HAZELNUT MINI CHEESECAKES WITH CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT CRUST AND NUTELLA TOPPING

Mini desserts are popular, especially with the older folks who might just want a “taste” of something rather than a super-sized version.  This is my own recipe, and it was a big hit with my taste testers who said the mini cheesecakes were “to die for.”   The hazelnut flavor really comes through, thanks to hazelnut liqueur, hazelnut flavoring from Spices, etc., hazelnut paste and toasted hazelnuts.

The cooled cheesecakes are topped with Nutella.


Then sweetened whipped cream is piped around the Nutella. 

Hazelnut Mini Cheesecakes with Chocolate-Hazelnut Crust and Nutella Topping Rating:  10 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

CRUST: 1/2 cup hazelnut meal or almond meal (Bob’s Red Mill) 3 Tbsp. coarsely chopped hazelnuts or almonds 2 tsp. butter 2 Tbsp. hazelnut paste, purchased or homemade (recipe follows) 3 Tbsp. sugar 1/2 Tbsp. natural unsweetened cocoa powder Pulse all ingredients in food processor to combine.  Press about 1/2 Tbsp. onto bottoms of 24 paper-lined mini muffin pan cups.  Refrigerate. Hazelnut Paste – If you cannot find hazelnut paste, here is a recipe to make it: 1  cup hazelnuts 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar pinch of salt 1 tsp. hazelnut liqueur 1 small to medium egg white Heat oven to 350F.  Roast nuts 8-10 minutes till skins are dark brown and nuts are aromatic; immediately wrap nuts tightly in clean kitchen towel and place in warm place, such as your microwave oven, turned off, of course, 5-7 minutes to steam.  Rub nuts vigorously in the towel to remove as many of the skins as possible.  Transfer skinned nuts to quart-size plastic storage bag and pound with meat mallet till well crushed and pulverized.  (You can put the whole nuts right in your food processor, but crushing them first is easier on blades.)  Process crushed nuts in food processor till almost turned into hazelnut butter, scraping sides and bottom of work bowl as needed.  Add remaining ingredients and pulse till smooth and well combined.  Store in refrigerator up to two weeks.  Do not eat raw, use only in baked products.  Yield:  about 3/4 cup paste CHEESECAKE FILLING:   8 oz. Philadelphia brand cream cheese, or Neufchatel cheese 1/4 cup hazelnut paste 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 large egg  1/2 tsp. hazelnut flavoring (Spices, etc. online) 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1 tsp. hazelnut liqueur 1 Tbsp. heavy cream Heat oven to 325F.  In work bowl of food processor, pulse cream cheese, hazelnut paste and sugar till smooth.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl; add egg, flavorings and liqueur and pulse till again smooth.  Add cream and pulse just till combined.  Spoon about 1 Tbsp. filling over each chilled crust.  Bake 15-17 minutes, or till cheesecake is just set.  Cool 5 minutes in pan, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling. TOPPINGS:  Nutella or Jif Chocolate-Hazelnut spread Sweetened whipped cream Spoon or pipe about 1 tsp. Nutella in the center of each cheesecake.  Pipe sweetened whip cream around edges.  Refrigerate.  Yield:  24 mini cheesecakes

MIX 'N MATCH MINI CHEESECAKES

I love using my mini springform pans to make little cheesecakes.  They freeze beautifully, and when we want a little cheesecake for dessert, I just take one out and let it thaw on the counter for a few hours.  There’s another advantage to making minis:  it gives me an opportunity to experiment. 

Kraft Foods has developed a recipe specifically for mini springform pans.  You can pick from a variety of flavors (citrus, chocolate chunk, cookies and cream, chocolate royale, peanut butter, mocha and cherry) to customize each mini cheesecake.  Instead of using their flavor profiles, I developed my own (mocha peanut butter and New York vanilla bean).  Both were firm, creamy and delicious.  You can follow the instructions for the original Kraft recipe, or mine, below.  Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Mini Cheesecakes:  Mocha Peanut Butter and New York Vanilla Bean Adapted from kraftfoods.com Rating:  9 out of 10 PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:  1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 3 Tbsp. sugar 3-1/2 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 2-1/2 squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted 3/4 cup heavy cream, divided use 2 Tbsp. + 3/4 cup sugar, divided use 1 tsp. coffee essence (equal parts coffee brandy and instant coffee granules) 1/2 tsp. vanilla 3 (8 oz.) pkgs. Neufchatel cheese, softened 3/4 cup sugar 3 large eggs 1/4 cup lite sour cream 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour 1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 1 tsp. high-quality vanilla extract or paste) 1 tsp. vanilla powder Heat oven to 300F.  Mix cracker crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and melted butter; divide equally among 5 springform pans (or use a large custard cup or other oven-proof dish for the fifth).  Press mixture onto bottom of each pan.  Bake about 7 minutes, or till set. In medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, chocolate, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 2 Tbsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. vanilla; set aside.  In medium-large bowl, beat cheese and 3/4 cup sugar with mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just till blended.  Pour 1/2 of batter (about 2 cups) into peanut butter-chocolate mixture in medium bowl and whisk till smooth.  To remaining batter, add 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tsp. flour, vanilla scrapings and powder, and mix on low speed till thoroughly combined.   (Put the vanilla pod in your sugar canister to make delightful vanilla-scented sugar, or grind it up finely with some powdered sugar to make vanilla powder.) Pour batter over cooled crusts.  There will be some of each left for the fifth crust.*  Pour the vanilla batter in first, then the chocolate, and swirl it together.   Place the pans on a cookie sheet and bake 35-40 minutes, or till centers are still a little jiggly.  (The vanilla may be done sooner, so be prepared to remove it if you need to.)  Run a knife around rims of pans to loosen cakes as soon as you remove them from the oven; cool completely on wire rack before removing rims.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight.  Yield:  5 mini cheesecakes *Kraft does not allow for the fifth mini-cake.  But when you add the extra ingredients, there is too much batter for the four pans.  I put my extra batter into a large custard cup.