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).

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.