This Ferrero Rocher Cake is your favorite chocolate hazelnut treat in cake form! Chocolate hazelnut cake layers and with a Nutella buttercream.
Can you believe it’s almost November?? I honestly can’t. These past few months (and this year in general) have gone by crazy fast, despite all the chaos and craziness. I can’t believe we’re almost in the holiday season.
Of course, I welcome the holiday season with open arms. I plan to start packing away all the pumpkins and breaking out the Christmas decorations in the next week or so. I am one of those people.
Today, I’m bringing you one of my favorite cakes based on one of my favorite treats!
I know you can technically get Ferrero’s year-round but to me, they are a holiday treat.
Maybe it’s because of the commercials they always bust out during the holiday season. And it’s kind of a tradition these days that my parents always get Ryan a box of Ferrero’s for Christmas. It’s really cute actually.
Despite my many Nutella recipes, I’m actually not a huge fan of Nutella on its own. I used to eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon when I was younger, so maybe I just got sick of it.
In a Ferrero though? Heaven.
How to Make this Ferrero Rocher Cake
I wanted to make sure all the elements of a true Ferrero shone through. This cake is packed with chocolate and hazelnut flavor. There is hazelnut flour in the cake itself (optional, but it adds flavor and texture) and I added a layer of crunchy hazelnut meringue to emulate that crunchy shell that Ferrero’s have.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake
To make the cake layers I replaced some of the flour in my favorite Chocolate Cake recipe with hazelnut flour.
This adds a delicious flavor and texture to the cake. You can either make hazelnut flour at home by grinding up some toasted, skinned hazelnuts, or you can buy it. I talk a bit more about that here in my Hazelnut Cake recipe.
If you don’t want to bother with either you can just replace the hazelnut flour with more all-purpose flour.
Hazelnut Meringue
I initially planned to use feuilletine flakes to add the crunch, but I opted for something a little more elaborate and went with the meringue instead.
The meringue will lose some of its crunch the longer it sits with the buttercream though, so you can choose to use the flakes instead if you have them on hand.
Next time though, I’d probably just chop up actual Ferrero’s and spread them between the cake layers instead.
Nutella Buttercream
The rich Nutella buttercream is something I would happily eat with a spoon. It is SO good. A fluffier version of Nutella that pairs really well with the dense chocolate cake.
I used an American Buttercream recipe because I wanted the frosting to be dark and look more like what you see in a Ferrero. If you’d like though, I have a Swiss meringue buttercream version on my Nutella Cake that you can use instead.
I may have gone a little heavy-handed on the frosting between the layers, but I told you it was good!! You can’t totally see the hazelnut meringue layer, but I swear it’s there! And it’s delicious.
The cake is fudgy and delicious. Paired with a smooth Nutella buttercream and crunchy chocolate hazelnut meringue, it’s really the best thing ever.
If you’re looking for something unique this holiday season, or really any time of year, this Ferrero Rocher Cake is sure to wow!
Oh, and if you want an equally delicious and stunning holiday cake based on a Ferrero brand confection, you have to check out my Raffaello Cake!
Notes & tips for this Ferrero Rocher Cake:
- The recipe as-is will also work in two 8″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe. The layers will be slightly thinner though, so be sure to reduce the baking time.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so.
- The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- The frosting can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for 1 week for frozen for 3 months. Bring to room temperature and rewhip before using.
- If you don’t have hazelnut flour on hand and/or don’t want to make any, you can just substitute in additional all-purpose flour.
- To enhance the chocolate flavor of the cake, you can use strong hot coffee instead of hot water.
- The hazelnut meringue will soften the longer it sits in the cake. Ideally, serve the same day. Regardless though, it will still taste delicious! You can use chopped up Ferrero’s between the layers instead though.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my Flat Top Cakes post.
Ferrero Rocher Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup hazelnut flour*
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup hot water or hot coffee
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Nutella Buttercream:
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup Nutella
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
Hazelnut Meringue (optional):
- 2 large egg whites
- 5 Tbsp granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- pinch cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (toasted skinned)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
Assembly:
- toasted hazelnuts to decorate chopped and whole
- Ferrero Rocher chocolates if desired
Instructions
Chocolate Hazelnut Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease three 6″ round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour hot water in slowly while whisking as not to cook the eggs).
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
- Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean, a total of 30-35mins.
Nutella Buttercream:
- Prepare a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whip butter until creamy (2 mins).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder.
- Reduce speed to low and add in powdered sugar mixture 1 cup at a time until well blended. Scrape down sides of bowl and whisk as needed. Add in Nutella and whip on high for approximately 5 mins.
Hazelnut Meringue:
- Preheat oven to 250F and line a 10×15″ pan with parchment. Trace two 5″ circles onto the parchment, flip over so the traced side is down.
- Combine egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer**. Beat on high until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar (1 Tbsp at a time) and beat until stiff peaks.
- Dab a bit of meringue under the corners of the parchment to secure it. Fold chopped hazelnuts and cocoa powder into the meringue. Pipe into discs using the 5″ circles as a guide. Pipe or spread remaining meringue in empty spaces on the parchment.
- Bake for 90mins and cool on pan.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of the cake onto a cake stand or serving plate. Top with 2/3 cup of buttercream and spread evenly.
- Place one meringue disc on top and top with additional buttercream if desired (or sprinkle with chopped Ferrero's. Repeat with remaining layers and crumb coat the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream, smooth the sides and chill for 20mins. Press chopped hazelnuts into the sides and top with rosettes if desired.
Notes
Originally published on Nov 6, 2016
Jel says
Hi, I had a question! I want to make this cake using 8inch baking rounds … what do you think I should do to increase the recipe?
Jel says
* I want to use 3, 8inch baking rounds.
Olivia says
Hi Jel! I would double the recipe for three 8″ rounds.
Kush Hari says
Hi! I had a couple questions about this recipe. First, I was wondering if this cake was really rich or if it was lighter. And the only type of cocoa powder that I have isn’t the Dutch processed that you mentioned in the recipe. I was wondering if that would affect the flavor and overall taste of the cake.
Olivia says
Hi Kush! I just answered these questions below. The cake is more on the dense/rich side and the cocoa powder will be fine!
amy miller says
i was wondering also if this cake is really rich because my family likes lighter cakes
Olivia says
Hi Amy! This cake is definitely on the richer side.
kajal hari says
hi! i’m starting to make this cake and i only have a certain type of cocoa powder not the one that the recipe calls for. i was wondering if that will hurt the taste of the cake.
Olivia says
Hi Kajal! It will affect the flavour but only slightly. It will be fine 🙂
Klaudia K. says
Hi! I’m making this cake for a birthday and had two questions. 1) If I do not use hazelnut flour will the flavor/cake profile be changed? Also, for the 3. – 6″ round baking pans – how tall are the pans you used. Thank you!!
Olivia says
HI Klaudia! The flavour will be a bit different if you don’t use hazelnut flour for sure. You can replace it with regular flour, but you won’t have that hazelnut flavour. My pans are all 2″ tall. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Catherine says
I plan to make this for Father’s Day. Nutella and Ferrero Rocher are my husband’s favorites! Do you have a preferred piping top for the meringue? Approximately how many ounces of cake batter go in each one when you divided them out in the cake pans to bake?
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Catherine! I use a large round tip (1A) piping tip for the meringue. I can’t totally remember the weight of the cake batter, but I would weight the bowl (empty), then weigh the bowl with the batter in it. Subtract the weight of the empty bowl and divide that by 3.
Catherine says
For the buttercream, do you recommend spooning the dry ingredients into the measuring cups? I made a batch tonight to practice with and it came out dense and fudgy, like I could make truffles with it. I suspect I added too much of the dry ingredients.
Olivia says
Hi Catherine! I don’t bother spooning the ingredients with the buttercream. Strange that it was so dense though! I would just add a bit of heavy cream to thin it out 🙂 American buttercream is great because it’s so forgiving. You can just add more sugar/cream until you get the right consistency.
Alicia Vassallo says
Hi there, I just made this cake following the recipe. The cake sunk a little in the middle but not too bad. However, I ruined them because they stuck to the pan. I greased and floured before hand. Recommendations?
Olivia says
Hi Alicia! Ugh, cake sticking issues are the worst! My tips are to properly prep your pans (I use homemade Cake Release) and also line the bottoms with parchment. The other important thing is to cool the cakes in the pans for 10mins. Any less and they will be too fragile and will fall apart. Any more and the sugars will start to solidify and stick to the pan.
Anna says
Hi, wow this cake looks stunning! I’m planning to make it for someone who’s celiac and need it to be gluten free, will 1:1 substituting the all purpose flour with gluten free flour suffice? Or is there another formula for substituting gluten free flour?
Olivia says
Hi Anna! That should work as long as it’s a proper AP GF flour blend.
Hiba says
Hey!
I would really like to know if it worked for you with AP GF flour!
Thanks in advance 🙂
basak says
I am making this cake right now and doubling the recipe. However, I realized I put all of the meringue into one 8″ tin baking foil (I wanted it to be neater, but feel like it may stick, still I am willing to crunch it and do a layer of crunches)instead of splitting in two. How much longer do you recommend I bake it?
Olivia says
Hi Basak! I’m honestly not sure. I’ve never made one that large/thick before 🙁
Alanna says
Hi there. I am making this amazing looking cake now and I have a question. How thick should the meringue disks be and how can I tell when they’re done baking?. The outer edges feel done but the middle seems a bit soft, but I don’t know if it’s supposed to be that way. Any help would be awesome. Thanks so much.
Olivia says
Hi Alanna! You will know the meringue is done when you can easily lift it off the parchment and the bottom is baked/dry.
Tejal says
Hello
This is my first time baking and I chose this recipe for my friends birthday. I am very excited to try it out! But I have a question, I am planning on doing the layers, buttercream and meringue today and assembling it tomorrow. Will that be ok? Do I need to take any additional measurements while storing in freezer? I understand from other comments that I would need to whip the buttercream again before assembling.
Thanks in advance!
Olivia says
Hi Tejal! That will be totally fine. You don’t have to freeze or even chill anything if just overnight. Ideally rewhip the (room temperature) buttercream before frosting.
Anya Bulchandani says
when I tell you this is the best cake Ive ever had I REALLY mean it. you all must make it right now especially with the coffee substitution
Olivia says
Hi Anya! I am thrilled that you loved it. Thanks so much! 🙂
Anya Bulchandani says
I’m going to try this recipe later today, but I only have 9inch pans. Can i do 4/3 this recipe and bake 3 9inch layers? or would I need to bake at a different temperature
Olivia says
Hi Anya! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Syeda says
Hi Olivia, I baked the cake and about to put in the freezer. They smell devine and i bet it tastes amazing. I have 2 questions though. Will it taste good if i skip meringue? Can i use cream and chocolate frosting instead of buttercream?
I would appreciate if you could get back to me.
Thanks
Syeda
Olivia says
Hi Syeda! Yes, skipping the meringue is fine. It will have a slightly different texture though. What do you mean by cream and chocolate frosting? Is it firm enough to use as a frosting? If so it should be fine 🙂
Imran says
Hi!
This recipe looks great! I’m thinking of making this with two hazelnut sponges, and one chocolate sponge. Would you have any idea how to make the a hazelnut sponge? Leave out cocoa power and add hazelnuts ground down in a food processor?
Olivia says
Hi Imran! I actually have a hazelnut cake on my radar soon, but it will require some experimentation on my part to get it right. If you feel like experimenting, I would use the recipe from my Baklava Cake as a base for this.
Here’s what I’d try for two 6″ round pans:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup hazelnut flour (~ 30g)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup milk room temperature
Let me know if you try it and how it works out!
Imran says
Oh amazing thanks!! Recently discovered your site and it’s really brilliant. Look forward to the hazelnut cake once it’s live – there’s a cake that I’d love to try replicate by Kontidor (I’m from London, not sure in the have US shops) called Chocolate Noisette cake if looking for inspo
Olivia says
Let me know if you try the hazelnut sponge before I do. I’ll look up the Chocolate Noisette cake, it sounds delicious! 🙂
Rai says
Hi! This cake looks fabulous and I’m really looking forward to baking it! However, I only have two 6 inch pans and I was wondering if it will be okay to bake two of the layers first and then the third with the remaining batter after?
Olivia says
Hi Rai! Ideally, you would bake the layers right away since the chemical reaction starts to take place as soon as everything is incorporated. You could 2/3 the recipe and bake in two 6″ pans or bake the recipe as is in two 8″ pans instead.
Nesar says
Hi
Can I add hazelnut oil to add flavour to the cake?
Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Nesar! Yes, I think that would work fine. I wouldn’t add too much in case the oil is very strong.
Nesar says
Thank you 🙏🏽
Planning to bake this weekend 😊
Amrita Sagoo says
Hey there, I had a question, if I’m not making the meringue, do I still need to chill it prior to frosting?
Olivia says
Hi Amrita! You should make sure the cake layers are completely cool and I recommend chilling the cake during the frosting process as per the assembly instructions for best results.
Amrita Sagoo says
Great, thank you!
Ida says
Hi! I made these today and my cake layers are sitting in the freezer now. They smell fantastic! I made them in 3 5″ inch pans. They sank alittle in the middle while baking and did not dome at all. (I swear i did not open the oven door) what could be the cause? The only substitution i made was the Dutch cocoa, replaces with Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa. Any ideas? Thanks for the recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Ida! Is it possible they were underbaked a bit or did they sink while in the oven? If so then are you at high elevation?
Farah Suhail says
Hey liv! I love this cake!
I made the cake part already. Can I make the meringue a day before assembling the cake and it won’t get soft and soggy?
And how early can I make the buttercream?
Olivia says
Hi Farah! You can make the meringue in advance just store it at room temperature in something airtight. Do not refrigerate it as it will soften. You can make the buttercream a week or two in advance. Refrigerate, bring to room temp, and rewhip before use.
Farah Suhail says
Thanks for the quick response. The sponge part turned out to be delicious!! Best chocolate cake ever! I am going to assemble it tomorrow. I cannot wait!
I have two morequestions: do I need to use sugar syrup to moisten the cake?
Can I use this super soft cake recipe for Fondant cakes?
Olivia says
Hi Farah! You don’t need to use sugar syrup but you can if you like. I find the cake very moist so I probably wouldn’t. I’m not sure about fondant :\ The cake is on the softer side and I’ve never tried covering it. I think if you frost it well and chill it before fondant it should be ok.