Rich chocolate cake with a hint of hazelnut, a milk chocolate nutella frosting and crushed Ferrero Rocher candies...what is not to love about that. Nothing that's what. This Ferrero rocher cake is a single layer cake recipe, and puts this amazing candy in a cake form that's a dream come true.
Two things I feel like I can make myself the queen of:
- Turning the best candies into decadent cakes. Ferrero rocher cake isn't my first go around with a Ferrero candy in cake form. My Raffaello cake recipe was the first and inspired me to take on this chocolate cake recipe as well. And my chocolate toffee crunch cake recipe basically turns toffee into a delicious cake.
- I feel like too often people shy away from making cakes because they believe they have to be fancy and elaborate. Not the case. I am a true believer that simple is better when it comes to cakes. Single layer cakes are just that, you get all the flavor without all the stress of making a three layer fancy decorated cake. And let's be honest, cake decorating is an art form, and most of us at home aren't that kind of artist. We want a good cake, from scratch - end of story.
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What is Ferrero Rocher?
If you don't know, then you are in for a treat. It is a candy that is a hazelnut inside a sort of hazelnut ganache inside a thin wafer and draped in milk chocolate. They are made by Ferrero, and Italian candy company.
Why you should make this recipe
There's a few reasons...
- It is simpler than other Ferrero rocher cake recipes. Still from scratch, but single layer, so no leveling out of cake layer, stacking or fancy, difficult frosting recipes.
- Simpler means less time. This cake can come together super quick making it great for a last minute dessert or a weeknight treat.
- The chocolate cake itself is delicious. WIth just a hint of ground hazelnuts, the cake is super chocolatey and rich, everything you'd want in a cake.
- The nutella frosting is easy and totally delicious. This frosting is adapted from my sour cream fudge nutella frosting. To make this more authentically like a Ferrero rocher candy, I used milk chocolate for this, since the candy is covered in milk chocolate.
Ingredients for the cake
This single layer chocolate cake recipe is a pretty basic one, with the addition of ground hazelnuts. You can grind your own, which is simple enough, or you can buy it already ground (called hazelnut flour or meal).
- Flour
- Hazelnut flour
- Sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Salt
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Eggs
- Oil
- Buttermilk
- hot water
Ingredients for the frosting
- Heavy cream
- Corn syrup
- Salt
- Chopped milk chocolate. If you prefer a darker, fudgier frosting, use semisweet or bittersweet chocolate instead.
- Nutella
- Sour cream
- Butter
After frosting the chocolate cake it gets topped with chopped Ferrero Rocher candies.
Ingredient swaps and variations
I like to say that everything is adaptable, even a cake recipe. Here are a few ideas for changing this up:
- Use a different kind of ground nut in the cake. If you don't have hazelnuts or hazlenut flour/meal and you want to make this now, you can use almond instead. It tastes similar and is something people tend to have on hand more often. And the amount in the cake recipe is not a lot so it won't make a huge difference in the flavor.
- Use bittersweet or semisweet chocolate in the frosting. Traditional Ferrero rocher candy uses milk chocolate, but this cake is just as good with a frosting made with darker chocolate, it will definitely be fudgier.
Tips for success
While making Ferrero rocher cake is simple enough, here is a few tips to make it even easier:
- This recipe is for an 8-inch round single layer cake. You can of course make in a square cake pan, but the larger you go with the size (ie. 9-inch pan) the thinner the cake and the less the cooking time, so please keep that in mind.
- Don't skip lining the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper, this really ensures the cake won't stick to the bottom.
Top tip
Chill the Ferrero rocher candy before chopping it up. They are softer on the inside than they appear and will stick to the knife if cutting at room temperature. I usually put the candy and the knife in the freezer for about 15 minutes before chopping. This way you have more deifinitive chunks of candy which is what you want to top the cake.
Other single layer cake recipes
Like I said earlier, I am making my way to being the queen of single layer cake recipes, and here are some of my other delicious cakes you should give a try:
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
For the chocolate cake
- ¾ cup flour
- ¼ cup ground hazelnuts
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 6 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 6 tablespoon buttermilk
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon hot water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces milk chocolate chopped
- ¾ cup nutella
- ¾ cup sour cream at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
- 6-8 Ferrero rocher candies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and grease an 8-inch round cake pan and place a cut-out round parchment paper in the bottom.
To make the cake
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine all the dry ingredients and mix together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Slowly whisk in the hot water, making sure to keep whisking as you pour (otherwise you’ll have scrambled eggs.
- With the stand mixer on low speed, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing just to combine.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for five minutes and remove from pan to a cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting
- To make the frosting, bring cream, syrup, and salt to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and stir in milk chocolate, sour cream, nutella and butter. Let sit, stirring occasionally, until chocolate and butter are melted and mixture is smooth and no streaks of white remain. Transfer to a medium bowl. Let frosting sit at room temperature, stirring every once in a while. The frosting will look gross at first, but don't freak out - it will thicken and become shiny and spreadable in like an hour or so. Keep stirring until smooth. It should be the consistency of sour cream; if not, chill another 5 minutes and stir.
- Chill the Ferrero rocher candies for about 15 minutes in the freezer, along with the knife you’ll be chopping them with. Chop them up.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled cake, and sprinkle the chopped Ferrero rocher candies on top.
Notes
Keep this cake covered at room temperature (or in the fridge if you prefer), for up to four days.
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