Nutella Cake

Name: Easy Nutella Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 8 ounces butter ((or 2 sticks)); 1 cup sugar; 4 eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla essence; 2 cups plain flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 cup Nutella; ⅓ cup whole hazelnuts

By Helen Schofield

on May 11, 2025

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This Nutella cake takes a simple pound cake up a notch (or three!) with the Nutella swirled through it and crunchy hazelnuts on top! It’s sweet, warm, melty, buttery… and totally mouthwatering!

An easy Nutella cake sliced so you can see the swirls inside, with whole hazelnuts on top and Nutella and milk in the background.

Why you’ll love it
About the ingredients
How to make a simple Nutella cake
Helen’s Top Tips
Recipe FAQs
More easy loaf cakes
Easy Nutella Cake Recipe

Why you’ll love it

Finally – something to make with that big jar of Nutella instead of eating it with a big spoon straight from the jar!

Swirl it through a rich and buttery cake batter, scatter whole hazelnuts on top, and you’ve made yourself very popular with the Nutella lovers among us.

Test the theory by taking this along to your next picnic, BBQ, or special occasion!

Here’s a quick summary of what you’ll love:

So simple. Whip this up so quickly and easily with just Nutella, hazelnuts, and the usual cake ingredients – butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour.
Crowd-pleasing nutty and chocolate flavor.
An easy way to elevate a simple pound cake. The swirls of Nutella in the cake are so easy to achieve, but look impressive. And let’s not forget the crunchy whole hazelnuts studding the top!

About the ingredients

You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.

Unsalted butter: The buttery flavor is key in this simple cake, so I don’t recommend replacing it with another kind of fat. Salted butter would be OK, too.
Sugar: Just regular white sugar! You can use fine sugar (caster sugar) if you like.
Eggs: I usually use large free range eggs.
Vanilla essence: I like pure vanilla extract.
Flour: Just regular all-purpose flour.
Nutella: Any brand will work.

How to make a simple Nutella cake

To make this simple Nutella swirl cake, all you’ll need is a large mixing bowl, a hand-held electric mixer, and a loaf pan. It comes together quickly in just a few easy steps!

Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar together with a hand-held whisk until fluffy and pale (usually a few minutes).

Collage of 2 images showing sugar and butter in a glass bowl on a marble background and then someone blending the two together with a red handheld whisk.

Step 2: Whisk in the eggs one by one.

Collage of 2 images showing making cake batter in a glass bowl on a marble background, first with an egg being added and secondly with the egg blended in.

Step 3: Stir in the dry ingredients.

Step 4: 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 spooning it over.

A collage of two images showing cake batter spread in a rectangular pan, and then someone spooning nutella onto the top.

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.

Raw cake batter in a loaf pan with whole hazelnuts on top.

Bake for around 50 minutes, then let cool before slicing and enjoying each sweet, chocolate-hazelnut-y, super buttery mouthful!

The cake on a piece of brown baking paper and with a glass of milk and a jar of Nutella in the background

Helen’s Top Tips

After you add the dry ingredients, don’t overmix. Mix just until all the flour is combined.
Leave a small 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.
You’ll see the layers of nutella in the finished cake. For more of a marble effect, you can swirl the nutella into the raw batter a little with the tip of a knife.
Bear in mind that the cook time can vary depending on your oven. Check for doneness after 35 to 40 minutes and take it from there. If it starts to brown too much, simply tent some aluminium foil over the top.
Try serving it while it’s still warm!
For a tasty twist on the recipe, why not try using Biscoff spread and almonds instead (or as well as!) Nutella?

Just look at those swirls!

A slice of the cake with the swirls showing, on a blue and white plate with a fork

Recipe FAQs

What kind of pan should I use for this cake?

You’ll need a 9 X 5 inch bread loaf pan for this easy nutella cake. Remember to line it with baking paper before pouring in the batter.

How do I know when it’s done?

Your cake is done when it’s well risen, golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. The top should feel firm and will spring back when you push it down. To be sure, insert a skewer or small sharp knife into the very center. It should come out clean, perhaps with a few sticky crumbs on, but not raw batter. Make sure you’re testing in the cake part, not the melty Nutella layers!

How should I store it and can I freeze it?

You can keep this cake for 3 to 4 days if stored in an airtight container. I would wrap it in baking paper too for maximum freshness. If you want to keep it longer, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Cool the cake completely first, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, foil or parchment paper before freezing in a freezer safe bag or airtight container.

More easy loaf cakes

Sticky lemon curd cake has been a favorite around here for years!
This air fryer banana bread is a small-batch treat that turns out well every time.
This 6-ingredient lemon and ricotta cake is moist and tangy but really easy to make.
Try this healthy pumpkin cake when pumpkin is in season. No one will believe it’s a healthier loaf cake!

Or see more easy cakes.

5 from 5 votes

Easy Nutella Cake

By: Helen Schofield

Sweet, melty, buttery vanilla cake with swirls of Nutella running through it. Press some hazelnuts into the top and it's a cake for every Nutella lover to drool over!

Prep: 15

Cook: 50

Total: 1 5

Servings: slices

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Equipment

9 X 5 inch loaf pan

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 1325F/160C (fan oven – increase to 355F/180C in a conventional oven). 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. Cream it together with a hand-held whisk until light and fluffy (two or three minutes).
8 ounces butter, 1 cup sugar
Add in the eggs one by one and whisk until well combined, then whisk in the vanilla.
4 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Add the flour and baking powder and stir in with a wooden spoon until well mixed (don’t be tempted to over-mix).
2 cups plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder
Pour roughly ⅓ 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. You can swirl the Nutella into the batter with the tip of a knife if you like.
1 cup Nutella
Pour another ⅓ 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.
⅓ cup whole hazelnuts
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.

Cook time: Note that there can be variations in the cook time in different ovens. Start by checking at around 40 minutes, then go from there. There can be a roughly 15 minute difference in cook time.

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcal, Carbohydrates: 55g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Cholesterol: 114mg, Sodium: 198mg, Potassium: 225mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 33g, Vitamin A: 660IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 68mg, Iron: 2.8mg

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