Both cheesecake and the hazelnut spread known as Nutella® are secret obsessions for many with an undeniable sweet tooth. It only makes sense to put the two together. Nutella® cheesecake is typically composed of ingredients like cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cream, vanilla extract and, of course, Nutella®, all riding atop a crust made of things like cookies, butter and more sugar. To suit all cooks, this dessert is available in rich and flaky baked versions as well as the creamier no-bake styles.
Perhaps the easiest way to make a Nutella® cheesecake is to whip up a no-bake version with a standard, store-bought cookie crust. These no-bake styles have the simplest ingredients — one example uses a mixture of 1 cup of Nutella® (about 227 g), 0.5 cup (about 113 g) of whipped cream, and about 0.75 cup (about 170 g) of cream cheese. Once these ingredients are beat thoroughly until fully blended, the mixture can be spread over a pie crust from the store or made of crushed cookies and melted butter.
While the no-bake version will be placed in the refrigerator until cold all the way through, the baked version will require more preparation to achieve a baked Nutella® cheesecake's superior richness and texture. A typical recipe will involve blending sugar and cream cheese, then eggs, vanilla extract, Nutella® and heavy cream. The Baker's Royale Web site features a recipe that uses 20 oz. (about 567 g) of cream cheese, two eggs, 1.5 cup (about 170 g) of sugar, 1 tbsp. (about 0.5 oz.) of vanilla, a full 13-oz. (about 369 g) jar of Nutella®, 1 tsp. (about 5 g) of espresso powder, and 0.5 cup (about 118 ml) of heavy cream.
To complement Nutella®'s hazelnut base, some cooks will use a chocolate cookie or graham cracker to make the crust. Some may even line the crust with a light coating of melted chocolate before spreading on the cheesecake batter. A common cook time for Nutella® cheesecake would be about 55 minutes in an oven set to 350°F (about 177°C).
Many would not consider their Nutella® cheesecake finished until they had concocted some form of sauce or frosting for the top. This could be a simple sauce of melted Nutella® and cream, or one of melted chocolate, cream, powdered sugar and some water to adjust the consistency. Before allowing the finished cake to cool off in the refrigerator, chefs might also apply a dense chocolate ganache, a drizzling of crushed nuts, or a fruit marmalade.
