Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
2-1/2 cups (290g | 10.1oz) graham cracker crumbs
1 cup (30g | 1oz) Rice Krispies Cereal, slightly crushed
1/2 cup (75g | 2.6oz) roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup (50g | 1.75oz) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (120g | 4.2oz) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (150g | 5.3oz) Nutella
FOR THE NUTELLA CHEESE FILLING
3- (227g | 8oz) packages full fat cream cheese
1 cup (227g | 8oz) 14% fat sour cream
3/4 cup (150g | 5.25oz) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) whipping cream
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract, (store-bought or homemade)
5 large eggs
3 tbsp corn starch
1-1/2 cups (450g | 15.9oz) Nutella
1/2 cup (75g | 2.6oz) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
FOR THE NUTELLA HAZENLUT GANACHE
1-1/2 cup (225g | 7.9oz) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (150g | 5.3oz) Nutella
1 cup (240ml) whipping cream
2 tbsp butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup (100g | 3.5oz) roasted hazelnuts, finely chopped
GARNISH
1 cup Nutella Ganache (reserved from above)
13 Ferrero Rocher
Instructions
TO MAKE THE CRUST
Line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment paper. To do that, remove the ring and cover the bottom with parchment paper. Fold the excess paper back under the plate and, while holding it in place with one hand, put the ring back in its position with the other hand. Bring the excess paper back from under the pan but do not cut it off.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, Rice Krispies, chopped hazelnuts and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
In another, smaller bowl, combine the butter and nutella and place them in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds; mix with a whisk until well combined and pour over the reserved dry ingredients. Mix until evenly combined and press the mixture firmly at the bottom and about 3/4 of the way up the side of the prepared pan. Set aside.
TO MAKE THE CHEESECAKE FILLING
Preheat your oven to 350°F and bring about 4 cups of water to the boil; you'll be using it later to make a bain-marie for your cake.
Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, whipping cream and vanilla extract in the bowl of your food processor. Process until the mixture is super smooth and creamy and completely lump free, about 3 minutes. Stop the motor to scrape the sides once or twice, as needed, to make sure that every last bit gets incorporated.
Add the eggs, all at once, and resume processing until they are well combined. You could also throw them down the feeding tube while the motor was running, if that was easier for you.
Stop the motor, scrape the sides well, add the corn starch and resume beating until it gets well incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Add the nutella and melted chocolate and process one last time, for about 30 seconds, until well incorporated.
Place the prepared pan (with the crust in it) over a piece of aluminum foil and fold the foil over the pan so its exterior is completely covered; this will prevent water from getting into the pan. Now place this rig into a broiler pan and pour the cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. Spread the batter evenly, all the way to the edge.
Next, delicately pour enough boiling water into the broiler pan so it goes up about 3/4 of the way up the side of the broiler pan. Place that rig onto the middle rack of your oven and bake your cake for 25 minutes at 350°F. Then, decrease the temperature to 250°F and continue baking your cake for a further 75 minutes.
Turn off the oven and crack the door open about an inch. Leave the cake in the oven, undisturbed, for about 1 hour, or until it's cool enough to be handled with your bare hands, and then slide it out of the oven.
When the cheesecake is completely cooled, run a thin spatula or knife around the rim and refrigerate uncovered for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
TO MAKE THE NUTELLA HAZELNUT GANACHE
Once your cake is completely chilled, take it out of the fridge but don't remove it from the pan.
Combine the finely chopped chocolate, Nutella, whipping cream and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute, allow the mixture to rest for 1 full minute and then stir delicately for 1 full minute. Repeat the process one more time, heating, resting and stirring for one full minute. At this point, the ganache should be completely smooth and combined, but if there were still lumps remaining, repeat the process again but for no longer than 20 seconds this time; continue doing that until the ganache is smooth and silky.
Reserve about 1 cup of that ganache into a small bowl and place it in the refrigerator (you'll want to leave it there until it has the consistency of fudgy frosting, about 3 hours. Stir from time to time to check for consistency.)
Meanwhile, add the chopped hazelnuts to the rest of the ganache and stir until well incorporated; pour over the cake and spread it evenly all the way to the egde. Return the cake to the fridge until the ganache is set.
ASSEMBLY
Carefully remove the ring from around the cheesecake but leave it on the parchment paper.
Put the now fudgy nutella ganache in a pastry bag bag equipped with a medium open star tip) and pipe 12 generous swirls around the top of the cake and 1 in the center. Place a Ferrero Rocher on top of each swirl.
If desired (and if you have a little bit of that fudgy ganache left), prepare a piping cone out of parchment paper and then melt a few tablespoons of leftover ganache in the microwave - it will only take 3-4 seconds. Pour it into your parchment paper cone and then drizzle a little bit more of the now melted ganache over each Ferrero Rocher. Note that you could also use a squeeze bottle instead of the parchment paper cone, but that doesn’t work quite as well when dealing with such small quantities.
Place your now finished cake onto a cake plate; keep refrigerated until about an hour prior to serving.
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