Tuesday 30 June 2015

Nutella Zebra Cheesecake


I baked this cheesecake a week after I came back from Kuala Terengganu. Due to the fabulous KT eating frenzy, I came home 3.5kg heavier. OK. 4kg. Baking a cheesecake was not a good move. Not at all.

Not only did I bake this cheesecake, I also baked a brownie. And to make matters worse, the brownie photos came out blah (though it tasted wah!) and I needed a re-shoot. Which means one more brownie to bake. No, no, I am not making excuses. This is a real issue when you are a food blogger. Re-shoots are necessary. Very. hee...hee....hee...



I was looking into my fridge and I saw whipping cream in a pack of three. Oh yes, that one was a special offer. The one that I could not resist because it came to RM6 per pack which is lots cheaper than individual packs.

There were also three packs of cream cheese and I wanted to clear them off before they expire. Besides, the top shelf where I stash my baking ingredients was getting too messy. My fridge needs a revamp and some cleaning! So it was best to empty the shelves to make things easier.


My favorite formula for cheesecake filling is one that contains whipping cream. It makes the cheesecake soft and very creamy.

My original intention was to mix Nutella into the batter and make a Nutella Cheesecake but I got into itchy fingers mode. Hence the stripes hah..hah.. As if I had nothing better to do. The house was in a mess, the laundry and ironing was screaming for attention and then there's dinner prep. And oh yah, the toilet had to be cleaned. Gaarghhh!!!



But there I was all hunched up, alternating plain and Nutella batter into the pan, in zen like mode. The chaos in the house was lost upon me.



For the cheesecake base, I used Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuits simply because these were leftovers from a Chinese New Year hamper. It was messy I tell you because the chocolate is all melty and gooey. After I crushed the biscuits in a freezer bag, I had to scrape them out because they stuck to the bag.



It was well worth the effort because this little 6" cheesecake turned out beautifully. These days I prefer 6" cakes because they are a lot easier to handle and easier to slice too. Besides, they are also very easy to stash away as part of my Frozen Dessert.


So no, I won't be losing much weight anytime soon. It would probably take another school reunion to give me that push to get down to a proper size again, eh? hee..hee..hee...












Nutella Zebra Cheesecake
Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :
- 100g Digestive biscuits
- 50g melted butter

- 250g cream cheese at room temperature
- 100g caster sugar
- 100ml whipping cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp Nutella

Method :
1. Generously grease a 6" springform pan and wrap the bottom with heavy duty aluminium foil. Set aside.
2. Crush the digestive biscuits and mix with melted butter.
3. Press mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and  set aside in the fridge.
4. Beat cream cheese with sugar until well combined.
5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each additions.
6. Add vanilla extract and whipping cream and beat until just combined.
7. Divide batter into two portions.
8. Into one portion, mix in Nutella and stir until well combined.
9. Using two spoons (I used Chinese soup spoon), alternate the plain and Nutella batter (I used 2 scoops per layer) until all the batter is used up.
10. Tap the pan gently to release air bubbles.
11. Bake the cake in a water bath at 140C for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until cake is set (filling is slightly wobbly and it will set further when cooled).


Photobucket

This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Diana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe.

50 comments:

  1. Laundry, dinner and toilet can wait lah. Baking is more important!

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  2. Haha, OCD huh.. Eh you always have expensive stuffs in your fridge to clear, like cream cheese, whipping cream and Nutella, and stuffs like that.. I also want, hehe.. Cream cheese I'll spread onto bread and make french toast, or put in my cooking to make cheese & steak gravy.. Whipping cream ahh, this one you can keep, no need give me, fattening, haha.. The zebra cheesecake looks so pretty, mm seh tak cut and mm seh tak sik..

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    Replies
    1. Hi Louiz! Ya lah, I like to stock up because in my head, I want to bake this and I want to bake that. But in the end, I have no time. So now, I try not to stock up but then problem also. When I am in the mood or got time to bake, not enough ingredients pulak :( Haiz....

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  3. Put on 4kg....can meh in just one week? I would think maybe 2 or 3 lbs only. And the re-shooting thing, I'm with you. I can totally understand when you want to showcase the food you made in the best possible light (I did that before too). Now I just make sure I take more photos than necessary so that I don't have to do any re-shoot! :D Luckily you told us this is a 6-inch cake coz the photo looked like it was a real big one. Good to bake this size, then you don't have to search for people to help you finish. So, I assume the brownie is coming soon?

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    Replies
    1. Unbelievable, right? I am capable of putting on 10lbs in a week which is very scary. And it takes months to lose it :( That is why I have to be super careful at all times what I eat. Yes, my brownies are coming up soon!

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  4. Looks so salivating...lol... Makes me yearning for a piece now.. PH!

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  5. Hi Phong Hong, my nephews always request that I make cheesecakes for them but so far I haven't really make them a proper one. I think they would love to have you as their aunty [Kor Kor] instead of me cos' you really have lots of cheesecakes to share, hehehe!

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    Replies
    1. Kimmy, if I were their Kor Kor, they will miss out on a lot of your specialties like pao, buns, breads and lots more hee..hee...

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  6. Hahaha So funny. So while the chores are piling up, you took your time to make the striped cake? Hihhi

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I just left the housework for next week muahahahaha!

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  7. This zebra cheese cake is so beautiful. I can't resist this if I see it. Luckily I am not a good baker, i have stopped baking after CNY. I may again only after Christmas, perhaps.

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    Replies
    1. Yannie is very wise to refrain from baking! When we bake, we tend to eat and put on weight :(

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  8. Hi Phong Hong,

    Yeah... don't throw away good food. Enjoy this cheesecake first then diet later :p

    Zoe

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  9. Your cheesecake is very beautiful and my eyes were spinning in nutella cirlces too!!
    I love your blah and wah English expressions! I must tell Agnes Chang to read your blogs.

    Just a short trip and you gained 4kg!!! That's about the weight of only 3 durians.
    No worries lady, you will shrink again in no time.

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    Replies
    1. TM, it has a hypnotic effect hah..hah..hah... I put on weight very easily but not the other way around :(

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  10. Nutella lovers would love this. Not really into Nutella and not into cheese cakes. I'll just sit this one out.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I know you prefer the Japanese style light cotton cheesecakes :)

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  11. This zebra cheesecake so nice ~

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  12. The swirling pattern looks very nice la. No overlapping at all

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Meow! I have practiced many times liao.

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  13. I can never get such nice pattern...

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  14. Pretty and yummy cheesecake! Wish I can be like you just close one eye to the household chores and mess in the house and bake with no worries!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Cheryl! Oh no, please don't be like me hah...hah...

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  15. Hi Phong Hong,
    I can understand. .. at our age, we tend to put on weight easily hor (and I hardly exercise. ... hee hee!)
    Very nice zebra pattern !

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    Replies
    1. Karen, ya lor...especially the fats will build up around our tummy :(

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  16. I like cakes in zebra form. Always looks very pretty like yours :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ann! I was happy with the stripes :)

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  17. Looks so good, the zebra stripes.

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  18. wow... nutella again and got zebra strips!

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  19. Your cake is so pretty with the swirl. It should taste wonderful too. You really have the patience to do the strips!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mun! I was in the right mood, or else I wouldn't bother hah..hah..

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  20. haha!! good.. now you are baking with the intention to clear up the leftover stocks in your fridge.. and also for the sake of taking photos for the posts of your blog.. I guess that must be a lot to bake huh?? and we gotta see new recipes and delicious cakes..

    wow, this Nutella Zebra Cheesecake is really beautiful!! you know what, the first thing I realized is that the stripes are vertical and not the horizontal type I usually see.. I have been wondering how you do that.. in my thinking the mixtures are poured in layer by layer hence the pattern must be horizontal (unless you cut it and flip it another way).. but yours, wah, the stripes are vertical leh.. so how you did that?? pouring the mixture from the side or centre, but how did you keep the mixture at the spot without flowing flat?? err, maybe you don't understand what I mean, cos I'm just trying to imagine theoretically, hahaha!!!

    anyway, this one is sure loaded.. chocolate coated digestive (my all time favorite) as the based and then Nutella cheese on top, so chocolatey as well as cheesy!! aiyoyo, so making people drooling only lah.. and the color also so striking it makes people choose it among others if placed together..

    so you cut into pieces, masuk into containers and chuck them into the freezer?? eh eh eh, I thought you would have finished the whole cake one shot!! muahahaha~~ xD

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    Replies
    1. Ya lor, doing stock clearance. I have shown the method to make the stripes in an earlier post. Not that difficult to do, just need practice. This cheesecake turned out well and sudah masuk fixed deposit in the freezer hee..hee...

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  21. Hi Phong Hong! Your nutella zebra cheesecake is so pretty! I tried making the cake version once but the chocolate sinks to the bottom... ooops! Wish I can have a slice of the cheesecake!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jasline! Thank you! I think with cheesecake it is easier to make the stripes because batter is more fluid compared to cake batter. I tried once with butter cake and ended up with messy splotches hah..hah...

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  22. Your nutella zebra cheesecake looks so good and tasty! Makes my saliva drool!

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  23. Phong Hong, leave it to you to come up with such an artistic and creative dessert. Love, love the zebra striped shape with the Nutella, and the cheesecake is so light, and totally 'melts in your mouth' velvety smooth texture!

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  24. Totally would choose cheesecake over losing weight. Especially if it combines two of my favorite words ever: cheesecake and nutella!!

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