Nutella Cheesecake

I’m Back!

An indulgent slice of Nutella Cheesecake with a side serving of homemade, vanilla bean ice cream!

In March 2009, I started a food blog at mangiodasola.blogspot.com. After a few months of surprised popularity, I purchased my own domain name only to lose it in 2014. I then changed my site back to mangiodasola.blogspot.com. Losing my domain name really affected my zeal for writing and publishing photos and recipes. Of course I continued to cook and take photos of some meals. However, I could never muster the energy to write or even face my blog again.

Now over a year later, I have purchased a new domain name and have added travel, language, and health pages! Not only that, I now live in Germany and teach English and Spanish in person and online. I’m happy to be back in Europe with the ability to travel to new and old cities. For instance, just the other weekend, I went to Prague, Czech Republic for the first time. I hope to go to Greece this year as well (fingers crossed and thumbs pressed down (the latter is German’s way of crossing fingers)).

Nutella Cheesecake 2
OMG! Look at that crust on this nutella cheesecake!

NUTELLA CHEESECAKE

Nutella Pinterest

Anyway, I’m sure you’re here for the advertised cheesecake, not to hear about my past and future endeavors. So let’s briefly talk about this luscious, rich dessert I’ve made on two or three occasions by now. Although I’m not as big of a fan of Nutella (pronounced “new-TEL-lah”) as most people are *gasp*, I do love it in hot churros or facturas, as they make in Lisboa, Portugal and in this cheesecake.

Comments on Preparation:

It is quite easy to prepare. First, I use my base cheesecake recipe (found here and here) and modify the quantities to make room for the Nutella. Then quickly whip some heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla extract and generously place the whipped cream on top of your slice!! Add a bit of homemade vanilla bean ice cream (use granulated or brown sugar) to really go over the top! Enjoy!

Nutella Cheesecake 3
I want another slice of nutella cheesecake now!

Nutella Cheesecake

Chocolate Cookie Crust

2-4 cups (340 g) crushed Oreos or chocolate cookies (amount depends on if you like high or low crust)
2 Tbsps granulated/castor sugar (optional)
3-4 Tbsps of melted butter
2 Tbsps of Nutella (optional)

Nutella Cheesecake Filling

16 oz (454 g) of cream cheese (room temperature)
4 Tbsps of granulated/castor sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1-2 tsp of vanilla extract
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream (double cream)
1 cup (85 g) of Nutella

Make Cookie Crust:
  1. First butter a 9-inch springform pan – 2 3/4 inches high – and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil; put the pan on a baking sheet.
  2. Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and Nutella; stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. Turn the ingredients into the buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
  3. Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350°F and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
  4. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Make Cheesecake Filling (instructions adapted from Dorie Greenspan):

  1. Put a kettle or large pot of water on to boil.
  2. Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and lives up to the creamy part of its name, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
  3. Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.
  4. Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
  5. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour (oven times may vary by 15-30 minutes. It usually takes 1 hour for me), at which point the top will be browned and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
  6. After an hour, carefully pull everything out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster, and remove the foil carefully. Allow the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
  7. When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly, and chill the cake for at least 4 hours or overnight.
  8. Remove the sides of the springform pan, and set the cake, still on the pan’s base, on a serving platter. The easiest way to cut cheesecake is to use a long, thin knife that has been run under hot water and lightly wiped. Keep warming the knife as you cut slices of the cake.
  9. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream!

Top layer: Ganache

1/2 cup heavy cream
4.5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp espresso powder (optional)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract instead)

Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat just BEFORE it boils. Place the chocolate in the cream, and remove from heat. Stir the mixture until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract. Allow the ganache to cool for about 15 minutes before pouring the mixture on top of the nutella cheesecake.Release the springform pan. With an offset spatula, smooth the ganache while starting at the center of the cake and working outward. Pour ganache on top once it has cooled and thickened and still in a pourable state. Keep in mind that the cold temperature of the cake will cause the ganache to firm up quickly, and you may have to pour more on top.

Save the rest of the ganache for decorations (if you whip the ganache when it’s cold, you can pipe a beautiful decoration) or save it for something else.

Memoria is a polyglot xenophile from Texas who currently lives in Germany. She teaches English by day and Spanish by night and works on her food, language, and travel blog and Local Language eCourse in between. She speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, some German, and a little French. She loves to travel and learn the local language for every country she visits and hopes that she can pass this linguistic desire to others.

Author: Memoria James

Memoria is a polyglot xenophile from Texas who currently lives in Germany. She teaches English by day and Spanish by night and works on her food, language, and travel blog and Local Language eCourse in between. She speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, some German, and a little French. She loves to travel and learn the local language for every country she visits and hopes that she can pass this linguistic desire to others.

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