Triple Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake is one of my all-time favorite desserts from Cooking Light. It calls for a lot of ingredients and may require trips to the packy if you don’t already have Frangelico, but it is worth it!
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The cheesecake has what I think is a very strong chocolate hazelnut flavor and is smooth and creamy. You might also like the fact there’s a little protein in it from the fat free cream cheese, cottage cheese and eggs, though it’s still very much an indulgent dessert.
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I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve made this, but here’s a picture of the latest straight out of the oven. The recipe requires a water bath, so if you’ve never sealed off a cheesecake pan with foil or used a water bath, I recommend watching a tutorial on how to do it. It is very easy for water to seep into the cheesecake so you have to do the foil just right.
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A few notes: I sometimes use Oreos for the crust -- usually about 10 Oreos and a little extra oil (like half tablespoon). The original recipe from Cooking Light calls for fat free cottage cheese, but I’ve always used 1% because it’s easier to find. And I never leave out the Frangelico, because it adds a lot of hazelnut flavor without making the cheesecake taste boozy.
Recipe
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Cooking Light's Triple Hazelnut Cheesecake
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped hazelnuts -- toasted and divided
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 15 count chocolate wafers or 10 Oreos
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
- 1 tablespoon hot water
- 1 container fat-free cottage cheese -- 16-ounce
- 1 block fat-free cream cheese -- 8-ounce, softened
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup hazelnut-chocolate spread
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons Frangelico
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs -- lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Place ¼ cup hazelnuts, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and chocolate wafers in a food processor; process until finely ground. Add oil; process until crumbs are moist. Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Wrap outside of pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.
- Combine instant coffee granules and 1 tablespoon hot water in a small bowl. Place cheeses in food processor; process until smooth. Add coffee mixture, cocoa, and next 6 ingredients (cocoa through salt); process until well blended. Add eggs; process until smooth. Pour mixture into pan.
- Place pan in a large baking pan; add hot water to baking pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched.
- Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.
- Remove cheesecake from springform pan; sprinkle with ¼ cup hazelnuts.
Jen says
Hmmm, wonder if I can sneak this by the mom-in-law on Thanksgiving. She doesn't have to know about the Frangelico, right?I actually made another version of a lightened hazelnut cheesecake and while good, it cracked (like all my others).
s'kat says
Wow- you really don't notice any difference in using the fat-free products?!
Joe says
This is one of our favorite ones as well! Very creamy!