Easy Chocolate Cheesecake {German Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe}
When I called our local grocery to see if they had the fair-trade gmo-free chocolate I wrote about recently, I was chatting with the gal who answered the phone there and she ended up giving me this super easy chocolate cheesecake recipe. Our son had also asked me to see if they had Nutella, it’s a chocolate spread that his German teacher introduced him to, which led us to believe for years that it was a German-made treat, but I've since found out it's made in Italy! The ingredient label isn't too bad, as ingredient labels go. It’s even got palm oil, and oil is one of most important ingredients that matter to me! This recipe is pretty low in sugar, too… Unless you count the sugar in the crust and in the whipped cream.
Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe
This recipe could also work as a dip if you don't feel like making a pie. You could use graham crackers for dippers!
Ingredients
- This homemade graham cracker crust
- 1/4 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1-13 ounce jar Nutella spread
- 2-8 ounce bars of softened cream cheese , or try this homemade yogurt cheese!
Instructions
- Mix together powdered sugar, Nutella and cream cheese until smooth. Spread the mixture onto a homemade graham cracker crust and chill before serving. Serve with real whipped cream, of course.
- A little better-for-you dessert ideas here.
- Have you tried making homemade mayo? It's easy now that I've found the fool-proof ingredient!
Denise says
Okay, I’m calling you out on this one. If you want to cheat at the holiday time – though I don’t know why when there are SO many healthy delicious desserts out there – go ahead, but don’t call Nutella’s label “fairly okay”. The first ingredient is sugar – likely beet and GMO. Skim milk is horrible – CAFO milk likely. Whey is not healthy when used in this type of thing because of processing. SOY lecithin – awful soy! Artificial flavour? I don’t think so.
So if you want to cheat then cheat, but don’t call Nutella “Okay”. I love you, Kelly! 😀
sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey (milk), lecithin as emulsifier (soy), vanillin: an artificial flavor.
KitchenKop says
Hi Denise,
It’s okay, I can take it, and probably deserve it, but I just got carried away when I saw a decent OIL on the label, that’s so rare!!! 🙂
Kelly
Suzanne Root via Facebook says
Sounds very good. Christmas worthy!
issacs wife says
has anyone made this before? no eggs?? does this make it very dense then?
christina says
I’ve been wanting to make my own Nutella, because I love it too, and so do my kids. But in the meantime, I’ve found a healthier version made by Rapunzel. It’s organic and has much more of a dark chocolate taste. Nutella tastes oily in comparison. (Although we still love it!)
Here’s the recipe we used for Christmas this year. It’s dairy free too and relies on coconut cream. It was so good, even my friends who could care less about healthy food loved it. And it’s almost as easy as the recipe you mentioned.
8 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped small
2 T. coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut sugar + 2 T honey
1 1/2 cups coconut cream (Skim the fatty top off of two cans of full fat coconut milk)
Dash of salt
2 T of brewed coffee (or Kaluha)
Mix the chocolate, coconut oil, and sweetener in a heat proof bowl. Heat the coconut cream until very hot and pour over the chocolate mix. Let it sit for a minute and then genly stir for a couple more until it is all mixed and chocolate melted. Add the salt and coffee. Pour over your crust and let let in the fridge for an hour at least.
Julia says
Rebecca, Thanks for the link to the homemade Nutella. I am going to try it.
Julie says
Kelly, I thought of you this morning when it came to my attention that today, February 5th is “World Nutella Day”.
Here is a recipe that honors the product and the day:
https://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2010/2/5/nutella-bread.html#comments
Ashley says
Kelly…I also made something yummy with Nutella the other day….hot chocolate. Whisk 1/3 cup of milk and 3 Tbsp of Nutella until mixed well in a saucepan. Add in another cup of milk and stir till it comes to a boil and serve. It is such a yummy rich hot chocolate!!!
justine says
haha I know you did Hallee, no offense taken LOL
KitchenKop says
Hallee,
Guess what? I still use white flour too much too… 🙂
Kelly
Rebecca says
Um, I have an easy fix for you 🙂 Homemade nutella is really easy once you get the hazelnuts shelled (buy them fresh, not in those traditional packages from the store, and roast them for 20-25 mins at 300 degrees) and is one of my favorite treats. Plus, this recipe that I use (stumbled across it at A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa blog) has all real ingredients, including coconut oil! You must try this. Way delicious and way healthier than commercial nutella.
https://spaininiowa.blogspot.com/2009/08/homemade-nutella.html
I find that quadrupling the recipe fits beautifully into one of the Tropical Traditions 16 oz. jars, just FYI.
Hallee says
That purist comment was tongue-in-cheek – not aggressive. 🙂 I’m rarely a purist when it comes to desserts. In fact, I just used my last bag of flour and am about to open my new grain mill — and I’m considering getting some white flour to have on hand for desserts! (I know, I know – no lectures, Kelly. <3 )
justine says
Thanks for clearing that up for me Hallee, I love being proven wrong on the topic:) I tend to get my knickers in a knot when it comes to Palm Oil LOL
btw, I didn’t say people had to be a purist when it came to eating cheesecake, just that I personally was choosing not to make it 😉
Hallee says
Kelly — you might want to add a little bit of tapioca to the sugar — the starch in the powdered sugar might have something to do with the integrity of the cheesecake.
I’m looking forward to making it. I have a jar of Nutella in my pantry that I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with. I’ll play with sugar and tapioca, too.
Hallee says
Aside from the fact that when one is making chocolate cheesecake one shouldn’t have to worry about being a purist, Ferrero (the company that makes Nutella) supports responsible palm oil use. They are a member of the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), and only use palm oil which is extracted from controlled plantations in Malaysia.
Hallee
Motherhen68 says
I’m not sure why you need to add the extra sugar? Is it just me, or does Nutella taste sweet on its own? This does look delicious though, I must say.
Anita says
Why not just use good quality Dark Chocolate, instead of Nutella?
I’ve been making yummy desserts with melted dark choc stirred into cream/cream cheese, as a topping of fruits or cake. Yummy!
justine says
Whilst I love your blog, I’m going to be a party pooper, this is one thing I won’t make. Whilst I love the taste of Nutella and have literally eaten it from the jar as a kid (hey, I never even realised until now, that it was Australian), I’d prefer a better option. Sugar, Soy Lechitin and Palm Oil are the biggest standouts for me. Palm Oil especially-(found in most junk food, cosmetics, and cleaning agents) generally from non-regulated unsustainable plantations, responsible for the destruction of rainforests, and the near extinction of species such as the Orangutang 🙁 It’s not good -despite that it may be good for your health- if it contributes to harming the planet. And I could pretty much guarantee, Ferrero doesn’t source it sustainably.
Kindness Always