Sounds indulgent? That would be because it is. 😈 This cake is not for faint hearts and weak arteries. It’s for serious Nutella lovers only!
Nutella Cheesecake
I’m a little fussy about my cheesecakes. In the past I’ve publicly declared that baking is the one and only way to achieve a light-and-still-rich-but-not-overly-so cheesecake that ticks all the right boxes. But there are times when baking is not the route to the best result. Say, Mango Cheesecake. Baking alters the flavour of mango and it’s just not the same. And, it turns out, Nutella is the same. The baked version wasn’t bad. It’s just that the no-bake version was so much better, dialling up the Nutella flavour to the max! Bonus: It’s a whip/pour/fridge job, and waiting at the end of this (short and easy!) path is THIS: Holy moly, if that doesn’t make your knees weak and get your heart pumping, you must not have a pulse to begin with. 😂
Ingredients in Nutella Cheesecake
Here’s what you need to make Nutella Cheesecake. Shockingly but reassuringly few ingredients!
Nutella – An entire 500g/1lb jar ends up in this Cheesecake. It’s a Nutella cake, people. Happy days!Cream cheese, block form – Philadelphia brand is my preferred, and they aren’t paying me to say that!! I’ve strayed from the brand before and regretted it.It must be the brick type, as opposed to the cream cheese sold in tubs which is softer. The latter is formulated to be easily spreadable, which we don’t want. If you can only get the spreadable tub stuff, you’ll need to use a bit more gelatine to set it properly (see recipe notes – this note is particularly for UK readers, as I believe brick form cream cheese may still not available there);Gelatine powder – Gelatine is what sets the cheesecake in its fluffy mousse-like form. It’s widely available in the baking section of grocery stores. The setting strength is (to my knowledge) standardised globally, unlike gelatine sheets (don’t get me started on those!!)The brand I use is McKenzie’s, the most common brand here in Australia:
Icing sugar / powdered sugar – Heads up, Australians: It’s best to use soft icing sugar not pure icing sugar, though for this recipe it’s ok if you only have pure. Soft icing sugar is used to make fluffy, creamy frostings like buttercream frosting. Pure icing sugar sets hard and is used for things like Royal Icing. Never confuse or interchange these two types for frostings. But for this Nutella Cheesecake, it is ok since we’re not using it for frosting;Oreo biscuits – This is for the cheesecake crust. I like using Oreo cookies for the texture and flavour, I find they’re more chocolate-y than most other chocolate biscuits. But any plain chocolate biscuits / cookies will work fine here, such as Arnott’s Chocolate Ripples;Cream – Cream is used in 3 ways in this recipe: Filling: Whipped until fluffy then folded through the Nutella Cheesecake Filling. Cream is what makes the filling light and airy, while the gelatine makes it set;Nutella ganache: Combined with melted Nutella and chocolate to make the ganache layer that covers the cheesecake; andWhipped and piped: for decorating the cake!Butter – Just regular unsalted butter, to help the biscuit base hold together; andHazelnuts – For sprinkling across the surface. We want the nuts for texture, visual effect and to double down on the hazelnut flavour in Nutella!
How to make Nutella Cheesecake
Part 1: Prepare the pan (with a TIP!)
Here’s a nifty tip for making cheesecakes: flip the base of a springform pan UPSIDE DOWN. This way, you don’t have the lip of the base to contend with when removing the finished cheesecake = no base-cracking stresses. Though actually, once set cheesecakes are much sturdier than you think! It must be the brick type, as opposed to the cream cheese sold in tubs which is softer. The latter is formulated to be easily spreadable, which we don’t want. If you can only get the spreadable tub stuff, you’ll need to use a bit more gelatine to set it properly (see recipe notes – this note is particularly for UK readers, as I believe brick form cream cheese may still not available there); The brand I use is McKenzie’s, the most common brand here in Australia:
Filling: Whipped until fluffy then folded through the Nutella Cheesecake Filling. Cream is what makes the filling light and airy, while the gelatine makes it set;Nutella ganache: Combined with melted Nutella and chocolate to make the ganache layer that covers the cheesecake; andWhipped and piped: for decorating the cake!
Part 2: Oreo biscuit base
Ordinarily, I also have biscuit sides for my cheesecakes for no other reason than I love biscuit bases! But for this Nutella Cheesecake, I think it’s nice to be able to see the different cake layers so I only use it for the base.
Part 3: Nutella Cheesecake filling
It’s a dead simple mix-and-pour job! OK, OK, so I’m understating it a bit … but it really is straightforward, I promise!
Part 4: Toppings
Decorating the Nutella Cheesecake
It’s a pretty cake just as it is, but we can bling it up further with a few finishing flourishes! First, whip up some cream and pipe blobs around the rim. For this recipe, we’re doing things a little differently. We add a bit of hot water to the solidified gelatine mixture to return it to liquid form, before mixing into the Nutella Cheesecake filling later on; Note: The ganache topping is softer than you might expect. It doesn’t set firmly and you cannot slice through it 100% neatly; it will smear slightly and droop on the edges a bit. This is intentional. Why? Well, firstly I think it should be molten-like so it resembles Nutella. It also tastes better this way. Thirdly, if the ganache is any firmer, it tends to slide off the Nutella filling like the way cheese slides off a badly made pizza. So I stand by the oozy Nutella Ganache – it looks, tastes and eats better! Then, just simply pull the paper out from under the cheesecake. If at any point the paper feels stuck to the pan when doing this, it’s just the butter used to grease the pan that has solidified. Run a knife under the cheesecake and it will release easily. Then warm up a little bit of Nutella so it’s pourable and drizzle it across the cream. You can do this either using a small bowl and a teaspoon, or a little ziplock bag – just snip the corner. No need to get too caught up in perfection on this step. A casual drizzle is the phrase I use! If you want to get technical, I did a drizzles in a criss-cross pattern across the cream. While you could do it across the Nutella Ganache too, you can’t really see it so there’s not a lot of point! Ah, I almost forgot. You want proof of light and airy insides? Here you go … see all those little air pockets? Those pockets mean a luscious, rich and yet light mouthfeel. Really, it’s like a Chocolate Mousse! Because it’s no-bake, this Nutella Cheesecake needs to be kept in the fridge otherwise it will melt. It can be kept out in mild temperatures for quite a while, but on really warm days (say 28°C/82°F+) try to minimise the time it’s out of the fridge. Also, unlike most cakes, where I go on and on about making sure you serve it at room temperature for the best eating experience, this Nutella Cheese is supposed to be served chilled. Believe me when I tell you I don’t say that very often, so enjoy the convenience of direct-from-fridge-to-mouth consumption! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More showstopping cheesecakes!
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