Go Back
+ servings
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
No ratings yet

Hazelnut Praline Cheesecake

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 10 -12
Author: Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients

Praline

  • 1 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts peeled, lightly toasted
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Crust

  • 6 whole graham crackers broken into pieces
  • 1/2 cup hazelnuts about 2 ounces (peeled, lightly toasted)
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons Frangelico hazelnut liqueur

Filling

  • 2 8- ounce packages cream cheese room temperature
  • 3/4 cup superfine sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons Frangelico
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional Garnishes

  • 3/4 cup chilled whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Roasted hazelnuts
  • Ground Praline
  • Cocoa powder

Instructions

For Praline:

  • Lightly butter cookie sheet (or use a silpat). Stir chopped hazelnuts, corn syrup and brown sugar in heavy small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil mixture until candy thermometer registers 300°F., tilting pan if necessary to submerge end of thermometer, about 10 minutes. Pour praline mixture onto prepared cookie sheet. Let cool.
  • Break praline into 1-inch pieces. Grind finely in food processor. Separate 1/2 of the praline and set it aside for garnish. (NOTE: Praline can be prepared up to 1 week ahead. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and refrigerate.)

For Crust:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. You'll need a 9-inch-diameter spring-form pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.
  • Finely grind graham crackers, hazelnuts and brown sugar in processor. Add butter and Frangelico and process until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on rack. Leave the oven on.

For Filling:

  • Line the outside of the spring-form pan containing the crumb base with a good wrapping of plastic wrap, so that the whole of the bottom and sides are enveloped in plastic. Do the same with aluminum foil, covering the layer of plastic wrap to make a very watertight casing. (NOTE: If you can find it, the LARGE size aluminum foil and is much more effective at keeping the pan water-tight. I recommend it.)
  • Beat the cream cheese until smooth and add the sugar. Add the eggs and egg yolks, beating them in one by one until they are incorporated into the cream cheese and sugar. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once in a while. Pour in the sour cream, vanilla extract and Frangelico, and beat again until smooth and creamy. Finally fold in the ground praline. Place the spring-form pan in a roasting pan and pour in the batter.
  • Pour water from a recently boiled kettle into the roasting pan to come just over an inch up the side of the pan and place in the oven to cook for an hour.
  • When the cheesecake is ready it should be just set on top with a hint of wobble underneath; it certainly carries on cooking as it cools. Take the cheesecake out of the roasting pan, take off the foil and plastic wrap and let the cheesecake cool on a rack.
  • It will need to chill for at least 3 hours, though overnight it best. It can be made 2 days ahead.

For Garnish:

  • Use the 2nd half of the ground praline to coat the sides of the cake and:
  • Sprinkle a dusting of praline on top along with some powdered sugar. (Or: Dust top of cheesecake with cocoa powder / pipe rosettes of whipped cream decoratively around edge of cake. Arrange 1 hazelnut atop each rosette)
Tried this recipe?Mention @NerdsWithKnives or tag #nerdswithknives!