Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake

This cheesecake was fantastic! Despite "the incident", it turned out rich and flavorful. I will describe "the incident" since I'm sure you're all curious. The directions below describe placing the cheesecake in a pan of boiling water and then baking it in the oven. Since my cheesecake pan is not airtight, I wrapped it in foil before putting it in the pot of water. Apparently, I was a bit lazy in my effort, since water seeped in and into the cheesecake. I could see it bubbling and mixing thorough the batter as I then declared that it was ruined. My husband said I was acting like it was his fault since he was the one who put the cheesecake in the pot (I didn't want to burn myself....but he could take that chance).

After FINALLY getting the cheesecake pan out of the pot, I decided to bake it as it was and prepared myself for an awful tasting cheesecake. While the cheesecake did crack (even though I left it in the oven for an hour after baking, then an hour on the counter to cool) it was fabulous. I love Ferrero Rocher candies and once I spotted this recipe I knew I had to make it. Maybe next time without so much drama.

Adapted from: http://www.clumbsycookie.blogspot.com/



CRUST INGREDIENTS
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tbsp cocoa powder


CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice (I didn’t use it)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional (such as Frangelico, I didn't use it)
½ tsp salt
10 Ferrero Rocher chocolates cut into large chunks
3/4 cup Nutella
2 tbsp chopped roasted hazelnuts (I didn't put these on the top of the cheesecake)



DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, and Frangelico and blend until smooth and creamy. Lastly add the chopped Ferrero Rocher.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water. 5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.