The best way to inject serious Nutella flavour into a cheesecake? Make it NO-BAKE. Foregoing any cooking preserves the Nutella flavour better. A triple hit of Nutella also helps here: in the mousse-like cream cheese filling, the ganache topping and as a drizzle to finish it off!
PS I know gelatine is not a staple ingredient for many, but I promise it’s easy to use and you can get it at regular grocery stores. It makes the cheesecake set without being overly dense. I tried without and it’s just not as good. Gelatine makes it so much better!

Ingredients

Base:
200g/ 7oz Oreo cookies (1.5 standard packs, Note 1)
60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
Nutella mousse filling:
3 tsp gelatine powder (Note 2)
1/4 cup water
500g / 1 lb cream cheese , softened (block form, Note 3)
1/2 cup soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (Note 4)
1 cup Nutella (Note 5)
1 cup heavy/thickened cream
Nutella ganache topping:
1/2 cup heavy/thickened cream
1/2 cup Nutella
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips/semi-sweet chocolate chips
Toppings:
1/4 cup hazelnuts , lightly toasted then chopped (Note 6)
1/2 cup heavy/thickened cream (for whipping)
3 tbsp Nutella , warmed

Instructions

Prepare pan: Flip the base of a 20cm / 8″ springform pan upside down – this makes it easier to remove the finished cheesecake without the lip in the way. Butter pan base, then press on a square sheet of baking paper. Clip the pan sides onto the base, letting the excess paper overhang. Butter and line the pan sides with more baking paper.
Oreo biscuit base:
Blitz cookies: Roughly break up Oreos with hands and place in food processor. Blitz until they become fine crumbs. Add melted butter, then blitz again until combined.
Press into pan: Transfer crumbs into prepared pan, pressing evenly and firmly on to the base (I use the underside of a straight-sided, flat-bottomed cup measure to do this).
Nutella mousse filling:
Bloom gelatine: Place water in a small bowl then sprinkle the gelatine powder across the surface. Stir to partly dissolve. Set aside 5 minutes. It will turn thick; this process is called blooming. Microwave the gelatine for 15 seconds to turn it into liquid, stir, then let it stand for 5 minutes to cool.
Cream cheese and Nutella mixture: Beat cream cheese, Nutella and icing sugar until smooth. Add the cooled gelatine liquid and beat another 30 seconds.
Whip cream: In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
Fold in cream: Add one third of the whipped cream to the Nutella mixture and gently fold until just combined. Fold in another third of the cream the same way. Then fold in the remaining cream.
Transfer to cake pan: Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and place back in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.
Decorating
Nutella ganache: Place cream, Nutella and chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl. Microwave in two 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth.
Pour ganache onto cheesecake: Allow ganache to cool for 5 minutes, then pour over the set cheesecake base. Tilt pan to spread it over the surface evenly.
Refrigerate cheesecake at least 3 hours before sprinkling with hazelnuts (otherwise they sink into the cake!)
Decorate: Sprinkle over hazelnuts. Pipe dollops of whipped cream around the edge, then drizzle with warm Nutella. Slice greedy-sized wedges and devour!

Notes

1. Oreo cookies – You can also use plain chocolate biscuits instead, such as Arnott’s Chocolate Ripple, but add 1 1/2 tbsp / 20g of butter. This is because Oreo cookies have a filling which is partly what helps bond the crust.
2. Gelatine – I use McKenzie’s brand, widely available at grocery stores in Australia.
3. Cream cheese – You must use BLOCK cream cheese which is firmer than the tub form, which is designed to be spreadable.
Cream cheese in the UK: If my understanding is correct, the block sort of Philadelphia cream cheese isn’t available in the UK. If this is true and you can only get spreadable, add an extra 1/2 tsp of gelatine in the blooming step to compensate for the softer cream cheese. I just made it this afternoon and it worked out practically the same!
4. Icing sugar – Note for Australians: It’s better to use SOFT icing sugar rather than PURE icing sugar, but it’s ok to use pure icing sugar in this recipe. Pure icing sugar sets hard and is used for things like royal icing. Soft icing sugar is mixed with tapioca/maize starch so it sets more softly, and is used for things like buttercream frosting.
5. Nutella – I’ve used non-Nutella brand hazelnut spreads successfully in the past.
Homemade Nutella – Though I haven’t tried it for this particular recipe, homemade Nutella would elevate this to epic-like status. However, you’ll need to add an extra 1/2 tsp of gelatine as homemade Nutella is runnier than store bought.
6. How to toast hazelnuts – Heat a pan over medium heat (no oil). Put the hazelnuts in and toast for 3 minutes, shaking the pan regularly, until you can start to smell strong nutty aromas. Remove from pan, cool, then chop reasonably finely (I like to chop it finely enough to have some “dust”)
Nutrition
Calories: 635cal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 33g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 316mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 1271IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 3mg