Nutella Magic Cake
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Nutella Magic Cake – the superstar of all cakes now in Nutella flavor. One easy batter transforms into a 3 layer cake. Is it magic? Or simply some wicked baking skills?
You guys have been asking for another magic cake recipe, so here it is. Not that you had to twist my arm or anything, especially when it comes to Nutella. You’ve all given me quite a few suggestions on different flavors for this magical cake, but the most requested one has been a Nutella version. And I aim to please! But first of all I really wanted to thank you all for loving this magic cake so much. There have been a lot of questions around this cake, and while it’s called magic cake, there really is no magic to making it, the real magic happens when it bakes. So don’t over think it, just follow the instructions and watch the magic happens.
What I love about this cake the most is the list of ingredients, quite basic. Nothing fancy, nothing you have to shop around the entire city to find, everything that you require you will probably already have in your pantry. And if you don’t have Nutella on hand, then I just don’t even want to talk to you. That’s sacrilege. I’m just kidding, but not really. We usually make a Costco trip once a month, and pretty much every single time we go there, I buy my Nutella, and if you shop there you know it comes in a package of 2 big 950g jars. I know, I’m a bit obsessed with Nutella, but hey we all have our weakness, and for me it’s bacon and Nutella. I’ve accepted this a long time ago and moved on.
So let’s get started, shall we? First thing first, you will want to prepare your baking pan and I found it easier if I line it with parchment paper just because it makes it so much easier to take out the cake and slice it. Basically I spray the baking pan with some cooking spray so that the parchment paper sticks to it, then cut two long strips, that are 8 inches in width and about 16 inches in length, line the first one in, then you’ll have the long ends sticking out, spray some more cooking spray and line the 2nd sheet the other way, so now all 4 sides have parchment paper sticking out. In case you have no idea what I just wrote, just look at the picture.
Next make sure you take your eggs out at least 30 minutes before, you do want them at room temperature before actually starting to make the cake. Not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the stars needing to be aligned just right, and eggs at room temperature is one of those things. But let me get back to making sense again. Separate the eggs, egg whites in the mixer bowl, egg yolks in another small bowl for now. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. You can add 1 tsp of vinegar to the egg whites if you need to get your egg whites stiff, but I’ve never had a problem, so I never add vinegar. Up to you. Place this in another bowl and set aside until we prepare the cake batter.
Add the egg yolks and the icing sugar to the bowl of your mixer and mix well until the mixture is light, pale in color and creamy. You will notice I decided to go with icing sugar here vs granulated sugar, but either works just fine. If you do use granulated sugar, use less, 3/4 cup is more than enough. You might even want to add less sugar since the Nutella provides some additional sweetness.
Next add the Nutella, butter, cocoa powder and vanilla extract. I still added vanilla extract to this Nutella cake because I really love the smell of vanilla, and because it doesn’t hurt. Beat the Nutella and butter until it’s well incorporated, should take about a minute. Scrape the side of the bowl if necessary with a spatula. I wanted to add a bit of cocoa powder because I wanted a darker color to the cake, but feel free to omit it and just replace the 2 tbsp with flour.
Next add in the flour, it’s just all purpose flour, and add about a tablespoon at a time with the mixer on low until you finish.
With the mixer still on low you can now add the milk. The milk has to be lukewarm and many people have asked me how to get it lukewarm. I just place the milk in the microwave and microwave it for about a minute, stick my finger in (make sure your finger is clean) and if it’s warm to the touch, but not hot, that works. Slowly start pouring the milk in, with the mixer still on low, until all the milk has been added. Just mix until you have a nice smooth batter. The batter will be very thin, so don’t get scared, that’s how it’s supposed to be. If you’ve ever made crepes, not pancakes, that’s how the batter should look like. I guess this is the secret in magic cake, the thin batter.
Now you can start folding in the egg white, do about a third at a time, and just gently fold them in using a spatula. This is where I tell people over and over again not to overmix. You will want to have those little bits of egg whites floating around the top of the batter. That is OK, that is what you want. I also found it easier to fold in the egg whites using the whisk from the mixer, but just make sure you don’t overmix it!
And finally we come to our last step. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake it. So I know the baking time can vary greatly and it all depends on your oven. Some people say that theirs is done after 40 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour or even 70 minutes. Mine has always been done at around 60 to 70 minutes, and I’ve made this in 3 different ovens so far. I was actually scared this time because I do have a new oven, and it’s too fancy with 4 different baking settings. I actually had to go read the manual again to make sure I was doing things right, so when in doubt, do consult with your oven manual. My oven has convection baking and chef baking which is traditional oven baking, so I used chef baking here. I haven’t tried with convection baking, but that’s supposed to speed up the baking time, so if any of you have tried it, I’d love to hear how long it takes with convection baking. Your cake will be done when the top is browned and if you jiggle the cake it should not wiggle anymore. You’ll also notice that when you first take it out of the oven it will be all puffed up, and that after a few minutes of resting it might collapse a bit, that’s OK too, don’t panic. Just make sure you let it cool completely, I also recommend sticking it in the fridge for a couple hours before actually slicing into it.
As usual feel free to leave me your questions or comments here and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge. But just don’t over think this too much, it’s really quite simple to make, just watch the magic happen.
If you have further questions, take a look at the answers to some frequently asked questions here.
OR
Check out the video for the original magic cake and see how easy it is to make this cake!
If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
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Nutella Magic Cake
Ingredients
- 4 eggs (at room temperature, separated)
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 cup Nutella
- 1/2 cup butter (unsalted, melted but room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (minus 2 tbsp )
- 2 cups milk (lukewarm)
- icing sugar ( for dusting cake)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 F (160 C) degrees. Line a 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Separate the eggs and add the egg whites to the bowl of your mixer. Mix until egg whites are stiff. Place the egg whites in a bowl and set aside.
- Add the egg yolks and icing sugar the the bowl of your mixer and mix together until mixture becomes like a cream and is light pale yellow in color.
- Add the Nutella, melted butter, vanilla extract, salt, cocoa powder and continue mixing for another minute until well incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, start adding flour to the mixer, one tablespoon at a time, until all the flour has been incorporated into the mixture.
- With the mixer still on low, slowly start adding the milk and beat until everything is well mixed together. The mixture should be very thin, almost like a crepe batter.
- Start gently folding in the egg whites, a third at a time using a spatula. Repeat until all the egg whites have been folded in. They do not have to be completely mixed in, it's OK to still see foamy bits floating around the top of the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 to 70 minutes or until the top is browned. The cake should be firm to touch, and should not wiggle.
- Let cool completely, then place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Sprinkle some icing sugar before slicing into it.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
What you’ll need:
Lemon Magic cake recipe:
Click the image below for the Butterscotch Magic Cake recipe with step by step photo instructions:
For an easy version of a impossible coconut pie, same ingredients, different preparation technique click here or the image below.
Here’s the latest addition to magic cakes, the irresistible magic flan cake!
This was a really good cake ! My guests left with the recipe. However, I did not get the three layers, I got only two, Do you have any idea why ? I cooked it for around 60 minutes, my milk was likewarm, the eggs were at room temperature and my butter was at the right temperature also. Thank you for this recipe, will make agin for sure !
It probably has to do with how you folded in the egg whites, you don’t want to fold them in completely, there should still be small pieces floating in the batter.
This nutella magic cake looks incredible! I think I will make this for a special occasion!
The Nutella Magic Cake was lush. Everyone at our Coffee Morning loved it. Lots of mmmm sound effects 😊
Was looking for a light cake, usually homemade recipes are dense, this will now be my go-to Nutella magic cake, make it for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. Thank you!
Can I use less than 1 cup for nutella??
And what should I add instead??
Amazing recipe and pictures – one I will definitely be attempting soon!! I just wanted to ask if you use full-fat milk or is semi-skimmed milk ok?
I used 2% milk in the recipe.
Do you think it woud work making the nutella one and a normal vanilla one to make a swirl one?
I dont see that as working as this cake batter is quite liquid and would think it would not be a suitable change to try and do although you certainly can try it and let us know.
worked for me!! when I saw the batter so liquidy I was so worried the it wouldn’t get right, but it did and it is very nice. I used self raising flour and it was just fine. It seems the magic happen no matter what.
Is icing sugar the same thing as confectioners sugar?
Yes it is. 🙂
This cake looks beautiful! I think a dairy-free butter spread would sub in without a problem but do you think I could use almond milk instead of dairy milk? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it but if you read the comments for magic cake you’ll see some people have and have been successful.
This looks amazing! I am going to make it for Christmas Eve. Can I make it a day ahead? THANK YOU!!
You can, just make sure you refrigerate it. I wouldn’t sprinkle it with icing sugar though until just before serving.
does step 2, 3 and 4 all use the same mixing bowl? i might be having blonde moment and thats why I’m confused but just thought i’d double check! thanks jo!
If you have a hand mixer and a stand mixer you can use two different bowls, but if you don’t you’ll have to use the same bowl, so step 2 is just for beating the egg whites, you can then remove them to another bowl so you can use the mixer bowl for the rest of the cake.
This sounds like a wonderful recipe. Do you have a suggestion on how to converthe it to a gingerbread or spice magic cake?
Hi Linda,
I would probably follow the recipe for the butterscotch magic cake and add some spices, like cinnamon, ground cloves and ground ginger, about 1/2 tsp to a tsp of each spice, depending on how much spice you’re looking for.
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try it!
I made this today and it is delicious. I used a Miele fan forced oven for 60min on the fan setting at 160C. Also used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free flour. A winning recipe indeed! Many thanks!
My pleasure, so good to hear that it works with gluten free flour.
Just came across your site: so beautiful!
I made magic cake before but never with Nutella. Nice recipe and beautiful photographs!
Thank you so much Alida. 🙂 I checked out your blog, you’ve got some wonderful recipes on there. 🙂