By Franzi
In this article you will find a recipe for a very special cheesecake. Because, unlike what you might expect, it doesn't have a thick layer of cream and doesn't have to be refrigerated for long. In fact, it tastes best even slightly warm. What we think is particularly great, of course, is the chocolate ganache that is used to cover the cake at the end. We are sure: This ricotta hazelnut cheesecake will knock your socks off as much as it did us! And as always, at the end of the article you will find FAQs for any questions that might arise about the recipe.
First preheat the oven to 180° C top/bottom heat or to 160° C circulating air. Then prepare a round springform pan for the cake. Grease the sides and bottom of the tin and then line it with parchment paper. The baking paper should protrude 2 cm over the edges on the sides.
Then put the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast them for 10 minutes. They should just get a bit of color. Then take them out of the oven and let them cool completely. Chop 50 g into large pieces and set them aside for decoration later. The remaining hazelnuts go together with the flour in a high-performance blender, in which you then grind the whole thing into a fine mass. Put the hazelnut-flour mixture in a bowl and put the chocolate in the blender. Mix these into coarse pieces and add them to the hazelnut-flour mixture. Now add the ground almonds. Mix it all together, the result should be a bit lumpy and set the bowl aside once more.
Now increase the temperature in the oven by 10°C. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and mix the mixture on high with a hand mixer until you get a creamy consistency, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating each one well. Reduce the stirring speed and add the nut-chocolate-flour mixture and stir it in. Then add the ricotta, vanilla extract and salt and stir it in by hand.
Now the egg whites go into a fresh bowl in which you - with clean and dry - mixer attachments beat them until stiff. Then fold the whipped cream into the batter in 2-3 portions with a spatula. The whole thing is now placed in the springform pan and baked on the middle shelf for about 60 minutes. The cake is ready when it has turned a nice golden colour. But to be on the safe side, be sure to do the wooden stick test: if you poke it in the middle of the cake and no more raw dough sticks to it, the cheesecake is done!
Finally, you devote yourself to the topping: put the chocolate in a medium-sized bowl and set it aside for the time being. Then heat the sugar and glucose together in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. When the liquid has turned a light amber shade, remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully add the water. Then place the saucepan back on the heat, add the vanilla and wait, stirring evenly, until the mixture boils again. Take the hot vanilla caramel off the heat and wait 5 minutes before pouring it over the chocolate in the bowl. Wait another 5 minutes and then stir the contents of the bowl. The whole thing then goes back into the pot and back to low heat. Gradually add the butter while stirring. The ganache is ready when it has an even and glossy consistency.
Dust the cake neatly with powdered sugar and then pour the ganache over one half of the cake so that it runs down the sides. The last step is to put the chopped hazelnuts on the cake, which you put aside at the very beginning. And your slightly different cheesecake is ready :)
How can the hazelnuts be replaced?
Unfortunately, a nut allergy is really not that rare. If you still want to bake the recipe, we recommend using cashews instead. Basically, the hazelnuts can be replaced by any other nuts!
Is the cake also vegan?
A vegan version of this recipe could actually be difficult. The cake contains a relatively large number of eggs, with the yolk and albumen being processed separately. Above all, the consistency of egg whites is not easy to imitate vegan. One idea would be to prepare an aquafaba mixture for the cheesecake, i.e. whip chickpea water (15-30 ml per egg). Let us know how the end result turned out if you try this option!
No question, but a suggestion: Instead of cake, have lots of small cheesecake muffins
If you prefer to conjure up several small cakes instead of one large one, the recipe also works perfectly with muffin cups. Proceed with the preparation in the same way as with the large form, i.e. grease everything, but only lay out circles of baking paper on the bottom. Also note: The baking time is then reduced to only about 20 minutes.
You need these ingredients for the cheesecake:
For the cake:- 300g peeled hazelnuts
- 35 grams of flour
- 160 g coarsely chopped chocolate, preferably with a cocoa content of around 70%
- 100 g ground almonds
- 225g butter, at room temperature and roughly diced (plus a little extra for greasing the dish)
- 250 grams of sugar
- 6 eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 400 grams of ricotta
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 0.25 teaspoons of salt
For the chocolate water ganache:
- 100 g dark chocolate, also best with a cocoa content of around 70%, roughly chopped
- 40 grams of sugar
- 40 grams of liquid glucose
- 70ml of water
- The seeds of a vanilla pod
- 40 g unsalted butter, also at room temperature and cut into 2 cm cubes
- powdered sugar for serving
From the ingredients to the cake:
First preheat the oven to 180° C top/bottom heat or to 160° C circulating air. Then prepare a round springform pan for the cake. Grease the sides and bottom of the tin and then line it with parchment paper. The baking paper should protrude 2 cm over the edges on the sides.
Then put the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast them for 10 minutes. They should just get a bit of color. Then take them out of the oven and let them cool completely. Chop 50 g into large pieces and set them aside for decoration later. The remaining hazelnuts go together with the flour in a high-performance blender, in which you then grind the whole thing into a fine mass. Put the hazelnut-flour mixture in a bowl and put the chocolate in the blender. Mix these into coarse pieces and add them to the hazelnut-flour mixture. Now add the ground almonds. Mix it all together, the result should be a bit lumpy and set the bowl aside once more.
Now increase the temperature in the oven by 10°C. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and mix the mixture on high with a hand mixer until you get a creamy consistency, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating each one well. Reduce the stirring speed and add the nut-chocolate-flour mixture and stir it in. Then add the ricotta, vanilla extract and salt and stir it in by hand.
Now the egg whites go into a fresh bowl in which you - with clean and dry - mixer attachments beat them until stiff. Then fold the whipped cream into the batter in 2-3 portions with a spatula. The whole thing is now placed in the springform pan and baked on the middle shelf for about 60 minutes. The cake is ready when it has turned a nice golden colour. But to be on the safe side, be sure to do the wooden stick test: if you poke it in the middle of the cake and no more raw dough sticks to it, the cheesecake is done!
Finally: The chocolate ganache and decoration
Finally, you devote yourself to the topping: put the chocolate in a medium-sized bowl and set it aside for the time being. Then heat the sugar and glucose together in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. When the liquid has turned a light amber shade, remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully add the water. Then place the saucepan back on the heat, add the vanilla and wait, stirring evenly, until the mixture boils again. Take the hot vanilla caramel off the heat and wait 5 minutes before pouring it over the chocolate in the bowl. Wait another 5 minutes and then stir the contents of the bowl. The whole thing then goes back into the pot and back to low heat. Gradually add the butter while stirring. The ganache is ready when it has an even and glossy consistency.
Dust the cake neatly with powdered sugar and then pour the ganache over one half of the cake so that it runs down the sides. The last step is to put the chopped hazelnuts on the cake, which you put aside at the very beginning. And your slightly different cheesecake is ready :)
FAQs about the ricotta hazelnut cheesecake
How can the hazelnuts be replaced?
Unfortunately, a nut allergy is really not that rare. If you still want to bake the recipe, we recommend using cashews instead. Basically, the hazelnuts can be replaced by any other nuts!
Is the cake also vegan?
A vegan version of this recipe could actually be difficult. The cake contains a relatively large number of eggs, with the yolk and albumen being processed separately. Above all, the consistency of egg whites is not easy to imitate vegan. One idea would be to prepare an aquafaba mixture for the cheesecake, i.e. whip chickpea water (15-30 ml per egg). Let us know how the end result turned out if you try this option!
No question, but a suggestion: Instead of cake, have lots of small cheesecake muffins
If you prefer to conjure up several small cakes instead of one large one, the recipe also works perfectly with muffin cups. Proceed with the preparation in the same way as with the large form, i.e. grease everything, but only lay out circles of baking paper on the bottom. Also note: The baking time is then reduced to only about 20 minutes.
