Easy Cheesecake Recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

I love baked cheesecakes, but you know what I don’t love about them: how fussy they can be to bake. For this recipe, the use of a water bath has been eliminated, you can crack open the door when the timer goes off (you won’t “shock” the cheesecake) and you do not need a springform pan to bake it. You’ll end up with a beautiful and delicious crowd pleaser for your Hari Raya kuih table. Or for any gathering or meeting for that matter!

I’ve used the American Heritage Cream Cheese from Phoon Huat for that authentic, all-American cheesecake taste. I love the fact that it is made without preservatives or artificial flavours – just pure cream cheese. It has that wonderful cream cheese tang and it is simply rich and oh-so creamy! For this cheesecake I’ve combined the cream cheese with the RedMan Hazella, an oozylicious chocolate hazelnut spread. The flavour of chocolatey hazelnuts is distinct in the Hazella without being overly sweet – it is just the way I like it!

Before starting, please take out two blocks of the cream cheese from the fridge and leave it out for at least an hour or two for it to soften and come to room temperature. When you are ready to start making this, preheat your oven to 180˚C.

First steps is of course in making the crust. I simply break out half a packet of digestive biscuits (200g) and toss them into a food processor and spin it until everything is broken and becomes sandy with no big bits of biscuit. Since I want to elevate the hazelnut flavour, I’ve added some RedMan chopped roasted hazelnuts. The great thing is that it’s already been roasted and I just love sprinkling EVERYTHING with these, like my salads, my smoothie, my oat porridge and also my toasts!

Add the RedMan melted unsalted butter to bind everything together in the food processor. Butter and line with parchment a 9” square baking tin and pour the contents of the food processor into it. I’ve used a flat-bottomed glass to gently tap the crust down to form an even and compact layer. Put aside.

In your mixer, beat the softened cream cheese on low speed for about a minute to loosen it up. Stop the mixer and add in sugar, RedMan Hazella and RedMan Vanilla Paste and continue beating on low speed for 2-3 minutes until combined. Don’t forget to stop and scrape the sides of your mixer bowl while mixing this together!

While the mixer is still running add in the whipping cream, and increase the speed to medium. Add in the eggs, one at a time. When everything is combined, we are done! Well….almost!

In a small bowl, measure 100g of Hazella and microwave for about 10-15 seconds to soften. Use this hazella to decorate and garnish your cheesecake. You can do swirls or lines. I’ve taken the liberty of making lines of hazella….

…and used a chopstick to help me create a feather pattern.

Give the tin a good tap on your counter and bake for 30-35 minutes and let cool completely on your counter. I would recommend cooling in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to slice, simply remove from fridge and let sit for about 10 minutes. Lift using the edges of the parchment paper. Slice and enjoy!

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Don’t forget to check out my other recipes such as Prawn Curry, Mum’s Pasta Goreng, Ramadan Sunset, and many more on my Instagram. Till my next recipe!

Deliciously Yours, Mel!