Sunday, November 13, 2011

The best spread in the world... Made better.


Hello my lovely darling baby cakes.
Can you feeeel the looooove?
I had a dinner party this weekend with my fancy friends.
It was pretty cool, but lots of work.
I woke up at 9 and started cleaning the china and setting up the table.
I didn't stop working until 7, when my guests got here.
But the best part was prepared the night before.
Nutella cheesecake.


{Are you drooling yet?}
So I found this recipe a while ago, and again I forgot to keep the source. 
But to be fair, I made lots of changes.
(It was a kind of messed-up recipe, to be honest.)
 So let's get baking!
First, we need to prep. 
(Or as they call it in the professional kitchen... Mise en place!!!)


Spray your springform pan and cover the bottom with a circle of parchment. 
{I also dusted with cocoa powder.}
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees


Sift and stir your dry ingredients (minus the sugar).


Melt some butter.
I did it on the stove, because the microwave kind of freaks me out.


Add the sugar.


And the vanilla.


Mix.


Add your eggs, and mix.


Mix the dry ingredients together.
And now comes the fun part.


You get to break that beautiful little gold wrapper.



But, since this recipe I used was really messed up, I had to do math.
Feel bad for me.
I hate math.


Put a half cup of Nutella in your brownie crust. It's like connecting the filling to the crust. It's great.


Then, put that in your springform pan.
Don't bake it. We bake it together with the cheesecake filling. That way, it won't puff up and it won't burn.


Whip up 2 cups (or two 8oz packages) of cream cheese.
Add eggs, and vanilla, and a cup of Nutella.
[I also added a half teaspoon of chocolate extract, but you don't have to.]


When you scoop out the Nutella, use a rubber spatula so you can get as much out as possible.


Then spread that into your springform pan.
Pop it in the oven for about an hour, then keep it in the oven for another half hour with the oven off and the door of the oven open. Refrigerate overnight, or until firm.


It only cracked a little... 
But I fixed that by spreading a thin layer of the remaining Nutella I had over the top, and then adding some of my Whipped cream cream cheese frosting (which I added chocolate extract to) to make it pretty.


Voila!
Until next time my lovelies!
<3
Emily

Nutella Cheesecake

Brownie Crust:
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Nutella

Cheesecake filling:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 cup Nutella
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract [optional]

Preheat oven to 325 F
For brownie crust:
In a large bowl, blend melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually blend into the egg mixture. Fold in Nutella. Spread the batter into a springform pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
For cheesecake:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth with a mixer. Add eggs one at a time, blending after each. Blend in Nutella and extracts. Pour into brownie crust.
Bake cheesecake for 60-70 minutes. Turn off oven and open door. Let cheescake sit in oven for 30 minutes. Remove, cover and refrigerate over night or until firm.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

It Smells Like It Should Be Snowing.

(Lookin' good!)

Hello friends!
I am so sorry we have not been keeping in touch. 
{I have had very little free time. Junior year is hard stuff.}
Today I saw the first snowflakes fall from the sky. 
I don't like snow before Thanksgiving, but as a girl in my dance class said, "Well, too bad."
[Tough love, man.]
But here is a very nice thing that will make you all warm and forget about the dreary-ness that is winter.
Wait for it...
Wait...


...


Nutella Hot Chocolate.



Now, I know it isn't very professional of me, but there are no exact measurements for this.
(Uh probably because I made it at 3 AM with my good friends... Oops.)
We didn't have time to worry about stupid things like measuring.



So I apologize for our sleepiness that is evident in these photos.
So here we go!
FIRST! Pour some milk in a sauce pot.


NEXT! Make a funny face posing with the milk simply because it is 3AM.

[I'm so glad I have good looking friends]
Wait for it to simmer, then add in some scoops of Nutella.


It will look all gross and piecey, but keep stirring and eventually it will combine.


Yeah.
I added some hot chocolate mix to this just to add more chocolatey flavor and goodness.



Yeah. Then, pour it into your cups,


 and top with mini-marshmallows, and enjoy with your good friends.


And by good friends, I mean good looking friends <3


((It's okay guys I looked bad too.))

Enjoy my lovelies!
Ciao
<3 Emily