Chocolate Nutella No-Bake Cheesecake

. October, 2016
Photography by Sarah Tuck.
Chocolate Nutella No-Bake Cheesecake

This easy-to-make chocolate cheesecake is rich and smooth with a subtle Nutella flavour.

INGREDIENTS

Cake
200 grams digestive biscuits
50 grams ground hazelnuts
80 grams melted butter
1 tablespoon dark Dutch cocoa
4 sheets Equagold Gelatine Leaves (Gold Grade)
⅔ cup cream
70 grams dark or milk chocolate, chopped
500 grams cream cheese at room temperature
400-gram jar of Nutella
Icing
200ml cream
140 grams milk or dark chocolate, roughly chopped
¼ cup Valrhona Dark Chocolate Pearls, to decorate

METHOD

Cake

Line the base and sides of a 22cm removable-base springform tin with baking paper.

Whiz the biscuits in a food processor to form fine crumbs. Add the ground hazelnuts, melted butter and cocoa and whiz again until the mixture looks slightly moist and a little clumpy. Tip the crumbs into the prepared tin and use the back of a tablespoon to press it firmly into place.

Wipe out the food processor. Refrigerate the base for 30 minutes. Put the gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water to soak (I find it easiest to chop them in half) for 5 minutes. While they are soaking microwave the cream until hot but not boiling and add the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for a minute or two then whisk until smooth. If necessary give it another quick 20 seconds in the microwave.

Roughly chop the cream cheese and put it in the clean food processor with the entire jar of Nutella. Squeeze the excess water out of the gelatine and whisk into the hot chocolate cream mixture until the gelatine is fully dissolved. Add to the cream cheese and whiz until smooth. Pour the filling onto the base and refrigerate for 7 hours or up to two days in advance.

Icing

Melt the chocolate into hot cream in the same way as before/above. Whisk until smooth then allow to cool at room temperature until a very thick pouring consistency. Pour the desired amount over the cheesecake and decorate with chocolate pearls about half an hour before serving. (You may have a little chocolate ganache left-over to serve on ice cream – it stores really well in the fridge.)