Scrummy Lane

Quick & easy family friendly recipes

Nutella swirl loaf cake (with hazelnuts)

Posted | Updated Nov 23, 2022 by | 46 Comments |

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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!

A piece of Nutella swirl loaf cake on a plate with a fork on a white and blue plate and with the rest of the cake and a glass of milk in the background

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.

A Nutella swirl loaf on a piece of brown baking paper and with a glass of milk and a jar of Nutella in the background

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!

A slice of Nutella swirl loaf cake on a blue and white plate with a fork
Look! A perfect Nutella swirl cake!

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

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A close up of a nutella swirl loaf cake with the first slice lying down and on brown baking paper

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
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 50 mins
Cuisine British
Servings (click to change) 10 slices
Author Helen

Equipment (affiliate links)

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

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!

Comments

  1. Neville says

    5 stars
    Hi lovely recipe, found the cooking times a bit tricky, firstly is it “FAN” 160C, I put it in at FAN 160C after 50 mins was still liquidy in the middle, tried another 10 mins and another 10 mins after, ended up a bit dry, but was a lovely cake, was hard to stop the household finishing it – Thanks

    Reply

    • Helen says

      Hi Neville! Thank you so much for the review – I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I’ve always had a fan oven and bake at 160C for about 50 minutes, but I know I’ve experienced similar differences in cooking times for these kinds of cakes that start off very liquidy. I find the cook time can vary by 10 to 20 minutes even between different times cooking the same cake in the same oven. Sorry, I know that’s not that much help, but I’d try 60 to 65 minutes in your oven and just keep testing often for the doneness at the end of the cooking time. So glad the family devoured it all the same though 😉

      Reply

    • Helen says

      Hi Tina! Do you mean you ended up with a dense cake or that the top was crusty? The top should have a bit of a crisp to it, but that’s a good thing. If your cake was dense it could be that you overmixed the batter after you added the flour. Or maybe your cake was in the oven for a bit too hard. It’s really hard to say. Can you explain a little more?

      Reply

  3. Ummy says

    Hi helen, quick question just wanted to ask is the mixture more stiff i have tried it twice and this is how my mix is turning out. Hope that makes sense

    Reply

    • Helen says

      Hi Ummy! It’s probably fine! The mixture is quite runny as it has 4 whole eggs in it. I’d say it’s about the same consistency as banana bread, if you’ve ever made that. How did it turn out?

      Reply

  4. Nc says

    Hi I have a homebased baked goods business and I would love to make this if that’s alright and I never give out the recipe thank you.

    Reply

  5. Jan Rutledge says

    Could you please bear in mind your followers in the UK where most of us use digital scales. Every US conversion chart I look at is different. Makes baking a cake twice as long.
    Making your Sticky Blueberry lemon curd cake today.
    Thanks in anticipation.
    Jan

    Reply

    • Helen says

      Hi Jan! Just below the recipe ingredients there’s a little button: US customary – metric. Just click on the ‘metric’ button and you’ll see all the measurements in grams.
      Hope you enjoy the cake. It’s one of my favourites!

      Reply

  6. Izzy @ She Likes Food says

    Someone was just telling me how they had never eaten nutella before and I couldn’t believe it! I’ve been craving cake lately and this one looks pretty amazing! I love all that nutella goodness packed in there 🙂

    Reply

  7. Kathleen | Hapa Nom Nom says

    Omg… Helen!!! Before I even saw the glorious photos, you had me at the title! Seriously, what’s not to love?! I’d happily eat Nutella straight out of the jar. But when you up the stakes by swirling it into a loaf cake….what I wouldn’t do for a slice of this right now – I’m seriously drooling here!

    Reply

    • Helen says

      I know, Kathleen… aren’t I naughty? Although eating Nutella straight out of the jar is naughtier (totally allowed though – that’s what Nutella’s for!)

      Reply

  8. Eva says

    Cet cake il est gagnant c’est sûre! Tu as réussie ton strike! Ici, il pleut des cordes toute la journée et ton cake ça me fera le plus grand bien ! Happy raining weekend Helen 😉

    Reply

    • Helen says

      Hi Jessica! Thanks so much for passing by! Give the cake a go, but don’t stop eating Nutella out of the jar – that’s what it’s for!

      Reply

  14. mira says

    Love Nutella! I’ve been thinking to make a swirl cake for a while and can’t wait to try this one! Gorgeous!

    Reply

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