Yellow Cake & Nutella Buttercream Frosting

1:00:00 PM mandy 18 Comments

I know no one really wants to see cake photos, let alone a cake and frosting recipe, at the start of the new year but just wait before you click out of this page! Maybe it'll come in handy when you're craving something sweet.
There are just three words I have to say about Pinterest: I LOVE IT! There are only so many blogs and recipes I can find by myself. But now there is a place where everyone shares their finds and makes searching for things myself so much easier. See something you like, pin it for yourself, and go back to it when you're up for a challenge! Now I literally have a gazillion recipes, tutorials, outfits, and other inspirations I'd love to try. Since jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon, the next two are the first recipes I have tried and had successful results with.

I've never tried to make frosting from scratch before. But the photo on Pinterest made it look very fluffy and delectable. The plus of homemade frosting is being able to control the sweetness. Here's a link to the actual recipe if anyone wants to explore the website some more: CLICK HERE.
Nutella Buttercream Frosting
  • 2 sticks of room temperature (soft) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups of powdered or confectioner's sugar
  • 2/3 cup of Nutella
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
Blend the butter and sugar until combined.
Add the Nutella in and blend.
Add the salt and vanilla extract and blend.
Add heavy whipping cream and blend.
I followed the recipe for the most part because this was my first time making frosting. I'm not sure what the difference is in adding the ingredients separately makes but I did it that way anyways just to play it safe. However for the next time, I will probably experiment with the powdered sugar levels. The only thing I did differently this time around was add a smidgen more heavy whipping cream because I thought the frosting consistency I had was just a bit too thick. In the end I had more than enough to give my cake a light layer of icing, add flowery/spiky decorations, and still had frosting to spare. I don't have any special gadgets for icing or decorating. I just use a good o' butter knife, a plastic flower icing tip, and a Ziploc bag.
The actual cake recipe I followed was pretty simple. I was contemplating whether or not to make it from scratch but remembered I pinned something rather interesting a while back. The photo description had something along the lines of "box of cake mix & Greek yogurt". Need I say more? I knew I had to try it! The recipe comes from the website Hungry Girl. I'm not too familiar with her but I've heard the Hungry Girl name here and there. I think she gives tips on healthier eating options? (Don't quote me on that.) She recommended to use a Devil's Food Cake mix but my family isn't too big on chocolate or dark looking desserts so I opted for a yellow cake mix instead. The directions are pretty simple. Just ignore the ingredients the box says you'll need.
Yellow Cake Recipe
  • 1 box of cake mix (your choice on what flavor)
  • 1 cup of Greek yogurt (unflavored)
  • 1 cup water
Mix the cake mix, yogurt, and water together until all of it is combined.
Bake according to the box instructions or until a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out clean.
The end result was very delicious. I used Fage Total 0% for the recipe and that's the type Hungry Girl recommended as well. I'm actually not a big fan of yogurt. Surprising surprising. Please don't judge! I just haven't gotten past the tangy flavor of it . But this cake didn't taste anything like yogurt at all. Instead, the cake itself was just very moist. I don't think I'm ever going back to using oil, eggs, and water for box cake mixes...ever!

These make pretty good and sort of healthy snacks don't you think? Of course definitely not the icing part. But if you just make little cupcakes sans the frosting, it makes for an awesome treat. If anyone plans to make this cake and icing and end up putting any leftovers into the fridge, I'd recommend microwaving your slice of cake or cupcake for a bit to soften the frosting and cake. The frosting gets much sweeter when it is cold and hardened. Plus cake just tastes much better when it's soft! Hope I didn't destroy anyone's keep fit/lose weight/eat healthy New Year's resolutions already. But I personally think this is a great alternative for those sweet-tooth cravings. Would anyone be interested in seeing how other Pinterest experimentations turn out?

18 comments:

  1. Looks amazing! I'd definitely LOVE to see pinterest recreations, especially food and DIY stuff :) xx

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    1. I'll definitely try to experiment & share more of the recreations :]

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  2. Cool, I never knew about using greek yogurt as opposed to eggs, oil, and water for the boxed cake recipes. Definitely going to look into using greek yogurt! And your nutella frosting seems to have this shimmery-esque look to it... very fancy!

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    1. Don't forget the water! :P
      TBH I wasn't sure what I was doing with the frosting. It was my first time decorating a cake xD

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  3. .... Just put my brownies from the box into the oven orz.... but I want to try this for sure in the future =D Think I'm gonna go for the cupcake version though :) although I wonder if the cupcake will be as moist. thanks for sharing ^_^!!!

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    1. Brownies...yum! :D I think the cupcakes should turn out pretty moist too. I'm actually planning on doing that next week with the remainder of my yogurt. I'll let you know how that goes! :]

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  4. Um, Mandy, why wouldn't I want to see a cake post on your blog!? This looks so yummy. You should post more recipes!!! :)

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    1. Because almost everyone has the resolution to eat healthier and lose weight? :P
      I'll try to post more recipes but I usually just follow others' recipes myself. Nothing unique on my part :X

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  5. omgosh this looks so yummmy! i absolutely loved that you used greek yogurt.. i never even thought of that but that would definitely save in the calorie area.. plus it has lots of protein which is so good for you!! so going to try this recipe :) hahah.. oh no thank you for the offer though.. but right now it's too crazy i don't think i'd be able to keep up with the influenster hehe.. but i might hit you up for an invite later on hehehe! :p happy new year hon!

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    1. Hmm didnt know yogurt had a lot of protein..but that is a great plus!
      Alrighty then! Just let me know :)

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  6. OMG that looks delicious O.O...

    read your comment! thank you for the good luck on my goals :D my exercise routine so far is all over the place. i haven't really established something yet. yesterday i walked 2 miles. the day before that i did only one mile but jogged it. today i may just walk one mile and then do leg weights such as the leg press etc. im too weak right now so i dunno what im capable of doing just yet at the gym

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    1. Can't wait to hear how your workout goes! Reading about others' good results inspire me :D

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  7. A gorgeous cake! Such a shame you used a cake mix though :-( Home made cakes taste so much better :-)

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    1. I know :( I'm going to try to figure out how to incorporate yogurt in a homemade cake once I've mastered a from scratch recipe!

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  8. yummy and I hate to eat sweets but I wont let this pass!

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