Roasted hazelnuts, Nutella and melted chocolate make this cheesecake so much better than others!
This cheesecake is made with a hazelnut graham crust. It is not your regular crust. Pan roasted hazelnuts smell delicious and give it its unique flavor and crunchy texture. Nutella is mixed in the crust to give it flavor and stability.
Nutella and melted chocolate for a great chocolate hazelnut flavor!
Just Nutella would add too much sweetness so melted semi sweet or dark chocolate adds the perfect amount of chocolate flavor! With this flavor combination it is almost unecessary to add extra sugar. You can try the better before adding eggs to decide if it needs more sugar for your liking.
In total this makes a rich, creamy, and chocolatey cheesecake with a crunch from hazelnuts in the crust. It's a great way to elevate a classic cheesecake recipe and make it even more delicious.
These are the cheesecake pans that I always use in my recipe videos: Springform pan and Removable bottom pan
A 8 inch springform pan is the traditional choice to make most cheesecake recipes. I usually use it for no bake cheesecakes. For baked cheesecakes I prefer the removable bottom pan. It has the advantage of fitting a water bath snuggly around it.
Nutella Hazelnut Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (290 g) graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (75 g) roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup (60 g) butter, softened
1/3 cup (100 g) Nutella
For the cheesecake filling:
24 oz (680 g) cream cheese
1 cup (240 g) sour cream
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup (300 g) Nutella
1/2 cup (75 g) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
For the Nutella hazelnut ganache:
1 cup (150 g) chocolate, semi-sweet finely chopped
1/2 cup (150 g) Nutella
3/4 cup (18 0ml) heavy cream
1 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (75 g) roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup Nutella Ganache (reserved before adding hazelnuts)
Ferrero Rocher chocolates
Check out my other Nutella cheesecake tutorial while this one is in the making
INSTRUCTIONS:
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Roast chopped hazelnuts in a frying pan without oil at medium heat for about 5 minutes or until slightly dark but not burned. Stir it the whole time to avoid burning. You can either roast them as whole nuts and chop them up after with a cutting boar and a serrated knife or a food processor or you can chop them before and roast the hazelnut pieces. Let them cool a bit before mixing them with graham crumbs, Nutella and melted butter. Press the mixture on the bottom of a lined and greased spring form pan and bake it for about 10 minutes. Let it come to room temperature. Reduce the oven temperature to 315 °F.
Step 2:
For the cheesecake filling add softened cream cheese in a big mixing bowl with cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla and mix it until smooth for about 4 minutes. Add Nutella and melted chocolate. Mix it in quickly until well combined. Mix in sour cream and eggs until smooth for about 2 minutes.
Step 3:
Fill the cheesecake batter on top of the cooled cookie crust and smooth it with a spatula. To bake the cake cover the spring form pan in at least 3 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil or a silicon baking pan to make sure no water can enter. Place it in a slightly bigger baking pan and fill it 1/2 to 1 inch high with hot water. Bake the cake in this water bath at 315 °F for about 80 minutes.
Step 4:
Turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for about 10 minutes. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and water bath and cut around the edge with a knife to prevent cracking. Let it come to room temperature for another 30 minutes to 2 hours. Then let it cool over night or for at least 6 hours in the fridge.
Step 5:
To decorate the cake make a Nutella ganache. For that heat up heavy cream and mix it with chocolate chips and Nutella. Let it sit for a few minutes and then mix it with a whisk or spatula until smooth. Separate about half a cup for decoration and chill it in the fridge until it starts to harden. Mix in roasted hazelnut pieces into the rest of the ganache and let it cool at room temperature for a few minutes. Spread the hazelnut ganache on top of the cheesecake and let it set. Transfer the chilled Nutella ganache into a piping tip with a large star tip and decorate the cheesecake with swirls and Ferrero Rocher.
Enjoy!
**PRO-TIPS**
Don’t overbake the cheesecake as it will continue baking while cooling down. When the cake has a slightly jiggly texture in the center it is done baking.
Before adding hazelnut pieces to the ganache separate the shell pieces from the hazelnut pieces with a metal strainer for a cleaner ganache.
Add another package of cream cheese and egg for a taller cheesecake!
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