Nutella swirl loaf cake (with hazelnuts)

I’d never say no to a slice of homemade vanilla loaf with a cup of tea. But let’s take this up a notch (or three!) by swirling Nutella through it and squishing hazelnuts on top. This Nutella cake is sweet, warm, melty, buttery… and irresistible!

There are quite a few cakes on Scrummy Lane that get rave reviews. Take this crowd pleasing and super easy 6-ingredient Swedish chocolate cake, for instance, or this incredible (but simple) Italian apple cake.

A few other personal favourites include this chocolate orange cake, and this peanut butter, banana and chocolate chip cake (you HAVE to try this one).

A crowd pleasing loaf cake

Actually, there are too many delicious and easy cakes on Scrummy Lane to mention, but one category of cake that’s always popular is loaf cakes or pound cakes!

Let’s face it, they’re the easiest sort of cake to make. Just whisk a few ingredients together, pour into loaf pan, shove in the oven, and you’re less than an hour away from a yummy cake to go with your cup of tea.

This Nutella cake is a real winner. You can’t really go wrong with Nutella, can you? Swirl it through a really well made rich and buttery loaf cake, scatter a few hazelnuts on top, and you’ve created something much more impressive than the sum of its parts.

How to make this Nutella cake

You make this loaf cake in a classic sponge cake way:

STEP 1: CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGAR TOGETHER UNTIL LIGHT AND FLUFFY.

STEP 2: ADD THE EGGS ONE BY ONE.

STEP 3: STIR THROUGH THE DRY INGREDIENTS.

Nothing more complicated than that.

Now comes the fun part!

Roughly split the cake batter into three (just in the bowl – nothing fancy).

Spread the first third over the bottom of the loaf tin. Then warm some Nutella for a few seconds in the microwave before pouring it over.

Pro tip: leave a bit of a border between the Nutella and the edge of the loaf tin so that it doesn’t all ooze out – but don’t worry about getting it perfect.

Cover with a second layer of cake batter, a second layer of Nutella, then a final layer of cake.

Don’t worry that the cake layers are thin – they’ll rise up beautifully!

Just one thing left to do before tossing the cake in the oven – press a big handful of hazelnuts into the top. They add a really complimentary crunch.

Actually, two things left to do… slice and enjoy. Savour each sweet, chocolate-hazelnut-y, super buttery mouthful.

Just look at those swirls!

More easy loaf cakes

• This sticky blueberry lemon curd cake is one of the most popular cakes on the blog for good reason!
• Zucchini/Courgette in season? Make this pistachio, lime and zucchini loaf. It’s delicious!
• Banana and pistachio loaf with white chocolate cream cheese icing (easy to make this gluten free)
• Really easy mini banana bread (with air fryer option!)
• This 6-ingredient ricotta lemon loaf cake is the cake to make when you need a delicious dessert in a hurry.

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Nutella swirl loaf cake (with hazelnuts)

Sweet, melty, buttery vanilla cake with swirls of Nutella running through it. Press some hazelnuts into the top and you’ve got yourself a stellar cake to have with your cup of tea!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Cuisine British

Servings (click to change) 10 slices

Author Helen

Equipment (affiliate links)

• ▢
  loaf tin

Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)

cups/ounces – grams/ml

• ▢ 8 ounces butter (or 2 sticks)
• ▢ 1 cup sugar
• ▢ 4 eggs
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• ▢ 2 cups plain flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 8.8 ounces Nutella
• ▢ 1/3 cup whole hazelnuts

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Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 160C / 325F. Line a loaf pan (roughly 9 x 5 inches) with baking paper and set aside.
• Leave the butter out of the fridge for a while to soften, then add it to a large bowl with the sugar and cream it together with a hand-held whisk until light and fluffy (two or three minutes).
• Add in the eggs one by one and whisk until well combined, then whisk in the vanilla.
• Tip in the flour and baking powder and stir in with a wooden spoon until well mixed (don’t be tempted to over-mix).
• Pour roughly 1/3 of the cake batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Then warm the Nutella in a microwave* (15 seconds or so should do it) and pour half of it over the batter in the pan.**
• Pour another 1/3 of the batter over the Nutella layer, followed by the rest of the Nutella. Finally, top with the last layer of cake batter.
• Sprinkle with hazelnuts, pressing lightly into the top, then bake the cake for about fifty minutes or until the cake is well risen and has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan.
• Let cool for ten minutes in the pan, then remove and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Notes

Warming the Nutella

If you don’t have a microwave, just warm the Nutella it slightly over a pot of simmering water.

How to layer the cake batter

Try to leave a small border between the layer of Nutella and the sides of the pan. This will stop it running out of the cake too much.

Don’t worry if you don’t get it exactly right. It won’t really matter.

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 6gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 198mgPotassium: 225mgFiber: 2gSugar: 33gVitamin A: 660IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 2.8mg

Tried this recipe?Let me know if you liked it!