Chocolate Cake w/Nutella-Mascarpone Filling

I had a funny encounter at my local grocery store the other day when a sweet lady next to me asked if I could describe the flavor of Nutella. It was on her shopping list, but she was particularly concerned to know if it tasted more like chocolate or more like hazelnut. I actually didn’t know how to answer that, as I think that both flavors are equally balanced. That’s exactly what makes Nutella (or any other chocolate hazelnut spread) so addictive. 

There’s something about adding Nutella to any chocolate recipe that instantly makes it feel exponentially more rich and indulgent. And as you will find in this recipe, chocolate + Nutella + mascarpone cheese is a winning combination.

Chocolate Cake with Nutella Mascarpone Filling

Cake

• 1 box (16 oz) white cake mix + ⅓ cup cocoa powder

   OR

         1 box (16 oz) chocolate cake mix

• 3 eggs

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp espresso powder

• 1 cup milk

• ½ cup Nutella or other hazelnut cocoa spread

Filling

• 1 ½ cup mascarpone cheese

• 1 ½ cup Nutella or other hazelnut cocoa spread

Buttercream

• 2 oz semisweet chocolate, melted but cooled to room temperature

• 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened

• ½ cup Nutella or other hazelnut cocoa spread

• 2 cups powdered sugar

Toppings (optional)

• Chocolate ganache ( I like this recipe from MyCakeSchool.com)

• Ferrero rocher candies

• Toffifay candies

• Toblerone candies

• Pirouette cookies

• Any other combination of chocolate-hazelnut candies

• 1 cup chopped hazelnuts

Preparation

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your baking pan(s) and set aside. 

2. Mix all of your cake ingredients in a large bowl using a mixer on medium speed until well combined. 

3. Bake according to package directions based on the size of your baking pans (approx. 22-29 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. Cool 8-10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.

Filling

1.  Mix the hazelnut spread and mascarpone  cheese with a mixer until well combined and a little fluffier in texture.

2.  Set aside until you are ready to assemble the cake. 

Buttercream

1.  In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until mostly incorporated. 

2. Add the chocolate hazelnut spread and melted chocolate and mix on low speed. 

Assembly

1.  If the cake layers have formed a dome, use a serrated knife or cake level to even the layers. Place one layer on your serving dish or cake board.

2. Put the filling into a piping bag and set aside.  Put the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe a thick circle of it around the edge of the first layer. Pipe a layer of the filling into that circle.

3. Place the next layer of cake on top and repeat until you get to the top layer.

4. Use the leftover filling as your crumb coat. (To crumb coat: frost the entire cake with some of the filling and refrigerate until it sets.)

5. Then, once you have finished the crumb coat, use the remaining buttercream to frost the cake and refrigerate again until set. 

6. You can stop here, or continue to use the toppings as decoration. At this point, you can pour the ganache on top to create a drip and then refrigerate until the ganache has set before adding additional toppings as you please