Fluffy Yellow Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting are so festive and perfect for parties! A classic treat everyone will love!
Yellow Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting
Last weekend we spent some time exploring a new town not far from our own, and I was so excited to see there was not one, or two, BUT three cute bakeries on the same block! They were all a bit different – one was vegan, one was French (and super fancy), and one was old fashioned baked goods – but we decided to try a little treat from each. Sometimes you just gotta indulge, right? I loved everything we tried (no surprise there), but my favorite of the three was a perfect yellow cupcake we bought from the old fashioned bakery. It was moist, flavorful, and piled high with chocolate buttercream. I ate every single crumb! And when it was gone, I instantly felt inspired to try and recreate it at home.
After a few tries, I’ve found your new favorite yellow cupcake recipe! The base is so light, moist, and buttery – no dry yellow cake here. To make things even better, these perfect cupcakes get topped with a thick, creamy Nutella frosting that is just to-die-for. I seriously could not stop “taste-testing” it! I have a feeling once you take a little taste for yourself you’ll see why 😉
These cupcakes are basically heaven on earth!
The batter is so easy to make and comes together using a stand mixer in just minutes! The cupcakes bake for about 16 minutes, then cool in the tin for another 10 before making their way to a cooling rack. It is important, as always, to wait for the cupcakes to cool completely before slathering them in frosting. Waiting is hard, but totally worth it in the end 😉
The buttercream is also simple to make, and can be made in the stand mixer as well. If you don’t own a stand mixer, I suggest using a handheld beater for this process, as the butter really needs to be beaten until creamy, and that can be hard with just a whisk and elbow grease. Hard… but I don’t think impossible 😉 Just sayin’. xoxo
More Birthday Cake Recipes:
- Classic Yellow Birthday Cake with Nutella Buttercream Frosting
- Ultimate Funfetti Birthday Cake Recipe
- Yellow Cake with Creamy Chocolate Frosting
- Old-Fashioned Devil’s Food Cake
- Best White Cake Recipe
Yellow Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Yellow Cupcakes:
- 5 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I used Full-fat)
- 2 tablespoons milk (I used whole)
For the Nutella Buttercream:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar, plus more if needed to reach a thicker consistency
- 2 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Scant 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup Nutella
- Colored sprinkles, optional
Instructions
For the Yellow Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350° (F). Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and spray them lightly with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer or in the body of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Add egg and then egg yolk, beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed butter mixture alternately with sour cream and milk, beating well after each addition.
- Fill prepared cups three-fourths full.
- Bake 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for at least 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Spread with frosting once cooled.
For Nutella Buttercream:
- In the body of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat butter until creamy. Gradually add the sugar, then cocoa powder, and beat until combined (it make be craggily, that's ok). Add 2 tablespoons of the cream and beat until smooth. Beat in Nutella, and add additional powdered sugar (a 1/4 cup at a time) if the frosting looks too thin. Add additional cream if the frosting looks too thick, a tablespoons at a time. Spread evenly over cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles if desired.
Just wondering if this recipe will make a cake sturdy enough for a shaped cake pan, or is it too light and fluffy? I am making a cake for my brother in a guitar shaped pan, so it would be a single layer cake with homemade lemon frosting. Thanks!
Hello! thank you so much for the recipe! I’m just new in baking, can I substitute the beaters for paddle attachment? Thank you so much in advance! :DDD
Hi Diane. Yes, you can totally use a standmixer with a paddle attachment 🙂
Hi is there anything I cam use in place of the sour cream?
Hi Alison. You could try using full-fat Greek yogurt 🙂
I have to tell you, that I hesitate with scratch recipes that call for butter. I always replace with oil. In my Red Velvet cake, I use oil. I would LOVE to make a SUCCESSFUL Yellow cake with butter. What would be the key in the cake coming out moist and not dry as was always my end result?
Hi Colleen. Often I find dry cake is the result of over beating the batter or packing the flour and in that using too much. I am actually working on a new all butter yellow layer cake so I will keep you updated 😉
I have to be totally honest. The first time I made these cupcakes they was super dry. I thought I followed the directions to a T. After reading all the comments I figured I must have done something wrong. The Nutella frosting came out great. I just made them For the second time tonight. This time making sure I read the recipe and followed step by step. These cupcakes are Freaking Amazing!!! They are so fluffy and moist!!! This will be my go to yellow cake recipe. Thanks for a great recipe!!! Do not make the mistake of over baking. I think that’s where I went wrong the first time.
Hi Candi. Thank you so much for your honest and helpful comment! So happy to hear the cupcakes were a hit 🙂
Can you double it
Hi Allison. Although I have not tried, I think it would work ok as long as you correctly double all ingredients 🙂
these look sooo yummy! Just wondering can I substitute the sour cream for buttermilk in the cupcakes?
Tried the yellow cupcake but not the frosting. Cupcakes were amazing! I think i have found my yellow cake recipe. Used salted caramel frosting instead…yummmmy. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will try the Nutella frosting next time.
Hi Love Your Recipes but I think you didn´t sayd how many cupcakes this recipe make?? Tanks!!!
Hi Eunice. This recipe makes one dozen cupcakes.
Love your cupcake to frosting ratio, perfection! Looks incredible.