Irresistible Chocolate Nutella Muffins: Your New Go-To No-Mixer Recipe
Prepare to fall in love with these incredibly soft and utterly delightful Chocolate Nutella Muffins! Designed for ease and maximum flavor, this recipe requires absolutely no mixer, making it perfect for bakers of all skill levels, even those just starting their culinary journey. Each bite promises a heavenly experience, featuring a melt-in-your-mouth texture with a surprise burst of gooey Nutella at its heart, beautifully complemented by a luscious Nutella swirl on top. These aren’t just muffins; they’re a delightful escape into chocolate-hazelnut bliss.
For every Nutella enthusiast, these chocolate hazelnut muffins are an absolute must-try. My husband can’t get enough of them, making them a regular, easy breakfast staple in our home. But don’t let their simplicity fool you – the rich, creamy Nutella filling nestled in the center transforms these ordinary muffins into an extraordinary treat. Imagine sinking your teeth into a warm, fluffy muffin, only to discover a molten core of your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread. It’s truly a moment of muffin heaven!
Whether you’re an experienced baker or making muffins for the very first time, you’ll find this recipe incredibly straightforward. The clear, step-by-step instructions ensure a successful bake every time, allowing you to create bakery-quality muffins right in your own kitchen with minimal effort. They’re quick enough for a spontaneous weekend bake and impressive enough to share with friends and family.
Looking for more delicious breakfast inspirations? Be sure to explore our recipes for Mini Pancakes, Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls, and Apple Cinnamon Rolls. And if you’re a muffin aficionado, you might also love our Apple Cider Muffins and Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins for other seasonal delights.
Why This Chocolate Nutella Muffin Recipe Stands Out
- Effortlessly Simple: Say goodbye to bulky stand mixers and complicated cleanup! This recipe proves that exceptional muffins don’t require fancy equipment. Its straightforward nature means less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your delicious creations. Even young aspiring bakers can lend a hand, making it a fantastic family activity.
- Unmatched Nutella Flavor: Nutella isn’t just a spread; it’s a global phenomenon for a reason! Its unique blend of roasted hazelnuts and cocoa brings an incredibly rich, decadent flavor profile to these muffins. We incorporate Nutella not just within the batter but also as a delightful surprise center and a beautiful swirl on top, ensuring an explosion of flavor in every bite.
- Captivating Texture: Achieving the perfect muffin texture is an art, and this recipe delivers a masterpiece. These muffins are incredibly moist, wonderfully soft, and delightfully tender, striking a harmonious balance with the star of the show: a luscious, gooey Nutella filling that remains perfectly molten after baking. This irresistible contrast of textures will have you reaching for another muffin before you’ve even finished the first.
Key Ingredients for Perfect Nutella Muffins
Understanding the role of each ingredient is essential for baking success. Below are detailed notes on the specific components that make these muffins so exceptional. For a complete list with exact measurements, please refer to the recipe card below.
- Sour Cream: This is a secret weapon for achieving truly moist and tender muffins. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda, contributing to a lighter crumb, while its fat content ensures richness. For best results, use full-fat sour cream or a good quality plain Greek yogurt, and ensure it’s at room temperature before mixing. This helps it incorporate smoothly with other ingredients, creating a more uniform batter.
- Eggs: Large eggs are crucial here, providing structure and richness to the muffins. Like sour cream, bringing your eggs to room temperature helps them emulsify better with the other wet ingredients, leading to a more consistent batter and a better rise.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: To achieve a deep, rich chocolate flavor and a beautiful dark color, we highly recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Unlike natural cocoa, Dutch-processed cocoa has been treated to reduce its acidity, resulting in a smoother, less bitter chocolate taste that pairs perfectly with the hazelnut notes of Nutella. This is the one I used.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: These are your essential leavening agents. Baking powder provides the initial lift, while baking soda (activated by the acidity in sour cream and buttermilk) contributes to a tender texture and an impressive rise, giving your muffins those coveted domed tops. Using both ensures a balanced and effective leavening action.
- Nutella: While we used the classic Nutella brand for its renowned flavor and consistent texture, any good quality chocolate hazelnut spread with a similar consistency will work beautifully. The key is a spread that is firm enough to freeze into dollops but melts into a luscious, gooey center when baked.
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of our muffin structure. Ensure it’s spooned and leveled, not scooped directly from the bag, to avoid over-measuring which can lead to dry, dense muffins.
- White Granulated Sugar: Provides sweetness and also helps retain moisture, contributing to the soft texture.
- Unsalted Butter: Melted and cooled butter adds richness and tenderness without the need for creaming, simplifying the process. Using unsalted butter gives you control over the overall salt content of the recipe.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla enhances all the other flavors, adding depth and warmth to the chocolate and hazelnut.
- Buttermilk: Similar to sour cream, buttermilk adds moisture and tenderness. Its acidity helps activate the baking soda, promoting a light and fluffy crumb. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make a substitute by adding one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup, then filling it with regular milk to the 3/4 cup line. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it slightly curdles before using.
Step-By-Step Guide to Baking Perfect Chocolate Nutella Muffins
Get ready to create some truly magical muffins! This recipe is designed to be hassle-free, requiring no electric mixer – just a few bowls, a whisk, a rubber spatula, and your enthusiasm. Gather your cookie scoop, a 12-cup muffin pan, and muffin liners, and let’s get baking!
STEP 1: Prepare and Freeze Nutella Centers. This crucial first step ensures that your Nutella remains gooey in the center rather than melting completely into the batter. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, use a spoon or a small cookie scoop to portion out 12 generous tablespoons of Nutella. Arrange these dollops spread out, then place the baking sheet into the freezer for at least 1 hour, or until the Nutella dollops are firm and solid. This freezing time is key for that irresistible molten center.
STEP 2: Combine Dry Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, gently sift together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda. Sifting helps to aerate the dry ingredients and prevents lumps, ensuring a smooth, even texture in your muffins. Once sifted, add the granulated white sugar and salt, whisking everything together until well combined. Set this bowl aside.
STEP 3: Mix Wet Ingredients. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together the melted and cooled unsalted butter, room temperature sour cream, pure vanilla extract, room temperature large eggs, and room temperature buttermilk. Whisk until all these wet ingredients are fully incorporated and smooth. Bringing dairy and eggs to room temperature helps them blend more uniformly and creates a more cohesive batter.
STEP 4: Gently Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures. Pour the wet ingredients directly into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture until they are just combined. The key here is to avoid overmixing at all costs; a few lumps are perfectly normal and preferred. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour too much, leading to tough, dense muffins. Once just combined, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This resting period allows the flour to fully hydrate and the leavening agents to begin their work, contributing to a better rise and texture.
STEP 5: Preheat Oven and Prepare Muffin Pan. While your batter rests, preheat your oven to a robust 400°F (200°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. For exceptionally tall, beautifully domed muffin tops, a pro tip is to only fill alternating muffin cups, leaving empty cups in between. This provides more space for heat circulation around each muffin, encouraging a higher rise and a lighter texture. If you choose to fill all 12 cups, the muffins will still be delicious but might not achieve the same dramatic dome.
STEP 6: Assemble the Muffins with Gooey Centers. Once the batter has rested and your oven is preheated, it’s time to fill the muffin cups. Using a small cookie scoop, place one dollop of muffin batter into the bottom of each prepared muffin liner. Next, retrieve your frozen Nutella dollops from the freezer and firmly place one on top of the batter in each cup. Finally, scoop another dollop of muffin batter on top of the Nutella, gently spreading it out with the back of the scoop or a small spoon until it evenly covers the Nutella and reaches the edges of the liner. Ensure the Nutella is fully encased in batter to prevent it from leaking out during baking.
STEP 7: Add the Optional Nutella Swirl. For an extra boost of hazelnut-chocolate flavor and a beautiful visual appeal, place approximately 1 teaspoon of Nutella on top of each filled muffin cup. Using a butter knife or a toothpick, gently swirl the Nutella into the top layer of the batter. This creates a striking marbled effect and ensures even more Nutella goodness in every bite. Alternatively, for a slightly less intense Nutella flavor, you can sprinkle a pinch of coarse sugar on top instead for a delightful crunchy crust.
STEP 8: Bake to Perfection. Place your muffin pan into the preheated 400°F (200°C) oven and bake for an initial 6 minutes. This high initial temperature provides a burst of heat that encourages a rapid rise, helping to form those signature domed muffin tops. After 6 minutes, without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the muffin (avoiding the Nutella center) comes out with moist crumbs attached, but not wet batter. The muffins should be golden brown and spring back when lightly touched.
Once baked, remove the muffins from the oven but let them remain in the hot muffin pan for about 10 minutes. This allows them to finish baking gently and set their structure. After 10 minutes, carefully transfer the warm muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Cooling on a rack prevents the bottoms from becoming soggy and helps maintain their perfect texture.
Expert Baking Tips for Ultimate Muffin Success
Even the simplest recipes benefit from a few insider tricks. Follow these expert tips to ensure your Nutella muffins turn out perfectly every single time:
- Accurate Flour Measurement is Key: The most common culprit for dry muffins is too much flour. Always use the “spoon and level” method: gently spoon flour into your measuring cup until it overflows, then level it off with a straight edge (like the back of a knife). Never scoop the measuring cup directly into the flour bag, as this compacts the flour, adding significantly more than intended. Over-measured flour can lead to dense, crumbly, and dry muffins.
- Bake in Batches for Better Rise: If you’re using a 12-cup muffin pan, consider baking only 6 muffins at a time, using alternating cups. This strategic placement allows for superior air circulation around each muffin, ensuring they bake more evenly and achieve a larger, more impressive dome. The extra space promotes a faster, more substantial rise, contributing to a lighter, more appealing texture.
- The Golden Rule: Do Not Overmix! Muffin batter thrives on minimal mixing. Once the wet and dry ingredients are just combined, stop mixing immediately. A few streaks of flour are absolutely fine. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, resulting in tough, rubbery muffins rather than the desired soft and tender crumb.
- Embrace the Temperature Shock: The initial high oven temperature (400°F) is a deliberate technique. This blast of heat creates a rapid rise in the muffins, pushing them upwards to form those beautiful, high muffin tops and contributing to their light, airy texture. Don’t skip this critical step!
- Room Temperature Ingredients Matter: For dairy products like sour cream and buttermilk, and eggs, ensure they are at room temperature. This allows them to emulsify more effectively with the other ingredients, creating a smoother, more uniform batter and a better overall texture in the final baked good.
- Don’t Peek Too Soon: Resist the urge to open the oven door during the first 10-12 minutes of baking. Each time you open the door, cold air rushes in, causing the temperature to drop and potentially deflating your muffins, which prevents them from achieving their maximum rise.
- Test for Doneness: To check if your muffins are perfectly baked, insert a wooden skewer or toothpick into the center of a muffin (making sure to avoid the molten Nutella core). If it comes out with moist crumbs attached, they are done. If it comes out with wet batter, they need a few more minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nutella Muffins
The key to fluffy muffins lies in a few factors: ensuring all dairy ingredients (like sour cream and buttermilk) and eggs are at room temperature for better emulsion and rise, and being careful not to overmix the batter. The combination of buttermilk and sour cream also contributes significantly to their light and airy texture.
Dry or dense muffins are most often caused by two common issues: over-baking or over-measuring the flour. Always use the “spoon and level” method for flour to avoid compaction. If your oven tends to run hot, consider checking your muffins a few minutes earlier than the suggested bake time. Overmixing the batter can also lead to a tough, dense crumb.
Absolutely! This recipe can be easily adapted for a mini muffin pan. You will need to use smaller dollops of Nutella for the centers, and significantly reduce your baking time. Start checking for doneness around 8-10 minutes, as mini muffins bake much faster.
While this recipe has not been specifically tested with gluten-free flour, many readers have success substituting all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend that contains xanthan gum. Results may vary slightly in texture, but it’s worth a try!
No problem! You can easily make a homemade buttermilk substitute. Pour 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup, then fill the rest of the cup to the 3/4 cup line with regular milk. Stir gently and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it slightly curdles. This acidified milk will work beautifully in the recipe.
The Science Behind Freezing Nutella for Muffin Centers
You might wonder why we go through the extra step of freezing the Nutella dollops before embedding them in the muffin batter. This technique is actually a clever baking secret! When unfrozen Nutella is added to the batter and baked, its soft, spreadable consistency would cause it to melt and disperse rapidly throughout the muffin, losing its distinct “gooey center” effect. By freezing the Nutella until it’s solid, we significantly slow down its melting process during baking. This delay allows the muffin batter around it to set and bake, encasing the Nutella, which then melts slowly to create that perfect, molten, gooey core that everyone loves, rather than simply disappearing into the crumb.
Adding a Nutella Swirl: Flavor and Aesthetics
The decision to add an additional teaspoon of Nutella swirled on top of each muffin is purely about maximizing the indulgent experience. This extra touch of chocolate hazelnut spread provides an enhanced flavor in every bite and creates a beautiful, rustic marbled effect on the muffin tops. It’s an aesthetic bonus that signals the deliciousness within. While highly recommended for Nutella lovers, you certainly have the option to omit it or replace it with a sprinkle of coarse sugar for a sweet, crunchy crust if you prefer a different topping or a slightly less intense Nutella flavor. Ultimately, customize it to your taste!
Why Bake Only 6 Muffins in a 12-Cup Pan?
This might seem counterintuitive, but baking only 6 muffins in a 12-cup pan (by filling alternating cups) is a professional baking trick for achieving those desirable, high-domed muffin tops. The increased empty space around each muffin allows for superior heat circulation. With more hot air flowing directly around the sides of each muffin, they experience a more even and rapid rise. This extra room and efficient heat transfer allow the batter to expand upwards more freely, creating a significantly larger rise and a more impressive, bakery-style dome, while also contributing to a lighter and more tender interior texture.
Storing and Freezing Your Delicious Nutella Muffins
To keep your Chocolate Nutella Muffins fresh and delicious, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2-3 days. For longer freshness, especially due to their moist filling, they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Ensure they are completely cooled before storing to prevent condensation, which can make them soggy.
Freezing Nutella Muffins for Later Enjoyment
These Nutella muffins are excellent candidates for freezing, allowing you to enjoy a quick treat whenever a craving strikes. Once completely cooled, wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap, then place them in an airtight freezer-safe container or a heavy-duty freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 30 days. To enjoy, simply thaw the muffins at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or gently warm them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds for that fresh-baked feel.
Other Muffin Recipes To Try
We hope you adore this Chocolate Nutella Muffin recipe as much as we do! If you loved baking and tasting these, please make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW below. We love seeing your creations, so don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats. To discover more delicious recipes and ideas, be sure to follow me on Pinterest. Happy baking!
Nutella Muffins
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Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup White granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup Sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- 2 Large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup Buttermilk, room temperature
- 2/3 cup Nutella
Instructions
- On a cookie sheet with wax paper, scoop a heaping Tablespoon of Nutella. Scoop 12 dollops on a cookie sheet spread out. Freeze for 1 hour until solid.2/3 cup Nutella
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda together. Add in the salt and sugar. Set aside.2 cups All-purpose flour, 1/2 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 1/2 tsp Baking powder, 1/2 tsp Baking soda, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1 cup White granulated sugar
- In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, sour cream, vanilla, eggs, and buttermilk1/2 cup Unsalted butter, 1/2 cup Sour cream, 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract, 2 Large eggs, 3/4 cup Buttermilk
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix until just combined. Don’t over mix! Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with muffin liners. TIP: The best way to get extra domed muffin tops is to only add batter to every other muffin cup.
- Use a small cookie scoop and scoop 1 dollop of muffin batter into each muffin liner. Place a frozen Nutella drop firmly into the batter. Scoop another dollop of muffin batter on top. Spread until even.
- Use a teaspoon and scoop 1 teaspoon of Nutella on top of the muffins. Use a butter knife to lightly swirl it on top.
- Bake for 6 minutes at 400°F. Then, lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Let the muffins sit in the hot pan for 10 minutes before placing on a cooling rack.
Notes
High altitude baking- Add an extra 2 TBSP of flour.
Pull out dairy ingredients 2 hours before baking.