Ask A Los Angeles Expert: 5 Best Nutella Recipes

When one hears "Nutella" mentioned, it's almost instant that they'll think of a delicious crepe smothered in this chocolatey goodness. But, there are plenty of other applications for it, too. The following are great Nutella recipes from acclaimed writer, producer and publicist Nadine Christine Hamdan

Ingredients:

• 20 Oreo cookies
• 5 tablespoons Nutella (or other chocolate spread)
• 6-8 ounces melting chocolate (such as Candiquik or almond bark)
• Sprinkles, optional

Directions:

1. Place Oreos and Nutella in a food processor. Process until a smooth mixture remains and a ball starts to form while the processor is running. This will take at least a minute, depending on your food processor.
2. If truffle mixture is too soft to roll, chill for 15 minutes. Otherwise, scoop 1 tablespoon balls of truffle dough onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill at least one hour. (I do not recommend chilling the mixture that long until after you've scooped the truffles. It becomes hard and hard to scoop, so if you need to chill the dough first, just do it about 15 minutes, then scoop, then chill again.)
3. Melt chocolate according to package directions. I like to use melting chocolate like Candiquik and almond bark because it's easier to melt and won't seize like chocolate chips often does. You can find this chocolate in the regular baking aisle. My chocolate melted in about 1-1/2 minutes on high power, and I stirred it every 30 seconds.
4. Dip each truffle in the chocolate, tap off excess, and place back on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sprinkles, if desired. Chill to set. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz (280 g) graham crackers (digestive biscuits)
• 5 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
• 1 13-oz jar Nutella (at room temperature)
• ¾ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
• 1 lb (450 g) cream cheese (at room temperature)
• ½ cup confectioners' sugar (sifted)

Directions:

1. Break the graham crackers (digestives) into the bowl of a processor, add the butter and 15 ml or 1 tablespoon of Nutella, and blitz until it starts to clump. Add 25g/3 tablespoons of the hazelnuts and continue to pulse until you have a damp, sandy mixture.
2. Tip into a 23 cm/9-inch round springform and press into the base either using your hands or the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge to chill.
3. Beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth and then add the remaining Nutella to the cream cheese mixture, and continue beating until combined.
4. Take the springform out of the fridge and carefully smooth the Nutella mixture over the base. Scatter the remaining chopped hazelnuts on top to cover and place the tin in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. Serve straight from the fridge for best results.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (3.4 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips, butter, and unsweetened chocolate. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute then stir. Continue heating in 30-second bursts, stirring between each burst, until the mixture is melted and smooth but not scorched. Remove from the microwave and let cool slightly. Stir in the Nutella.
3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until light and thick, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture with a rubber spatula. Add the flour, cocoa, and salt, folding gently until combined.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake until a tester comes out with moist crumbs still attached, 35 to 40. Do not overbake, you want to err on the side of underbaking. Let cool to room temperature. Serve at room temperature, warmed, or chilled.

Side note: The Nutella flavor is slightly muted with baking. To punch it up, feel free to add a tablespoon of Frangelico to the batter or a cup of toasted chopped hazelnuts if you want a bit of crunch.

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Ingredients:

Donut Holes:

• 1 cup self raising flour (or plain/all-purpose flour/s)
• 1 tablespoon sugar of choice
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• (1/2 teaspoon baking soda if using plain or all purpose flour/s)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (or melted coconut oil) OR light butter/spread of choice, melted
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup low fat milk (or almond milk)

Filling:

• ⅓ cup Nutella, melted 

Coating:

• 1 tablespoon light butter/spread of choice, melted
• ⅓ cup sugar of choice
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 176C | 350F. Spray a 24-count mini muffin tray with cooking oil spray; wipe over excess with paper towel and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the centre and add the oil, egg, vanilla and milk. Whisk the batter until smooth and lump free.
3. Spoon the batter (about 2 teaspoons) into each muffin hole, filling to to ¾ full. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they are golden in colour and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a donut comes out clean. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes and transfer them onto a cooling rack.
4. Brush each donut over with a light coating of melted butter; combine the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl; toss each donut hole into the cinnamon sugar mix until evenly coated.
5. Fill a piping bag with the Nutella. Using a a narrow nozzle, fill each donut with the Nutella until they puff up and expand (not too much or the donuts will overflow).

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs, room temperature preferred
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 3/4 cup Nutella, warmed*

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Spray 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Set aside. In another medium size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set that aside as well.
3. In the bowl of a standmixer, or using a handheld mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. With the mixer running on low speed, add the egg/vanilla mixture and continue to beat until smooth and light in color. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter is very thick and very sticky. Do not overmix the batter.
4. Spread 1/3 of the batter into prepared loaf pan. Spread 1/2 the Nutella on top. Nutella is very thick and hard to "spread."  I used my clean fingers to help smooth it out on top. It doesn't have to be perfect. Repeat with another 1/3 of the batter and the rest of the Nutella. Top with remaining batter.
5. Bake the pound cake for 50-60 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil after 25 minutes to avoid the top and sides form browning too much. Slight browning is OK. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of cake crumbs (with some Nutella). The original recipe stated 1 hour and 15 minutes, but that was much too long for my cake. I fear it would be burnt and dry. 50 minutes is how long mine took, but yours may take longer.
6. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Cake stays soft, moist, and fresh stored at room temperature for up to 6 days.
7. Side notes: Lightly warm the Nutella before layering it into the pan. I simply microwave it for about 15 seconds. This makes it easier to layer into the batter, as well as helps prevent it sinking to the bottom of the pound cake.

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Kristine G. Bottone is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles. Her work can be found at Examiner.com

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