Nutella Cheesecake

(Tastespotting recipe)

Ingredients - serves 12 - 6 points per serve

• 3 x 220g tubs extra light cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup weight watchers sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup nutella
  

Chocolate-Hazelnut Crumb Crust

• 1 1/4 cups ground vanilla wafer cookies (about ½ packet)
• 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 4 tbsp Flora Ultra Light Margarine, melted
  

Method

• Preheat oven to 180C. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
  

To make crust:

• Whisk together cookie crumbs, ground hazelnuts, and cocoa powder in a bowl. Pour in melted butter, and stir to combine, creating a texture like wet sand. Press into bottom of pan, and up the sides about 1/2 inch. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack. Do not turn off oven.
  

While crust is cooling, make the cheesecake batter:

• In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar until well-combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing well between each. Beat in vanilla. In a separate bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat egg whites until they hold medium-soft peaks, then fold into cheese mixture.

• Reserve one cup of the cheesecake batter in a bowl; pour the rest into the cooled crust. Mix the Nutella into the reserved batter, then drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the surface of the batter in the filled pan.

• Holding a knife upright, insert it about 1/2 inch into the surface of the batter, then draw the knife back and forth across the pan, creating a marbled appearance on the cake’s surface.

• Create a water-bath in which to cook the cheesecake: bring a kettle of water to a boil. Wrap the springform pan in foil (to prevent water from the water-bath seeping in); place the springform pan in a roasting pan, and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, surrounding the cake.

• Carefully place in oven and bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until edges begin to pull away from pan, but center is still jiggly. Remove from water-bath and cool completely on a rack. Chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours, but ideally overnight.