No-bake chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake (cheesecake a freddo alla crema di cioccolato e noccioline)

This chocolate cheesecake is extremely easy to prepare, yet looks so impressive. I got my inspiration for the recipe when visiting the town of La Morra, near Cuneo, in Piedmont. I met a doctor called Roberto, who travels on horseback to visit his patients in their homes. After a long day of horse-riding, he told me that the area was famous for its hazelnut trees, so I decided to include hazelnuts in this recipe – and here you are!

No-bake chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake (cheesecake a freddo alla crema di cioccolato e noccioline). Credit: Dan Jones / Hodder & Stoughton

• serves

  8

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 300 g digestive biscuits
• 150 g salted butter, melted

Filling

• 700 g full-fat cream cheese (room temperature)
• 50 g icing sugar
• 400 g chocolate spread ( (e.g. Nutella)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tbsp cocoa powder, sieved

Topping

• 200 g chocolate spread
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 80 ml double cream
• 80 g toasted hazelnuts, chopped

Chilling time: at least 6 hours. Freezing time: 2 hours.

Instructions

1. To make the base, put the biscuits in a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and blitz again.
2. Tip the buttery crumbs into a non-stick springform cake tin, 23cm diameter. Press the mixture evenly over the bottom using your fingers and/or the back of a tablespoon. Transfer to the fridge and chill while you make the filling.
3. To make the filling, put the cream cheese and icing sugar in a large bowl and whisk using an electric whisk on a low setting until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the chocolate spread, vanilla and cocoa and continue whisking until smooth.
4. Spoon the mixture over the biscuit base and spread the mixture evenly using the back of the spoon. Cover with cling film. Place the tin on a tray and chill for at least 6 hours.
5. Meanwhile, make the topping. Put the chocolate spread in a large heatproof bowl with the vanilla. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat. As soon as the cream starts to simmer, pour it over the chocolate mixture and leave for 2 minutes. Slowly stir until smooth then leave to cool slightly.
6. Remove the cake from the fridge, take off the cling film and spoon over the chocolate topping. Smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Cover again with the cling film and freeze for about 2 hours or until firm.
7. Loosen the cheesecake from the tin by running a kitchen knife or palette knife dipped in hot water around the inside of the tin. Sprinkle over the hazelnuts. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin, unlatching the springform and lifting off the sides, and cut into slices.

Recipe and image from Gino’s Italian Express by Gino D’Acampo (Hachette, HB $49.99).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.