Nutella Cupcakes: Cupcakes with Triple Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes made with three flavors of cream cheese frosting! Don’t worry, it’s an easy recipe with just a few extra steps required!

Creating This Nutella Cupcake Recipe

Remember those Cupcakes with Nutella, Almond Butter, and Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting I teased you with in this week’s kitchen tip (related Kitchen Tip: Two Tone Frosting for Cupcakes)? Here they are!

I’m so sorry you had to wait, but you needed to know about piping with multiple frosting flavors onto cupcakes before you could make this recipe. And all good things are worth the wait. The recipe wouldn’t be the same without all three cream cheese flavors swirled together on top.

I have been thinking about this flavor combination ever since making sandwiches for the kids when I decided to double dip my knife because I was in a hurry. Then afterward I remember looking at the almond butter and Nutella together on the knife and thinking how good those two must taste together.

So I did what any self respecting person would do. I licked it right off the butter knife. BOY was it good!

After that lick I knew that I had to come up with a recipe to feature these two delicious nut butters together. So I thought, and thought, and then one day while contemplating Logan’s Birthday Cupcakes it came to me. And I realized that if I could so easily swirl two different colors of frosting together, why the heck not two (or more) flavors of frosting?

Originally I had planned to make batches of Nutella and almond butter buttercream frosting, but I decided that it would look more interesting with white swirled in with the two shades of brown. Not to mention that I had this gigantic Costco sized thing of cream cheese sitting in the fridge that I thought I better use.

I can’t even begin to describe how amazing these Nutella cupcakes tasted. If it sounds overwhelming, please know that it’s really not very hard at all once you get the different frosting flavors made.

The actual piping is actually quite simple using the tutorial I wrote on piping multicolored (or flavored) frosting, just head over to that Kitchen Tip for the instructions.

Ingredients for Nutella Cupcakes

As I mentioned above, I topped the Nutella cupcakes with three types of cream cheese frosting. A Nutella cream cheese frosting (duh!), an almond butter cream cheese frosting, and a classic cream cheese frosting.

These are the ingredients you’ll need to make the Nutella cupcake recipe, plus all the frostings:

• Nutella
• All-purpose flour and cake flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking soda and baking powder
• Salt
• Eggs
• Granulated sugar
• Butter
• Buttermilk
• Cream cheese (lots of it!)
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Almond butter (or peanut butter)

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.

How to Make Nutella Cupcakes

This Nutella dessert recipe does have extra steps to it, but I promise it’s easy to make!

1. For the cupcakes: Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until is pale and thick. Add in the butter, followed by the Nutella and buttermilk. Beat until well incorporated.
3. Add the flour mixture in three increments and beat until smooth.
4. Divide batter amongst 36 cupcake tins. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. For the frostings: They all come together in the same way. The cream cheese and butter is beaten until smooth, then the remaining ingredients are added and mixed until fluffy.
6. To pipe on the frosting: Please reference this blog post for detailed instructions on how to pipe three types of frosting onto cupcakes.

The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.

Ingredient Substitutions to Try

• Don’t have cake flour? Make your own instead!
• Don’t have buttermilk? You can make a quick DIY substitute in a pinch.
• Don’t have clear vanilla extract? It’s used to maintain a purer white frosting color. If this doesn’t matter to you, then you may use regular vanilla extract.

Typically I don’t recommend making a bunch of substitutions when preparing a new recipe. When making substitutes, you won’t know if you don’t like the recipe or if the recipe didn’t turn out due to a preparation mistake, an ill effect from the substitute, or something else.

However, if you do choose to make substitutions in a recipe, I recommend only making one substitute at a time so you don’t have a building effect of multiple poor substitutions.

How to Store Nutella Cupcakes

Once frosted, the chocolate Nutella cupcakes must be stored in the fridge in an airtight container because the frosting contains dairy. Keep them in an airtight container, they should last about four days.

Can I Freeze These Cupcakes?

Yes! You can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes for up to three months. The individual cream cheese frostings can also be frozen for up to three months. When ready to use, thaw overnight in the fridge.

What Readers Are Saying

“These were amazingly delicious!! I brought them to work for a coworkers birthday 2 yrs ago and now she asks for them every year! Thanks for sharing this recipe!” — Mary

“I made these with double frosting, Nutella and Vanilla. YUMMM!!!!! They were gobbled up! I think I will be bold enough to try triple frosting next time!!!” — Debra

“Made these cupcakes to bring into work yesterday, people still raving about them today.Some thought I bought them from a bakery.” — Cindy

“I made these tonight for a friend’s birthday. I’ve never swirled frosting before but your tips were super helpful and I am so excited take these to the party! ” — Wendy

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These Pumpkin Cupcakes were already incredibly moist and the perfect balance of sweet, pumpkin, and fall spices. The Caramel Pecan Glaze just took them over the top.

These Coconut Lime Cupcakes are topped with an incredible Coconut Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. Amazing!

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