Another year! Another chance to live, laugh and do what I love! There are a lot of plans and resolutions in mind which I will put on paper one of these days. For a sweet beginning to the new year, here is a recipe for a scrumptious cheesecake requested by my son for his birthday. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted to have, he said “Can a cheesecake be made with chocolate and hazelnuts?” Well, no doubt it can! 
My basic cheesecake recipe comes from one of the numerous Dr. Oetker cookbooks. I have changed a thing or two over the years to suit my taste. This time I added chocolate and hazelnuts to it and I didn’t pre-bake the crust as recipe directs, since it always turns too dark and burnt tasting. I just poured the cheesecake batter right onto the unbaked crust and it turned out just right baked together. I also prefer quark cheese for the cheesecake since it is so much lighter than the common American cream cheese, but it was way too expensive, so I went for what is known in the US as Neufchâtel or Farmers’ cheese and has a lower fat content.
Chocolate swirl cheesecake topped with toasted hazelnuts
Crust:
- 150 g (5.3 oz) flour
- ½ TSP baking powder
- 75 g (2.6 oz) sugar
- 1 pack of vanilla sugar (or 1 TSP vanilla extract)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 75 g (2.6 oz) butter (softened)
- Flour for kneading
Filling:
- 750 g (26 oz) cream cheese (used Neufchâtel, but quark cheese is the best)
- 200 g (7 oz) sugar
- 3 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 50 g (1.7 oz) corn starch
- 3 eggs (divided)
- 250 ml (1 cup+2 TBSP) heavy cream (whipped)
- 100 g (3.5 oz) semisweet chocolate
- 50 – 75 g (1.7 – 2.6 oz) toasted hazelnuts (coarsely chopped)
Also needed: 25 cm (10 inch) round cake spring pan
Preparation:
- For the crust combine all dry ingredients, add 1 egg and butter and mix it at medium speed until well blended. Transfer the dough on a floured surface, knead it for a minute, wrap in plastic and leave in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting prepare the filling. First divide eggs and beat egg whites until firm. Set aside. Next whip the heavy cream and set aside. Lightly toast hazelnuts and chop them coarsely.
- Mix the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolks and lemon juice until smooth and creamy, add corn starch and mix for another minute.
- Now add in whipped cream and fold in egg whites by hand. Melt the chocolate over the hot water bath. Take about 1/5 of the cream cheese mixture and place it a small mixing bowl. Pour melted chocolate inside and mix well.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and divide into 3 equal parts. Roll 2/3 of the dough and place it onto a greased spring cake form. From the remaining 1/3 of the dough make a long rope and press it into the wall of the cake pan. Pour the filling into the unbaked crust, pour the chocolate mixture on the top and make swirls all around with a tooth pick. Top with toasted hazelnuts and bake at 175 C or 345 F for about 45-50 minutes. ***Since I made the cake at night, preparation photos were too dark, so I will not post them this time.
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Happy Birthday son!
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Here Birthday Cheesecake just ready for the oven:
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Baked, cooled down and ready to cut into it:
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First slice for the Birthday boy:
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The next day, a break from painting and a piece of cheesecake. Yum!
Tagged: Birthday, cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate swirl cheesecake, hazelnuts, occasions, recipes, toasted hazelnuts
yum!! this cheesecake looks sooooo good!! love the idea of topping with toasted hazelnuts
Thanks so much! Yes, hazelnuts contribute to the great flavor and a bit of crunch.
Wow, that looks absolutely scrumptious!! Going to give that one a go for sure… (Being European, I agree with you that quark cheese is better, wish they had it more readily available here in the U.S.!)
Thanks so much! Yes, quark is quite expensive around here so we need to come up with the next best substitute.
Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Sibella
Your lucky son. He looks very happy!
Yes Darryl, he was really happy about the cake and the little present we got him. He is a great son, I am truly blessed!
LUCKY b’day boy! The cheesecake looks soooo delicious…
Thank you!
Years ago, Sibella, I used to buy Danish (pastry) at the local bakery and loved it with the “farmer’s cheese” in the middle. I wonder if that was the same as what you’re referring to. That would make a wonderful cheesecake. I like the new heading at the top of the blog.
Kathleen, reading about Neufchatel cheese, I noticed some referring to it as Farmers’ cheese. It sure is creamy, but not much different than regular cream cheese, maybe just a bit lighter tasting.
Oh that looks SO GOOD! Your lucky son! I like the method of whipping the egg whites – I imagine it makes everything much lighter. It looks just amazing with all those swirls and chopped nuts. Yum!
Thanks Korena! It was a goooodddd cheesecake!
Whipping egg whites makes such a difference in texture. I prefer doing the same when I bake regular sponge cakes too.
Famozno izgleda…Sretan rodjendan sinu!
Hvala puno Jasna!
Puno pozdrava!
Oh how I miss cheesecake! Yours is gorgeous and sounds delicious. I would love the little crunch of hazelnuts on top! Yum!!
Thank you April! Hazelnuts are definitely a good touch, I loved the crunch too.
This cheesecake looks so amazing! Yum!!
Thanks so much! Glad you visited my blog!
This cheesecake looks fantastic! And the hazelnuts really bring it to another level of yummy!
Kenley
Thanks so much! I agree, hazelnuts are there to enhance the whole experience!
I love your new look and graphics! Happy birthday to your little man and look at his grin, I would have smile from ear to ear if mom made me a chocolate swirl cake too!
Thanks Bobbi! I thought: new year – new look! It turned out better than I expected. My son loved his birthday cheesecake, as you already noticed!
Hope things are going well on the other side of the Globe! XO
Congrats on your new look! And the cheesecake is a work of art!
Thanks so much Angie!
This looks delicious and very pretty!
Thanks so much, thanks for stopping by!
The cheesecake looks absolutely delish! Love the pretty swirls and the toasted nuts, gorgeous and delicious!
Thanks so much Jasline!
Oh my gosh! Yum! This looks so great.
Thanks! Yes, that was one great cheesecake!