We made this for Josie’s 9th birthday. It’s based off Smitten Kitchen’s “I Want Chocolate Cake” cake. We frosted with a half recipe of Sally’s Baking Addiction’s Nutella Frosting.
3 Tbsp (42g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup + 1 tsp (60g) dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp (24g) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 egg yolk from a large egg
1/2 cup (148g) Nutella
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup (41g) Dutch process cocoa powder
1 cup (125g) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (230g) confectioners’ sugar
3/8 cup (112g) Nutella
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a 9" round cake pan, line with parchment, and grease parchment.
Cream together sugars and butter with an electric mixer. Add egg, yolk, Nutella, and vanilla, and beat until combined. Add buttermilk and mix again.
Sift dry ingredients into bowl. (Or just toss them in, if not too clumpy.) Mix on low until just combined.
Pour batter into cake pan and smooth it out.
Bake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack, then flip out onto a plate to finish cooling.
Once cool, apply frosting.
Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth, about two minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Beat on low for 30 seconds an on medium high for two more minutes.
Adjust by adding more sugar if it’s too thin, more cream if it’s to thick, or a little more salt if too sweet.
This worked well as single 9" round layer cake. The recipe would probably also work for two 6" round layers.
The cake itself was maybe slightly dry. (Tasters had different opinions.) Next time we might try adding 1–2 Tbsp vegetable oil.