Nutella-Stuffed Muffin
intro
Fluffy, tender vanilla muffins with a gooey, hidden Nutella center and crisp golden tops, perfect for cozy snacking or sharing on sweet treat platters.
Ingredients
Steps
Freeze Nutella dollops
Line a small plate with parchment paper. Scoop 12 individual 1-tablespoon (15g) Nutella dollops onto the plate, leaving 2cm (3/4 inch) space between each. Place the plate in the freezer for 30 minutes until the dollops are firm and solid to the touch, no longer sticky to the fingertip.
Prep oven and muffin tin
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) with the oven rack positioned in the exact middle position to ensure even baking. Line a 12-cup standard-sized muffin tin with paper baking liners, or lightly grease each cup with melted butter or non-stick spray to prevent muffins from sticking during baking.
Combine dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 190g (1.5 cups) all-purpose flour, 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar, 8g (2 tsp) baking powder, and 3g (1/2 tsp) fine sea salt for 30 seconds until fully evenly combined, with no visible clumps of baking powder left in the mixture.
Mix wet muffin batter
In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2 room-temperature large shelled eggs, 180ml (3/4 cup) whole milk, 57g (1/4 cup) cooled melted unsalted butter, and 5ml (1 tsp) pure vanilla extract until completely smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredient bowl, and stir gently with a rubber spatula only until just combined—do not overmix; a few small, pea-sized lumps in the batter are normal and will keep muffins tender.
Assemble stuffed muffins
Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each lined muffin cup, spreading it gently to cover the entire base of the liner. Remove the frozen Nutella dollops from the freezer, and place one solid frozen dollop directly in the center of each cup on top of the base batter. Scoop the remaining batter over the Nutella dollops to fully cover them, dividing evenly so each cup is 2/3 full (do not fill higher to prevent batter overflow while baking). Sprinkle the top of each unbaked muffin with a pinch of coarse sparkling sugar if using.
Bake and cool muffins
Place the assembled muffin tin in the preheated 190°C (375°F) oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the muffin tops are domed and golden brown, and a toothpick inserted 1cm from the edge of a muffin (not the Nutella center) comes out clean with 1-2 small moist crumbs attached. Remove the tin from the oven, let muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes to set, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving, as the molten Nutella center will be extremely hot immediately after baking.
Tips
2.Freezing the Nutella dollops is a critical step: room-temperature Nutella will sink straight to the bottom of the muffin cup and mix into the batter, rather than staying as a distinct, gooey molten center.
3.Test muffin doneness by inserting a toothpick near the edge of the muffin top, not the center. A toothpick in the center will hit melted Nutella and appear to show raw batter even when the muffin is fully baked.
OMG these Nutella-stuffed muffins are a total game changer!!! I made them for my daughter’s soccer team snack last weekend and every single kid (and parent!) asked for the recipe. The center stays perfectly gooey even when they cool down, 10/10 will make every week for meal prep breakfasts!
Super easy recipe even for someone who burns toast half the time! Only thing I messed up was overfilling the muffin tins so they spilled over the edges while baking, but they still tasted SO good. Brought the batch to my office and they were gone in 10 minutes flat.
Made these in my dorm common room kitchen last night and my roommates are already begging me to make another batch. No fancy equipment needed, didn’t even have a muffin tin so I used a cupcake pan with liners and it worked totally fine. Chef’s kiss.
I added a tiny sprinkle of sea salt on top of each muffin before baking and it took these to a whole new level! The sweet Nutella and salty crunch combo is unreal. Perfect for weekend brunch with my girls.
My twin toddlers are OBSESSED with these. I’ve been making a double batch every Sunday for their school snacks all week and they never get tired of them. Way better than the store-bought muffins loaded with weird preservatives!
Made these for my kid’s birthday potluck at school, didn’t tell anyone there was Nutella in the middle and it was such a fun surprise! Only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is I wish the recipe made a bigger batch, 12 muffins went way too fast.
I’ve been baking muffins for 50 years and this recipe is one of the best I’ve tried in ages. So simple, no weird complicated steps, and the Nutella center makes them feel extra special. My grandkids ate three each as soon as they came out of the oven!
Brought these to my department potluck today and I won the ‘best dish’ award, no joke. Everyone kept coming back for seconds, even the guy who only eats keto asked for the recipe (I told him don’t ask, just enjoy). 100% adding this to my regular rotation.
Taste was great but I had a total fail my first try! The Nutella oozed out of half the muffins and made a huge burnt mess on the bottom of my oven. Not sure what I did wrong, any tips?
Made these with the sea salt tip I saw in the comments for my hiking group and everyone went crazy for them! They held up perfectly in my backpack for the 3 mile hike, no squishing, the Nutella was still soft and delicious. Will be a staple for all my future trips.
Just pulled these out of the oven and HOLY COW they are SO good. I ate two straight out of the tin (don’t judge, they smelled too good). Paired with my iced vanilla latte and it’s the perfect Saturday morning treat. Can’t wait to make these for my book club next week!
Great recipe for meal prep! I swapped half the all purpose flour for whole wheat to make them a little more filling for weekday breakfasts, and it worked really well. The only note is they’re a tiny bit denser than the original, but still super tasty.
Made these with a 1:1 gluten free flour blend for my roommate who has celiac and they turned out amazing! You couldn’t even tell they were gluten free. Only reason for 4 stars is I had to add 5 extra minutes of bake time to get the center fully set, but otherwise perfect.
This recipe is so easy I let my 10 year old make almost the whole batch by himself! He was so proud to serve his homemade muffins at family dinner last Sunday, and everyone raved about them. Such a fun, low-stress recipe to make with kids.