Nutella Gooey Butter Cake - Fantastico!

There is a new love in my life.  It's Nutella.  Yep, Nutella.  Do you know what Nutella is?  I didn't know what is was until our first born daughter introduced me to it.  She used it on peanut butter sandwiches for her children.  She learned of Nutella from her husband who grew up in the Northeast and had eaten it all his life.  I am a southern Indiana girl and had never heard of Nutella.  Maybe it's just as well that I hadn't because, my oh my, is it ever good!

What is Nutella you say?  It is a hazelnut chocolate spread.  I don't know about you, but I have been a big hazelnut fan all my life.  You know, like the hazelnuts you had to "crack the shell and remove the nut in order to eat" hazelnuts.  They always reminded me of acorns as a child.  I have always loved the flavor of hazelnuts and hazelnut flavoring is soooo good in coffee.  This is a little history I found on the Nutella web page..

Nutella® spread, in its earliest form, was created in the 1940s by Mr. Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker and founder of the Ferrero company. At the time, there was very little chocolate because cocoa was in short supply due to World War II rationing.

So Mr. Ferrero used hazelnuts, which are plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy (northwest), to extend the chocolate supply.    

We should all be thankful Mr. Ferrero extended the chocolate spread with hazelnuts because it was a fantastic choice!

According to Wikipedia, Nutella is sold in over 75 countries.  Now that is a pretty popular product!  How I have escaped Nutella up to this point is a wonder to me, but I really had never heard of it until Holly told me about it.  If you don't know what it is, run - don't walk - to the nearest grocery store and buy a jar.  It is in the same location as the peanut butter and may be one of the best things I have ever tasted.  Wow.

I also found out that February 5 is world Nutella day and there are contests for recipes using Nutella.  Who knew?  This all started because of a recipe I found on Pinterest from a blog called Plain Chicken.  She has great recipes and she had made this Nutella gooey butter cake for World Nutella day.  Let me tell you, if you don't have the ingredients to make this delectable dessert, go get whatever you need now and make this dessert this weekend.  You will not be sorry you did.

Have you ever had gooey butter cake?  I have been making it for years and the original recipe originated in St. Louis.  It is a quick and easy dessert and is oh so good.   I make Paula Deen's pumpkin gooey butter cake for Thanksgiving and it is dynamite.  This one may be even better and our new favorite.  Here is what you need.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 package devil's food cake mix (I used a yellow cake mix because I like yellow cake and chocolate)

1 egg

8 Tbsps butter melted (1 stick)

1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup Nutella

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

8 Tbsps melted butter (1 stick)

1 16 oz box powdered sugar (3.5 cups)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray or lightly grease with butter.

To make the crust, put the dry cake mix in a bowl, add 1 egg and 8 Tbsps melted butter and mix with a fork.  Press in the bottom of the prepared 9 x 13 pan.  Set aside.

To make the filling:

Beat the softened cream cheese and Nutella with a mixer till smooth.   Add the eggs, vanilla and melted butter and mix together.  Add the powdered sugar and mix well.  Spread this mixture over the crust and bake for 40 - 50 minutes.  The center should still be a little gooey.  Don't over bake.  I took mine out at 40 minutes.  The cake will have a shiny top and will be a little wiggly when you shake the pan.  It will look like this.  As it cools, the middle will sink a little, leaving the edges slightly higher.  

I made some fresh whipped cream to serve with this incredibly flavorful cake and we enjoyed it with a freshly brewed cup of coffee.  My, my, my.  The texture of gooey butter cake is not like a cake made with flour, but it is soft and somewhat chewy and heavenly.  Oh So Good!  

Now that I have been properly introduced to Nutella and all the ways you can use it, you will probably be seeing more recipes in the future.  How did we live so long without it?  Go, go now.  Get yourself a jar and make this cake.  You will be glad you did!  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Coffee makes it possible to get out of bed.  Chocolate makes it worthwhile.  ~Author Unknown