No Bake Nutella Cheese Cake

 

Last week we had 2 birthday's in my family and one was our first born's.  He is a chocolate lover, so I never have to think much what to bake for him.  He can literally eat Nutella sandwich everyday.  I guess all kids love that chocolate hazelnut goodness.  I accidentally picked up a family pack of oreos with double cream on my last visit to the grocery store and it was too sweet for our kids' palate.  So I was thinking a way to use them.  A cheesecake with Oreo crust and Nutella filling was the perfect fit for the occasion.

We celebrated the birthdays with a shrimp biriyani for lunch and everyone was waiting for the cake after that.  I had to make them wait till evening as I had to click some shots at the golden hour of the day.    My kids now know that they have to wait to taste till mom takes the pictures...lol.

At dinner time, my daughter decided to play this game of picking each person and all have to point out their positives and negatives.  It was really good to hear from your kids your negatives and positives.  We thoroughly enjoyed each moment going around the table and talking about each one.  It was good to hear your negatives from your family as they are the ones close to you and know you well.  There were definitely surprising positives which made me emotional too.  

This unprecedented time has definitely changed everyone's life in a positive way to some extend.   I am not ignoring the negative impacts it had made on our lives, but I am trying to focus on the bright side here. I get more time to spend with my family and chase my passion for cooking and photography.  What is that have changed positively for you?  

Yields - 8'' or 9'' cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust

20 - oreo cookies

5 tbsp - melted butter

Layer 1 filling

3/4 cup - unsweetened cold whipping/heavy cream 

2 tbsp - powdered sugar

1 (8 oz) - cream cheese at room temperature

6 tbsp - powdered sugar

5 tbsp - Nutella

1 tbsp - unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tbsp - unflavored gelatin powder

2 tbsp - water

Layer 2 filling

3/4 cup - unsweetened cold whipping/heavy cream

2 tbsp - powdered sugar

1 (8oz) - cream cheese at room temperature

6 tbsp - powdered sugar

1 tbsp - unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp - Nutella

1/2 tbsp - unflavored gelatin powder

2 tbsp - water

Ganache Layer

1/2 cup - semi sweet/milk chocolate pieces

1/4 cup - unsweetened whipping/heavy cream

Ferrero Rocher candy for decoration

Roasted hazelnut/peanut pieces for garnish

Directions:

To make the crust

• Line a 8'' or 9'' spring form pan with a parchment paper just at the bottom.  This is an optional step.  This helps you to transfer the cake to a cake stand easily.
• Remove the cream from the oreo cookies and pulse them in the dry jar of a blender/coffee grinder/food processor to a fine powder.  Add melted butter into the powdered oreos and mix well.
• Press this mixture into the bottom of the springform pan using the bottom of a measuring cup to form the crust.  Cover with a plastic wrap and keep it refrigerated.

Filling for first layer

• Take 2 tbsp of water in a small bowl.  Add 1/2 tbsp of unflavored gelatin to it.  Let it sit for few minutes to bloom.  The gelatin should look wet and soaked up.
• In a mixing bowl of stand mixer, whip the whipping/heavy cream with 2 tbsp of powdered sugar till soft peaks using the whipping attachment.  Alternatively you can use an electric hand mixer to whip the cream.  Transfer the whipped cream from the mixing bowl into a separate bowl and keep the whipped cream aside.
• Add the softened cream cheese, 6 tbsp powdered sugar, 1 tbsp cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and mix well using the paddle attachment of the stand mixture till everything is folded well.  Now add 5 tbsps of Nutella to this and mix till the filling is smooth.
• Boil some water in microwave in a bowl.  Place the bowl with bloomed gelatin over the hot water and mix well using a spoon.  The gelatin should melt completely.
• Add this melted gelatin to the cream cheese Nutella filling and fold in well using a rubber spatula.
• Fold in the whipped cream into the Nutella filling gently till everything is combined well.  Make sure not to deflate the whipped cream.
• Pour this mix on top of the oreo crust layer into the spring form pan and level it using the rubber spatula.  Cover with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge till the next layer is prepared.

Filling for second Layer

• Repeat all the above steps mentioned in the preparation of layer 1 with the ingredients provided in the Layer 2 filling list.  Spread layer 2 filling on top of the first layer and smooth the top using a spatula.  This layer has less Nutella and the color of this layer should look lighter than the first layer.
• Refrigerate the cake covered for overnight.

Top layer of Ganache

• Carefully release the cake from spring form pan.  Transfer the cake to a cake stand using a wide spatula.  If you have lined a parchment paper at the bottom, it will help to transfer well.  This step is optional.
• Boil some water in microwave in a bowl.  Take 1/4 cup of whipping cream and 1/2 cup of chocolate pieces in a bowl and place it over the hot water.  Mix the chocolate & whipping cream using a spoon till all the chocolate melts completely. Let it cool slightly.
• Pour this melted chocolate over the second layer.  Use a frosting spatula to level it so that some oozes out through the sides to give that dripping effect.  Now decorate with Ferrero Rocher candy and Hazelnut/peanut pieces as you wish.

Notes:

• The smaller the diameter of the spring form pan, better will be the visibility of the layers of the cake.  
• Adjust the amount of Nutella per your taste.  The amount I used in each layer was good enough per my family's taste.
• The left over cake cake can be refrigerated up to a week or can be stored in the freezer in a sealed container.  If frozen, make sure to thaw it in the fridge for at least couple of hours before serving.