Nutella Cheesecake

I absolutely love Nutella, I got addicted to it when I was in uni, and I spread that addiction to my family when I moved back home. Just like my Cinnamon Nutella Cake, my mum was the driving force behind making this cake and I remembered watching the beautiful Nigella Lawson make it a while ago. This was the first time I had made a cheesecake without adding double cream and it was not missed at all. It was still a rich and creamy dessert coupled with the perfect combination of textures. Crunchy biscuit base, soft sweet filling and another layer of crunch, courtesy of some chopped toasted hazelnuts (I bought them like that). The hazelnuts echo the hazelnuts in the Nutella and you end up with a simple yet glorious dessert. And when I say simple, I really mean it. The method is very straightforward, so I had my little brother help me. He bashed the biscuits for the base and whisked the filling ingredients together. All I did was assemble the layers. Super easy cake and the rewards are great. 

With every cheesecake, you have to start from the bottom, and this is what I did. While my brother was bashing biscuits into sand, I was melting the butter. The original recipe doesn't call for this, but that's because Nigella makes the base in a food processor. If you have a food processor, you simply pulse the biscuits into a fine crumb, add very soft butter along with the Nutella and hazelnuts. But if you don't have one like me, melt the butter and the warmth should help the Nutella mix in. 

So once my brother had finished bashing the biscuits, I added the Nutella and hazelnuts. Then I poured in the melted butter.

Using a spoon, he mixed this together until the butter was fully mixed in and the little pieces of hazelnut had spread through the crumbs.

I tumbled the biscuits into a 23cm springform tin that I had lined with greaseproof paper. 

And then using the back of a tablespoon, I flattened the biscuits until I was left with a smooth base. 

I popped this into the fridge and got on with the filling. 

For the filling, I put the cream cheese and icing sugar in a bowl. 

Using an electric hand whisk, my brother mixed this together until it was smooth.

Into this, I dolloped in some Nutella and my brother gave it another mix until the Nutella was fully mixed in. He did a great job, even though he removed the electric whisk while it was still on and sprayed the creamy mixture everywhere. 

There was still more than enough cream cheese filling to spoon into the tin and spread out with the back of a spoon. 

The last thing to do (which I did) was to adorn the top with the remaining chopped toasted hazelnuts.

It was now up to the fridge to play its part and set the cheesecake overnight. A cheesecake this size should be ready after four hours, but I like to play it safe and give it a night to firm up properly. 

The next day, when we were ready for dessert, I carefully took the cheesecake out of the tin and sat it on top of a cake stand. 

It was cut into slices and served - done! Unbaked cheesecakes are so easy, the perfect dessert to make whether you're busy or have a lot of time on your hands. Now, I said that this cheesecake is rich, and looking back, I actually think it would have been nice to serve this with some fresh strawberries or raspberries so that they can cut through some of the richness. However, if you are a Nutella addict like my little brother, you will be absolutely fine eating this on its own. I also thought that it would be too sweet because of the extra sugar combined with the Nutella, but it wasn't. Here, the icing sugar just does its job to set the cake. A great chocolate and hazelnut dessert, just crunchtastic! (sorry, I had to say it).

Serves: 10-12 people

Prep Time: 15 minutes 

Setting Time: 4 hours (or overnight)

Ingredients:

    For the Biscuit Base:

• 250g Digestive Biscuits 
• 75g Unsalted Butter, softened  
• 1tbsp Nutella 
• 25g Chopped Toasted Hazelnuts 

    For the Filling:

• 500g Cream Cheese, at room temperature
• 60g Icing Sugar 
• 335g Nutella 

    For the Top:

• 75g Chopped Toasted Hazelnuts

Method:

1. If you are using a processor, break the digestive biscuits into the bowl, add the softened butter and 1 tablespoon of Nutella and blitz into crumbs. Add in the 25g of chopped hazelnuts and pulse until you have a mixture that resembles wet sand. If you don't have a processor, break the biscuits into a medium sized bowl and crush with a rolling pin. Melt the butter and pour this into the crumbs along with the Nutella and chopped hazelnuts, then mix until it clumps together. 
2. Pour the biscuit base into a 23cm springform tin lined with greaseproof paper and push down with the back of a tablespoon until it's flat. Put this into the fridge to chill while you get on with the filling.
3. In another medium sized bowl, whisk the cream cheese and icing sugar until it forms a smooth mixture. Spoon in the remaining Nutella and whisk again until all the Nutella has mixed in properly. 
4. Take the tin out of the fridge and spoon the filling over the base. Smooth this out with the back of a tablespoon or an offset spatula. Finally, take the remaining hazelnuts and scatter them all over the top of the cheesecake. 
5. Leave to set in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. When ready to serve, cut into slices and enjoy.