Wednesday 20 February 2013

Chocolate hazelnut cheesecake

I've not been very good at caking lately (shock horror) but I think I've been re-inspired now - yesterday one of our grads came to work and he had brought hummingbird cupcakes to give out for his birthday. Because I make cake so much I rarely eat more than a small slice, but yesterday I devoured the whole cupcake in about 2 minutes after missing it so much. As an aside, I do think its particularly weird here that if its your birthday you bring the cake - especially as I practically became the resident cake baker at my old workplace that made half the department's birthday cake. Even if I didn't make it, it was always someone else who arranged the cake for you on your birthday, shop or otherwise. I think the first time this really struck me as odd was when it was someone's 50th and he brought around trays of sparkling wine in plastic cups like a waiter and served half the floor. Whatever next, will you have to buy presents to distribute on your birthday too?!

After eating the chocolate hummingbird cupcake yesterday (in the words of our grad, "no explanation of flavours required then Kate") I think I've rediscovered my love of cake. Just as well, since I'm heading off to test the Mad Hatter afternoon tea tomorrow! But for now, here is a chocolate hazelnut cheesecake (no baking required but you will need fridge time) courtesy of Nigella Lawson. It has been extensively Ka-te-fied and you can do whatever you want; this is just my adaptation of Nigella ideas. Super simple, super quick to make (but you do need chilling time), and super delicious.

pecans on cake

Apologies for the photo quality in this post, for some reason my white balance was playing havoc with me!

Base



  • This is a regular cheesecake base, but substituting hazelnut meal for almond meal to make it extra hazelnutty.

  • Of course you can use plain biscuits and just add melted butter, but its a pet hate of mine. I can just taste the biscuit and I know its not right. Call me pedantic but to me its like putting soy sauce in your spaghetti.

  • Because nutella also = hazelnut, feel free to put in a spoon or two into the base as well!


Complete ingredients & process

  1. Mix a cup or so of hazelnut meal with around half a cup of icing sugar (don't get hung up on measuring please. Its just a base, it doesn't need to rise, just hold together)

  2. Add a couple of spoons of plain flour (you could use all hazelnut meal but it gets a bit expensive; the flour is just a bulking agent really)

  3. Add in a chunk of melted butter (no need to cool), I usually use about a quarter of a block (I think its around 50g or just dig in 2 big spoons into the tub of butter

  4. (optional) Add in nutella, about half the amount of butter that you used

  5. Too wet? Add flour. Too dry? Add butter.

  6. Press into lined cake tin (springform please else you'll be struggling to get it out) then bake at 180 / 200 / 220 deg for around 10min or until golden - watch it doesn't burn.


cake base



Filling



  • I used a stand mixer for this but hand mixer or elbow grease will do just as well

  • There is no need to line the sides of your cake tin (but please do line the bottom). As long as you give the cake enough fridge time, it will be stiff enough that you can just lift the ring portion of the cake tin off and it'll still hold its shape.

  • Soften your cream cheese ahead of time, if you remember (if you are using a stand mixer this won't make much difference, but it means your machine will work less hard)


Word of warning: This is seriously unhealthy but because its so good you'll be eating it for days and staring at it in the fridge. I'd suggest inviting friends over or investing in a flatmate / siblings like mine. Read on if you dare...

cake mix

Complete ingredients & process

  1. Two packets of cream cheese into a large bowl (I use one full fat packet and one low fat packet - I can never decide which one!!)

  2. Add in most of a jar of nutella (maybe about 3/4 jar - can always add more if there's not enough but you can't really remove it)

  3. Add in around half a cup of icing sugar, maybe some vanilla as well

  4. Mix and adjust to taste. Texture should be fairly light and creamy like a really thick version of a whipped cream that's whipped to soft peak stage.


Assembling


Once the base has cooled, put the mix on top of the base and put in fridge, overnight is best. Can sprinkle nuts or other decorations on top if you choose, I used pecans since I couldn't find any hazelnuts in the shop.

cake in tin

Till next time, happy caking!

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