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
Ruth says
I noticed that even after baking the cake for an hour, the toothpick never comes out clean. Maybe due to the runny batter. Just worried cake maybe raw inside. I doubled the recipe and used 3 8″ pans.
Olivia says
Hi Ruth! It should definitely not take that long. The cake is very moist and dense due to the hazelnut flour. You can see what it looks like in my slice picture. It’s almost fudgy.
Ruth says
If using 3 8″ pans and doubling the recipe, how long should the bake time be? Does the toothpick have to be dry when you take it out, after inserting on the cake? I think my centers were still raw. Can I fix it? It’s not hot anymore though.
Olivia says
Hi Ruth! The toothpick should have a few crumbs on it still. There is no fixing it after it’s cooled but note that it is a *very* dense and moist cake due to the hazelnut flour. Are you sure it’s raw?
Ruth says
How do you grind the hazelnuts? I’m afraid they might get oily when you grind them. Can I grind them with the all-purpose flour or sugar?
Olivia says
Hi Ruth! You definitely don’t want to grind them too much. I like to pulse the nuts in my food processor for a few seconds until they are ground up. Hazelnuts are oiler than other nuts so can turn into nut butter pretty quickly. You can add a small amount of flour in with the nuts to help with this, but I wouldn’t pulse them with the whole amount of flour in the recipe. Maybe just 1 Tbsp. I would also recommend sifting them a few times in the grinding process to get the smallest bits out. Or, you can place the nuts in a large plastic freezer bag and take a kitchen mallet to them. I haven’t tried the latter and am not sure how fine you can get them but the sifting should help there too.
Arrti says
Made this cake a few days back. Was easy to follow and tasted amazing. I used APP and left out Hazelnut flour. The sponge came out amazing and the nutella buttercream was yumm. Thankyou for an amazing recipe
Olivia says
Hi Arrti! So glad you loved it. Thanks for your tips!
Lauryn says
Hi Olivia, I just made this recipe and it’s really amazing !!! everything was delicious and above all it really tastes like ferrero rocher.
Thank you!!!
Olivia says
Hi Lauryn! So glad you loved it 🙂
Bonnie says
hello,
i absolutely love this recipe! it was amazing! i am about to make it for the second time and wondering if i could make swiss meringue buttercream and add the nutella to that?
thank you!
Bonnie says
Hello, could i make the swiss meringue buttercream and stir the nutella through that?
Olivia says
Hi Bonnie! Yes, I have a Nutella SMBC here: https://livforcake.com/nutella-cake/ It won’t be as rich and dark though.
Bonnie says
Sorry have just seen your reply to my previous request. sorry!
thank you, will give it a go this time 🙂
Olivia says
No worries at all! Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
Carina says
Do you think I could bake the whole batter at once and cut it into three layers afterwards? I only got one baking pan of the size I need.
Olivia says
Hi Carina! You’d need a pan that’s at least 6″ tall. I don’t recommend it. It will bake unevenly and be dry on the edges.
Carina says
Ok, thank you!
Ferna says
Hi! I’ve already done the cakes. Now for the buttercream I was wondering can I add cocoa powder to the Nutella SMBC and by doing this will it darken the cream to look like your cake?
Olivia says
Hi Ferna! Yes, you can add cocoa powder to Nutella SMBC but it won’t make it as dark as the buttercream here.
Sonia says
Hi, if i want to make this cake in an 8 inch pan should i double the recipe?? Can’t wait to try this omg!!
Olivia says
Hi Sonia! Yes, that would be best. Normally I recommend 1.5x for a three-layer 8″ cake but the layers on the chocolate cakes tend to be thinner so I would 2x it.
hailey says
how big of a cake pan do you need for a cake that serves 20 people
Olivia says
Hi Hailey! It depends on the size of the slices I suppose. Here’s some info from Wilton: https://blog.wilton.com/cake-baking-serving-guide/
Sam says
How long can the buttercream touch the meringue before it starts to soften? I wanted to assemble the cake tonight and serve tomorrow afternoon. But I don’t want the meringue to get soft.
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Sam! The meringue will soften by then and won’t be crisp but there will still be some crunch from the hazelnuts in it. You can always add some chopped Ferrero’s onto the layers which should maintain their crunch.
Sam says
Hi! I have made this cake before and it is DELICIOUS. I was wondering if I wanted to add ganache to the layers, will the meringue dissolve over night?
Thank you!!
Olivia says
Hi Sam! The meringue will get soft over time no matter what even due to the buttercream. A ganache would have a similar effect.
Michelle says
Hi Liv! I am planning to make this cake at some point. How far ahead can I make the meringue? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Michelle! You can make the meringue a couple weeks in advance and store it in something airtight so it’s not exposed to moisture/humidity. It should stay crisp until you need it.
Michelle says
Hi Liv! Thank you for your reply. I just made the cake yesterday and it is absolutely delicious! So reminiscent of the actual truffle (my fave!). I made the meringue and it was still soft after 90mins in the oven, so I turned it off and left it alone in the oven overnight. Then, I assembled the cake the day before I was planning to serve, surrendering the meringue to the moisture from the frosting. When we sliced into it, the meringue was still crispy! Oh! And I used almond flour in the cake layers – worked out great. Thank you again for sharing your delicious recipes! 😀
Olivia says
Awesome! I’m so happy that it worked out well and that you liked it 🙂
Laura says
Would the cakes sag inwards after cooling because I took it out of the oven too soon?
Olivia says
Hi Laura! Yes, that is exactly what happens when they are taken out before they finish cooking. There are other factors that could cause this as well though — being at high elevation or too much raising agent.
Brooke says
Ok so
I just came to say that Nutella buttercream is freaking delicious! I made some chocolate cupcakes and popped a delicious swirl of your buttercream recipe on top with a ferrero rocher chocolate and a few flecks of gold leaf. They not only looked gorgeous but everyone LOVED them.
Olivia says
Hi Brooke! So glad you loved it 🙂
Audrey says
If I don’t have a kitchen scale how much would you fill the cake pan would you do like half way or just a quarter of the way?
Audrey says
I’m using 6” pans I measured the batter in a measuring cup and it came out to 3.5 cups and I divided and I’m deciding to fill it up a little over 1.5 cups I also only have one pan. This is for anyone else who doesn’t have a kitchen scale.
Olivia says
Hi Audrey! Awesome, thank you for your tips!
Ann says
The hazelnuts used for decor still have some skin on – wouldn’t that be bitter? I blanched and toasted mine b/c I wasn’t sure…
Olivia says
Hi Ann! A tiny bit of skin is fine. It’s impossible to get it all off I find.
anna says
Hi! If i wanna make 9″ cake instead of 6″ how many Servings i need to enter?
Olivia says
Hi Anna! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
I would 2.25 – 2.5x the recipe to make sure you have enough. For ease I would change the Servings to 28 to get the most round numbers.
Anna says
Thank you for the quick response!
I have another question, can I use regular cacao powder? And is the cacao powder in the buttercream is must?
Olivia says
Hi Anna! Be sure to use cocoa powder, not CACAO powder. They are different and will affect how the cake bakes. Regular cocoa powder is fine though. You can leave it out of the buttercream if you prefer.
Anna says
Do I need to add more powdered sugar to the buttercream instead?
Olivia says
No, it should be fine. You can if you like though, to thicken it a bit.
Daina says
Hi, the cake sounds so amazing. But my cake is not rising at all. Why could that be? Many thanks.
Olivia says
Hi Diana! I would check to make sure your baking powder & soda are still active. The batter is thin and should rise a lot.