Two ingredients, ten minutes of prep, and it tastes like it came from a fancy dessert bar.
It's become my emergency chocolate fix right up there with my Fudgy Nutella Brownies and my Easy Chocolate Cake, minus the effort of either one.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Nutella Cake
🕒 Ready In: 35 minutes
👨👩👧 Serves: 16
🔥 Calories: 104kcal per serve
🧀 Main Ingredients: Nutella, eggs
🌿 Dietary: Gluten free (contains egg & dairy)
⭐ Why You'll Love It: Just 2 ingredients, 10 minutes of prep, and a rich fudgy result that tastes way fancier than it actually is.
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Just made it and put a few strawberry slices and blueberries on top for some freshness. Lovely, I will try it with creme fraiche too. Thank you.
- Rose M
Rose has the right idea. Fresh berries cut through the richness a treat. If you're already knee deep in the Nutella jar, my Nutella Crumble Bars, Nutella Mousse and 3 Ingredient Nutella Cookies are all worth a look too.
This one's a lot like my fudgy Nutella Brownies, dense and gooey with that same dreamy Nutella flavour. Serve it cold, warm it through with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or just drown it in cream. Having a jar of Nutella in the cupboard is basically non negotiable in my house.
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- 2 Ingredients - chances are you've got both sitting in your kitchen right now.
- 10 Minutes Prep - no creaming butter, no waiting for anything to soften.
- Naturally Gluten Free - there's no flour anywhere near this cake.
- Rich & Fudgy - it's dense, gooey and packed with chocolate hazelnut flavour in every bite.
Cake Ingredients
You need just 2 ingredients to make this rich, fudgy cake.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Nutella - or any chocolate hazelnut spread you like. It's the only flavour in this cake, so use one you actually enjoy eating off a spoon. Feeling keen? Try making your own Thermomix Nutella.
- Eggs - use large eggs (about 60g each) at room temperature. This matters more than usual here. With no flour in the mix, the air you whip into the eggs is the only thing making this cake rise at all, so cold eggs straight from the fridge will leave you with a flatter result.
Variations
- Extra fluffy version - separate your eggs and whip the whites alone until stiff peaks form, then fold them through the yolk and Nutella mixture. It's a bit more effort, but you'll get a lighter, less dense cake if that's what you're after.
- Mini cakes - divide the mixture between a greased muffin tin instead of one big tin. Bake for around 12-15 minutes, keeping an eye on them since they'll cook faster than the full-sized version.
- Topping swaps - dust with cocoa powder instead of icing sugar, or go with Rose's idea from the comments and top with fresh strawberries and blueberries.
- Grown-up version - fold a splash of Frangelico or a shot of strong coffee through the batter for a bit of a kick.
- Serve it warm - pop a slice in the microwave for a few seconds and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My Chocolate Orange Cake gets the same treatment in my house.
How To Make Nutella Cake
Just 4 easy steps and this cake is in the oven.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method.
- Step 1: Beat the eggs. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan forced) and line a 20cm cake tin. Beat the eggs with handheld beaters or a stand mixer for 6-8 minutes, until they've tripled in size and gone frothy.
- Step 2: Warm the Nutella. Place the Nutella into a large bowl and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir well.
- Step 3: Combine gradually. Use a spatula to gently fold one quarter of the whisked eggs through the warm Nutella. Repeat, adding the eggs one quarter at a time, until it's all combined.
- Step 4: Bake. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool completely before removing from the tin.
Recipe Tips
- Beat the eggs until properly tripled - this is the step that makes or breaks this cake. It takes a genuine 6-8 minutes, so don't rush it or stop early because your arm's tired.
- Fold gently - once the eggs go into the Nutella, fold rather than stir. You want to keep as much air in there as you can.
- Line your tin properly - base and sides, or this cake will stick and you'll end up eating it straight out of the tin with a spoon (not that there's anything wrong with that).
- Cooking time controls the texture - 25 minutes gives you a very gooey, fudgy cake. If you'd prefer it a bit firmer, give it 30-35 minutes instead.
- Cool it completely before turning it out - the cake actually sets as it cools, so don't rush this bit either.
- For an extra Nutella hit, warm a spoonful of Nutella and spread it over the top once the cake's cooled, like icing.
- Storage - keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze (wrapped well) for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight.
Nutella Cake FAQs
Yes! As stated by Ferrero, the maker of Nutella, Nutella itself is gluten free. Just double check the label if you're using a different chocolate hazelnut spread.
Yes, you can. Wrap it well and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before serving.
That's completely normal, not a fail. This cake relies purely on whipped egg for its rise, so it will sink and settle a little as it cools, the same way a souffle does. As long as you beat the eggs properly and didn't overcook it, a bit of sinking is just part of how this cake works.
I haven't tested this recipe with an egg substitute like aquafaba, sorry. Because the whipped egg is doing all the work of making this cake rise, I'd be cautious swapping it out. If you give it a go, let me know how you get on in the comments.
Spoon the Nutella into a heatproof bowl and sit it over a pan of barely simmering water until it's warmed through and easy to stir.
More Easy & Delicious Dessert Recipes
If you love indulgent chocolate cakes that are rich and packed with chocolate flavour, here are some more of my favourites.
Nutella Cake
Ingredients
- 5 eggs large (approx 60g each)
- 250 g Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced). Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm cake tin with baking paper and set aside.
- Place the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Beat with handheld beaters or a stand mixer for 6-8 minutes or until the eggs have tripled in size.
- Place the Nutella into a large bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir.
- Use a silicone spatula to mix one-quarter through the Nutella until combined.
- Gently fold through another one-quarter of the whisked eggs until combined. Repeat two more times until all the mixture has been combined.
- Pour the mixture into the baking tin and cook for 25 minutes (see notes).
- Allow to cool before removing from tin and serving.
Notes
- You need to beat the eggs until tripled in size - this takes approximately 6-8 minutes.
- When adding the eggs to the Nutella, gently fold through the whipped eggs so you don't take the air out of them.
- Make sure to line your cake tin to avoid the cake from sticking.
- Cooking time: the cooking time will depend on how fudgy and moist you'd like your cake to be. 25 minutes will give you a VERY moist cake (as pictured). Cook for longer if you'd like a slightly less dense cake.
- For a gooey fudgy chocolate cake: bake for 25 minutes.
- For a firmer cake: cook for 30-35 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the tin - the cake sets as it cools and you want it to be fully set before you take it out of the tin.
- Dust with icing sugar just pror to serving (optional).
- Storage - this cake keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can freeze it, wrapped well, for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight.
Rose M says
Surprising result and very yummy. Thank you for this alternative approach. 🙂
Anne says
Can I replace the eggs with aquafaba?
Lucy says
I haven't tried that sorry!
Rose M says
Just made it and put a few strawberry slices and blueberries on top for some freshness. Lovely - I will try it with creme fraiche too. Thank you.
Lucy says
Yum!!