Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: I just adore the combination of chocolate and raspberry, especially when a heaping of nutty Nutella is mixed in. Chocolate lover’s dream!
Texture: Wonderfully tender and moist while sturdy enough to be filled and frosted generously.
Ease: Very easy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Perfect simple yet impressive homemade cupcakes.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
These Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes combine most of my favorite things into one incredible, indulgent bite.
The combination of raspberry, chocolate, and Nutella is absolutely magnificent. Any chocoholic (like me!) will be in heaven.
But the best part about this recipe?
Free Baking Science Mini-Course!
From cookies that spread to undercooked brownies, this FREE 5-day Baking Science course helps you conquer common baking challenges and make bakery-worthy treats every time.
Surprising whoever takes that first bite with the hidden Nutella filling. YUM.
Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes would be absolutely perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or really anytime for any chocolate lover.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
How to Make Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
- Measure correctly. I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale for precision. It’s super easy to accidentally compact way too much flour and even cocoa powder into your measuring cup. When this happens, it leads to dry and dense cake.
- If you don’t have a scale, use the spoon and level method to measure your flour and cocoa.
- Use the correct cocoa powder. More on this below.
Why Use Hot Coffee in Chocolate Cake Batter?
Hot liquid helps to “bloom” the cocoa powder. This essentially means it intensifies the chocolate flavor and helps the cocoa incorporate into the batter without becoming chunky or chalky.
If you don’t have coffee on hand, feel free to substitute with hot water + 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder – or just plain hot water instead. The coffee simply enhances the chocolate flavor – I promise you won’t actually taste it!
Cocoa Powder
- We’re using Dutch Process cocoa powder. This can be found online here, or at some grocery stores (like Whole Foods), or at gourmet food stores (Williams-Sonoma, Sur la Table, etc.)
- If we’re talking about the science of baking (one of my favorite topics!), Dutch cocoa powder works differently in a recipe than regular cocoa powder. Swapping cocoa powder types can completely alter the recipe on a chemical level, and even ruin the outcome. Learn more about the differences between Dutch and regular cocoa powders here.
- You might be wondering how we get away with using Dutch cocoa + baking soda in this recipe? Well, it’s all thanks to the vinegar at the bottom of the ingredient list. Don’t skip it!
Bread Flour in Cupcakes?
It may seem strange that a cake recipe calls for bread flour. Chocolate cakes are often so rich and moist that the structure of the cake can’t hold up. That’s where bread flour comes into play! It has a higher percentage of protein than AP flour. It helps to develop more gluten to create a firmer structure. Don’t worry, these cupcakes still remain perfectly tender and rich!
If you don’t have bread flour, feel free to use all-purpose flour instead.
Preventing Cupcake Liners from Sticking
It’s important to use high-quality liners to prevent sticking. These are my favorite cupcake liners that basically never stick. If liners sticking to your cupcakes are a common problem for you, check out my post on How to Prevent Cupcake Liners from Sticking here.
How to Fill Cupcakes
Possibly the best part of this recipe, filling with Nutella is made quick and easy with two tools: an apple corer and a ziptop baggie (or a piping bag). Use the corer to evenly remove the center of each cupcake – a great chef’s snack 😉 Then spoon the Nutella into the baggie, snip a hole a touch smaller than the diameter of the corer, and squeeze the Nutella into each cavity.
Do I Have to Use Nutella to Fill These Cupcakes?
If you don’t like Nutella, then feel free to fill with more raspberry preserves from the frosting. You can also experiment with other brands of chocolate hazelnut spread, or even peanut butter or almond butter!
Raspberry Buttercream Tips
- This raspberry buttercream recipe is really simple. I suggest following the recipe exactly.
- Be sure to use cool room temperature butter – if your butter is too warm, your frosting might be too soft and become difficult to pipe. About 67°F is perfect.
- Using seedless raspberry preserves gives the smoothest texture that’s sturdy enough to pipe. You can also really taste the raspberry flavor this way.
- Fresh raspberries can be too watery, making the buttercream runny and difficult to pipe.
- Raspberry jam with seeds adds an undesirable texture (at least in my opinion).
- The raspberry preserves give a faint pink hue to the frosting. If you want a bolder color, use a tiny drop of red gel food coloring.
- If you want ALL of my buttercream tips and more flavor variations, check out my Best Buttercream post.
How to Decorate Cupcakes
Any of these piping tips from my favorite piping tip set here will do the job beautifully. For some simple ideas on how to decorate cupcakes, check out my 3 Ways to Make Swirled Cupcake Frosting post here.
How to Store Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Store cupcakes inside an airtight container at room temperature for one day, or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Email This Recipe
Enter your email, and we’ll send it to your inbox.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 4 ounces (113 grams) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup (33 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup hot coffee
- 3/4 cup (95 grams) bread flour
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup Nutella
For the buttercream:
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
- Red food coloring, if desired
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Place the chocolate and cocoa powder in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour hot coffee over the mixture. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth then set aside to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with foil or paper liners.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Whisk the oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until smooth. Using a spring-loaded scoop or a large spoon, divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
- Bake until cupcakes are set and firm to the touch, about 17 to 19 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely. Using an apple corer or pairing knife, remove a small section of the center of the cupcake, being careful not to slice through the bottom. Fill each hole with 1 heaping teaspoon of Nutella.
For the buttercream:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Gradually add the sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Add the raspberry preserves and beat until light and fluffy. For a more saturated color, add a few drops of red food coloring, if desired.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a decorative piping tip. Pipe frosting directly onto the stuffed cupcakes. Serve or store at room temperature for a day or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and has since been updated with new photos and more baking tips! Last 2 photos by Constance Higley.
Another amazing recipe from Tessa! Turned out great and the frosting is especially fantastic. Love all of your recipes on your website. Haven’t met a dessert here that I didn’t like. 🙂 Thank you!
Thanks for the kind comment, Steph! So happy to hear that 🙂
Can i freeze this cupcake with the Nutella?
Hi Tammie! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure – but it should work just fine! If you’re at all concerned, you can always make and freeze the cupcakes, then the day you you’re planning to serve (or the day before), thaw at room temperature for a few hours, and proceed with filling the cupcakes and frosting the tops as written in the recipe. Let us know what you think once you’ve given these cupcakes a try 🙂