cupcakes (swirling this Nutella frosting with strawberry buttercream frosting!)
Browse my cake recipes and cupcake recipes for more flavor inspiration. The frosting recipe below is enough for 12-16 cupcakes, a quarter sheet cake, or a 2 layer cake. For a 3 layer cake, I recommend 1.5x the recipe to ensure you have enough for each layer.
If you’re into fun frosting flavors, be sure to try my chai spice buttercream frosting next!
Use Leftover Nutella For:
- Nutella Brownies
- Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Truffles
- Nutella Babka
- Lace Cookies
- Nutella Tart
- Nutella Swirl Cheesecake Bars
- Nutella Crinkle Cookies
Nutella Frosting
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Description
This homemade Nutella frosting is unbelievably creamy and made from 6 simple ingredients. It holds its shape when piped and tastes fantastic on chocolate cupcakes, pumpkin cake, vanilla cake, and so much more.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (460g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup (225g) Nutella
- 1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add confectioners’ sugar, Nutella, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I always add 1/8 teaspoon salt.)
- Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Optional Piping Tips (affiliate links): Two of my favorite piping tips are the Wilton 1M tip and the Wilton #12 round tip. Both are used in the photos above. If piping the frosting, you’ll also need a piping bag (reusable or disposable).
- Quantity: This recipe is enough for 12-16 cupcakes, a thin layer on a 9×13 inch quarter sheet cake, or a 2 layer cake. For a 3 layer cake, I recommend 1.5x the recipe to ensure you have enough for each layer.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My wife and I just tried your birthday cupcakes with this Nutella icing. We were blown away. Thank you for publishing your recipies.
So glad you enjoyed them, Scott!
This frosting is the best frosting I’ve ever had! I don’t like frosting- I usually scrape it off any dessert to get to “the good stuff” but this frosting steals the show! I used the Chocolate cupcakes with Nutella frosting recipe on your website and made a three layer 6-in cake with the batter, topped with this frosting and it was FABULOUS! I cut the powdered sugar in half (only used 2 cups) and kept everything else the same.
This frosting was way too sweet for my tastes. I used about 100g less than what the recipe called for because of other comments on the sweetness. Still too sweet even with the reduction in powdered sugar. Next time I’ll try half as much sugar
Love this topping, nearly ate it all before decorating my granddaughters 13 birthday cake
Hey! Just wondering if you know the serving size and calories of this recipe
Hi Allee, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Hi! Would I be able to use this for doughnut filling?
Hi Sara, you could use this frosting to fill a doughnut. Enjoy!
It tastes more like sugar than nutella. I would use more nutella or less sugar.
Exactly! It’s a good frosting, but I can barely taste the Nutella in it.
Hi Sally, I would like to use this recipe for either filling in your vertical cake. (I always use that recipe as a roll) or an icing. Would this work? If it’s a filling what would you suggest as an icing and visa versa. Everyone loves the vertical cake even if it’s not vertical. Thank you for all your recipes.
Hi Diane! This frosting may be a little thick to use as the filling for a vertical cake, but it would be great as the outside frosting layer! A Nutella, mocha or chocolate version of whipped cream would make an excellent filling. Let us know what you try!
Hi, love your recipes and use them often. I bought pistachio spread (not paste), and seems like a consistency like nutella, think this recipe would make a pistachio buttercream by swapping this out?
Hi A.M. We would start with our Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe. We have never tested this frosting with pistachio paste. However, if you wish to try it we would add it when you add the butter – start with just a small amount at first because we are unsure if the oils from the pistachios will have a negative impact on the frosting. Let us know if you give it a try.
Easy recipe with delicious results! I was just wondering if after frosting a cake, can it stay out at room temperature? Or should it be kept in the refrigerator? Thanks!
Hi Sami, we’re so glad you enjoyed the frosting! Cakes with this frosting can stay out at room temperature for a few hours, but after that we’d recommend storing in the refrigerator. You can always bring it back out to room temperature before serving any leftovers.
Can this be frozen?
Hi Denise, yes, you can freeze frosting for up to 3 months.
Fabulous recipe. I live in Italy on the Tuscan/Umbrian border (not too far from the home of the famous Perugina chocolate kisses) for half the year, where really good chocolate hazelnut spread is available. I made this because I wanted to use up the last bit of a jar of Pernigotti “gianduia nero” (black chocolate hazelnut cream). It’s less sweet and more intense, dark chocolate flavor. I used double cream and super fresh butter from a friend with cows. In sum, not the same ingredients generally available to the suburban housewife in the US who has to rely on her local chain grocery store! The result? This frosting was to die for. Perhaps because I used this dark chocolate cream, maybe it wasn’t as sweet as others have mentioned. It came together quickly and beautifully and the consistency was perfect for piping on cupcakes. Every time I have bits and bobs of leftover choc-hazelnut cream, I’m making this! I think I might try the same concept with a jar of chestnut cream that I have lurking about.
Hi Olivia, we’re so glad to hear how well this turned out for you!
Thinking of using this recipe to fill macarons for a vending event. Will I have to keep the macarons refrigerated/cold once filled or will the sugar content keep them stabilized?
Hi Dee, macarons with this filling will be fine at room temperature during your event. If you’re preparing them ahead of time, we would store them in the refrigerator until the event (up to 5 days). See our macaron recipe for more details.
Could I add cocoa powder in place of 1 cup of sugar to hold the consistency?
Hi Anna, I can’t see why not. It may begin to overpower the Nutella flavor; the hazelnut flavor may not be there anymore.
This is way too sweet for my/my family’s tastes. I measured my ingredients by weight, not volume, and I probably could have halved the amount of sugar. It also didn’t taste much of Nutella (which is sweet enough on its own). The texture is gorgeous, hence 2 stars instead of 1, but it tasted like vaguely nutella-y sugar.
Hi sally… what can I do if it has curdled?
Hi B, we’re all of your ingredients at room temperature? When ingredients are varying temperatures (i.e. if your butter was too soft/warm and the heavy cream was cold), that can often cause batter or frostings to become curdled. If you keep mixing, it should come together.
This recipe is amazing! My family raved over it and it was a huge hit! Thank you!
Is this enough icing to cover a two layer 8 inch round cake? If it’s not how do I adjust ingredients? This recipe sounds delicious and I can’t wait to make it. I just want to make sure I have enough frosting.
I am wanting to completely ice the cake and not just have a thin layer.
Hi Wendy, it’s enough for a thin layer on a 2 layer cake, so you may want to 1.5x the recipe to ensure you have enough.
I was just wondering if this would work with Biscoff instead of Nutella?
Hi Danielle, we haven’t tested that but can’t see why not!
Danielle that sounds amazing – I’m trying that next!
Awesome recipe! I put it on Strawberry Cake 🙂
Hi Sally! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’m still new to mixing icings and i’m a hit and miss with buttercreams. Seems like I tend to over beat even when I follow instructions. Do you use your kitchenAid stand mixer for the the 2mins length that you mix the butter? And is it on no.2 or 4 speed?
Hi Arianne, yes I use the mixer for the entire time. Though all mixers are different, with my 5-quart KitchenAid tilt-head stand mixer, I beat it on speed 4-5 for that initial 2 minutes.
I used this to frost a banana cake and it was so good!! My husband told me to save that recipe. He ate himself silly!
Hi sally
Could i use this to layer a stacking wedding cake please?
Thanks jess
I can’t see why not!
If I used this recipe on your “best ever” yellow cake , would the cake hold up to it? Or would the frosting be to heavy for that yellow cake recipe?
That will work just fine — delicious choice!
I used this frosting on your peanut butter cupcakes. They were amazing .
Can I use 2% milk?
Hi Kari, that should be fine!
This was my first time making frosting. It was easy and delicious
The frosting is delicious, to tone down the sweetness I reduced the icing sugar and adding some cocoa powder which resulted in a slightly darker colour but still holds its shape and not overly sweet.