This Cheesecake is a dessert lovers dream! A buttery hazelnut biscuit base with a creamy vanilla cheesecake filling topped with swirls of caramel cream… now tell me if there is anything better than that?!
This recipe may have a few extra steps to make but I really recommend giving it a go! The effort will be totally worth it. Here are some extra tips and tricks to make the best cheesecake ever:
TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST BAKED CHEESECAKE
- ALWAYS use room temperature ingredients: This will allow everything to beat together into creamy vanilla cheesecake. If you do not use room temperature ingredients your cheesecake will be lumpy. Use truly room temperature ingredients for the best results!
- Don’t over beat the cheesecake: The key to a great cheesecake is the texture. And if you whip the vanilla cheesecake batter up too much you’ll get a cheesecake that is too fluffy instead of luscious and creamy.
- Let the cheesecake cool gradually: Listen, I’m probably more impatient than you are, so I deeply understand the urge to pop your hot cheesecake in the fridge or freezer to cool it down and get down to inhaling it as soon as possible, the longer you take to cool down the better the texture.
You will need an 8 inch loose bottomed tin
Ingredients:
Base:
250g Digestive Biscuits
50g Melted Butter
50g Chopped Hazelnuts
Cheesecake:
510g Full-Fat Cream Cheese
85g Yoghurt
150g Caster Sugar
3 Medium Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2tsp. Salt
Zest of 1 lemon
Caramel Cream:
200g Whipping Cream (1)
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp. Salt
250g Caster Sugar
150g Butter
100g Whipping Cream (2)
Decorations:
50g Whole roasted Hazelnuts
100g Sugar
Method:
-
Using a rolling pin or food processor, bash the biscuits to a fine crumb. Mix the biscuits together with the butter and hazelnuts to get a slightly wet crumb. Line the tin with a piece of baking paper to fit the base of the tin. Pour the biscuit mix into the tin and press until completely compact and smooth. Leave to chill in the fridge until needed.
-
Now let’s make the cheesecake filling. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius fan. Whisk together the cream cheese until well combined. Then whisk in the sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and lemon. Continue to whisk until smooth.
-
Pour the cheesecake mixture into the prepared tin. Place into the oven for 1 hour until set. It should still be slightly wiggly in the middle but set around the sides.
-
Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely, ideally overnight in the fridge.
-
Now to make the caramel cream. Place the sugar into a small pan, and heat on a medium heat, leave the sugar to dissolve and melt to a golden caramel colour, making sure to stir occasionally.
-
Once it reaches the correct colour, slowly pour in the first whipping cream little by little until completely incorporated. Continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
-
Add the vanilla, salt, butter and remaining cream and stir until completely combined.
-
Leave to set completely, ideally overnight until completely cold. Once cold and set, using an electric whisk to whip until until you achieve soft peaks.
-
For the decorations, melt the sugar to a golden brown colour, once it has melted to a liquid caramel, add the hazelnuts, mix together quickly and pour the sugar and hazelnuts onto a piece of baking paper. Leave to cool completely and then break into shard pieces.
-
Release the cheesecake from the tin carefully and place onto a plate. Spread the caramel cream on top of the cheesecake and decorate with the caramel shards.
Serve immediately, store in the fridge in an airtight container. It will keep for 3 days.
Enjoy!
