Mini Nutella Cheesecakes + Giveaway!
A crunchy Oreo cookie crust, layered with creamy cheesecake and topped with a layer of sweet Nutella cheesecake make up this indulgent mini dessert. Baked in mini springform pans means these mini cheesecakes are the perfect size for sharing with friends or a guilt-free indulgence just for yourself!
Everything is better in miniature form. Cupcakes, ponies, puppies, and now cheesecake. Up until a week ago when I made my Grandma’s cheesecake recipe for the first time, I had never attempted cheesecake because albeit very delicious to eat, it was too intimidating to bake – lots of prep and ingredients, lengthy bake time and overall very temperamental. And at the end of all of that, you’re left with a giant delicious cheesecake, that’s not as easy to share unless you’re going to a big dinner or holiday. So I’ve been on a mission to figure out how to make cheesecake more approachable and less of an intimidating feat. Because let’s be real … cheesecake is delicious and makes the world a better place. I mean there is a factory of cheesecakes that always has at least a 2 hour wait no matter what city you’re in or what time of day you go.
So when Cake Boss Baking selected me as one of three food bloggers to participate in the #LoveisintheBaking campaign, I already had cheesecake on the mind. And when I saw the 4-piece mini springform pan set, it was just love at first sight.
While Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, the Love is in the Baking campaign has a different meaning for me. I’ve been baking ever since I could hold a spoon. Literally. There’s a photo I’ll unearth one day a la 1986 with some evidence of brownie batter taste testing all over my face. And I learned baking from two of the best – my mom and my Grandma. My Grandma was an excellent baker. I have the most wonderful memories of baking with her around the holidays. She used to bring out multiple mixers and my mom and Grandma would spend hours and hours baking up everything from thumbprint cookies to pizzelles to chocolate chip cookies, Italian wedding cookies and more. My Grandpa’s job was professional dish washer and cookie sprinkler. The kitchen table would be jam packed with leaning towers of cookies all ready to be packaged up and shared with friends, family and neighbors.
I learned at an early age that you never show up to someone’s house empty handed. Funfetti cookies or a quick batch of brownies were my go-to back when I was younger. In high school I started experimenting a lot more with cookies. With my older brother and a few friends away at college, I would bake up batches of cookies and ship them off in care packages to the different colleges my friends were at several times during the year. I was known amongst my my friends and sports teammates to always have sweet treats on hand. That’s the thing I love most about baking. It brings people together and always brings a smile to someone’s face. It was that way back when my Grandma was the top baker in the family, and even now that I’m head baker in the family, I love the reaction every time I ship off or deliver baked goods to my loyal taste testers.
For this campaign, I opted to adapt my Grandma’s crustless cheesecake recipe into a mini indulgent treat. I decided to experiment with an Oreo cookie crust and a layer of cheesecake infused with Nutella hazlenut spread. If Nutella isn’t your thing you could easily leave it out and just make mini plain cheesecakes with an Oreo crust. You can find the full recipe over on Cake Boss Baking.
A major benefit of using the mini springform pans is that it cuts the baking time in half. Instead of the temperamental hour of baking a large cheesecake in the oven, these mini cheesecakes only take about 30 minutes of baking time and have less risk of cracking, even though no waterbath was used in the making of these cheesecakes.
The Cake Boss Baking springform pans easily loosened and I had no issue with the cheesescakes sticking on the way out. Which made for some really perfectly shaped and delicious three-layer cheesecakes. I mean, look at that – it’s a true thing of beauty!
After baking in the oven for 30 minutes, these cheesecakes took about 3 hours of chilling time in the fridge before I was ready to slice and serve them. I tried two different toppings for this sweet treat. The first was on the more indulgent side, with a large spoonful of whipped cream and toffee bits on top.
But my favorite flavor combination was definitely topping the cheesecakes with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
I’m a big fan of topping the cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream, because then you won’t get as mental about any imperfections on the top layer, which are totally out of your control. Not like a minor imperfection would prevent any of my friends from digging into these treats. I wrapped up these cheesecakes and delivered them to friends who were all raving over the divine combination of sweet flavors.
I love the flavor combination of Nutella and Oreo, which is why I went the Oreo crust route for this recipe over the traditional graham cracker cheesecake crust. The more chocolate the better, that’s what I always say. If you are planning to bake these cheesecakes, or cheesecake of any kind, I highly recommend baking them the night before you plan to eat or bring them somewhere. The key to a deliciously creamy cheesecake is definitely letting it take the time to cool and chill in the fridge so that all of the amazing flavors can get all happy together. You can find the full step-by-step recipe over on to Cake Boss Baking
And speaking of happy, I’m hoping to make two lucky readers happy this week with a giveaway of a set of the Cake Boss 4-piece mini springform pan set that I used for this recipe. To enter the giveaway, click the link below to tell me what you’d bake with these mini springform pans from Cake Boss Baking. You can unlock additional entries by following the instructions below. The contest ends Friday February 5, 2016 at 5pm EST and I’ll announce the winner early next week. Good luck and happy baking!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Cake Boss Baking, but all opinions are my own.
I would bake rolo-filled cheesecakes for my friend Allie!
<3 <3 <3 always thinking of me!
You are so sweet to think of Allie! She does love Rolos.
YUMM! This looks amazing! Did you make the whipped cream too?!
Haha no way, just some cool whip 🙂
Mini-pumpkin cheesecakes with gingersnap crust
Pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap sounds like an awesome combo!
I’m a little upset that I was late to grabbing these from you, and continue to be jealous that the other ladies got to enjoy, but I’ll get over it.
For Thanksgiving I made a pumpkin bourbon pecan cheesecake, and for Christmas an eggnog with a gingersnap crust and chocolate ganache – both of those would be perfect in mini form!
Sweet mama jamma, those both sound so good!
Oh yum! Nutella all the way! Would love to win the little mini pans.
You can never go wrong with Nutella!
i’d make my first cheesecake!!!
A LexiBakes cheesecake! I bet this would involve peanut butter 🙂
I would make them gluten free and show everyone the deliciousness of a gluten free version of this recipe. That is after I taste tested them all!!
You could use gluten free Oreos for the crust, great idea!
I make an espresso chocolate chip cheesecake with an Oreo crust every year for thanksgiving and Christmas. This would be even more perfect as mini cheesecakes rather than one big one!
If you need a taste tester, let me know 🙂
I would make a caviar terrine appetizer for dinner parties and mini quiches for brunch parties!
So fancy!
I would make a peanut butter cheesecake topped with strawberry infused whipped cream! I would be sure to make a traditional graham cracker crust on my cheesecake and not use any chocolate so that my friend Harry can indulge!
Yum that sounds delicious! And you’re so sweet to think of Harry <3
I’d obviously use one of your recipes!
I would definitely bake your Nutella Cheesecake….what else???
You can’t go wrong with that! I think I’m going to make a peanut butter version next to go with that Oreo crust!
I would make Nutty Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce. I’d probably make them at the Cape . . . and I’d probably invite you over to try it out! ?
OH yes that sounds amazing!!
I would want to figure out how to do a bread pudding remix of sorts in these guys!! I’ve been eyeing A LOT of bread pudding lately. Makes me think of home!
Yumm! Bread pudding sounds delish.
I would bake a peanut butter cup swirl cheesecake! 🙂
I love peanut butter cups!
These look so good. I would make some mini banana pudding cheesecakes in these first then these!
Oh that sounds delicious!
Congratulations on winning!
These look awesome! I would make mini pumpkin cheesecakes and then try to mimic your delicious treat 🙂
Ohhh, these would be delicious at Thanksgiving!
I’d try really hard to make some tasty cheesecake Meg and I could enjoy! Emphasis on “try” 😀
Haha, get it together Paul!
I’d love to make a layered maple cake with these pans. This looks awesome.
Yumm!
Congratulations! You won!
I would love to try the Oreo cheesecake recipe in the pan. Too cute.
So delicious!
I have never used a springform pan, so I am not fully aware of the capabilities. I think a cheesecake would be a no-fail option.
They are perfect for cheesecakes, because you can take them out without the cake getting stuck in the pan!
I want the cakeboss pans!
I’ve tried to make cheesecakes with muffin and mini muffin tins and it never works out! I have about a hundred cheesecakes pinned on pinterest to make once I get a springform pan and these would be perfect for them!
These pans are perfect for that. I lined the bottom with parchment paper and that helped the crust to stay intact as well. Good luck!