Reviewed: May 14, 2012

This recipe is WONDERFUL! Unfortunately I had to make a couple substitutions because my local grocers carried neither hazelnuts or hazelnut liquor. I used walnuts and hazelnut flavoring syrup. I added a dash of the syrup to the crust to help the walnuts pretend to be hazelnuts lol. After making this recipe and reading the reviews about people who changed the crust, I can't see why. The only problem I had with the crust was it's somewhat dryness but I loved the chocolate/'nilla wafer blend, it looked beautiful and tasted great, I think people who leave out the chocolate or use cookies instead will just end up with a rather sucky crust. My only recommendation for people using this recipe is to make sure the chocolate chips you mix in the actual cheesecake itself are finely chopped in a blender. The parts of my cake that didn't get much chocolate from the coarse chop, didn't have much flavor compared to the parts that did so it was kind of unbalanced. I would add a little tiny bit of cocoa powder to the mix to help evenly distribute the chocolatey flavor.

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Reviewer:

Xena91388

Reviewed: Apr. 22, 2012

Topped it with Frangelico chocolate whipped cream and whole hazelnuts for a nice crunch.

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Reviewer:

Liberty Belle

Reviewed: Feb. 5, 2012

Had to add extra butter to get the crust to be workable (may be the dry climate here). My cake fell and had a huge crack in it. Very unfortunate. I think next time I will add the cheesecake while preheating the oven. I think that helps prevent cracking. The chocolate on top was a bit overwhelming, will go easier next time. With a few tweeks, I'd give it 5 stars.

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Reviewer:

DQSHULER

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Freehold, New Jersey, USA

Living In: Layton, Utah, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2011

This cheesecake is average. First, the chocolate topping completely overwhelms the cheesecake itself. Second, the cheesecake part is really kind of meh, it's on the softer side and I don't really feel that putting in "chipped chocolate" really adds to it. In the end it just feels like a big chocolate, sugary mess in your mouth w/ a bit of cheesecake flavor towards the end. The hazelnut flavor gets lost in the chocolate as well. I won't make it again.

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Reviewer:

Minty-green

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 21, 2011

After working my way through this recipe a number of times, I can say with certainty that it is easy to make and the return is great. At times I have followed the recipe to a T and have also strayed in favor of more crust and each time the result is good—very good indeed. This is a great, special cheesecake recipe even a bad baker can manage to taste great!

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BLEUDECIEL

Reviewed: Dec. 20, 2011

This recipe is amazing! My first ever attempt at a cheesecake and it came out perfect and got rave reviews. I substituted the hazelnuts with Macadamia Nuts and even found a Macadamia Liqueur(made by Trader Vic's) to use. Based on the fact that many people had substituted the way the crust was done, I also changed it by using Nabisco Chocolate Wafers instead of the chocolate chips and vanilla wafers. All the steps involved are well worth it! Many people will not believe that you actually made this cheesecake from scratch. I have a feeling this one will get requested many, many times.

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Reviewer:

just_reagan

Reviewed: Nov. 14, 2011

I love this website!! I really enjoyed making this cheesecake its quite simple. I did modify the cake somewhat. I excluded the semi chocolate chips from the cheesecake mixture and added 1-2 tablespoons of the hazelnut liqueur. (You can taste it to your liking). I used a chocolate ganache to top the cake. While making the ganache I added 1-2 tablespoons of the hazelnut liqueur. After pouring the ganache and allowing it to cool I topped off this beautiful cheesecake with Ferrero Roche chocolates instead of the toasted hazelnuts. This was a pretty big hit with my family. If you use the water bath method your cake will bake evenly and not run the risk of cracking, if not this is a great and simple method to bake an incredible cheesecake...Enjoy!

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Reviewer:

Sunny_at_the_beach

Reviewed: Oct. 27, 2011

Simply the best cheesecake I've ever had! It was gorgeous and delicious and stunning for Thanksgiving dessert. Used Torani hazelnut flavouring, as I didn't have liquer. This recipe takes time with waiting, roasting, crushing, whipping, etc. but it is absolutely worth it!

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Reviewer:

jennabeanski

Reviewed: Oct. 11, 2011

I followed this recipe to a T and it turned out FANTASTIC! This was our Thanksgiving dessert and the whole family was amazed. It truly looks as beautiful as it tastes, and is up there with my favourite cheesecakes. It takes a bit of time with all the toasting, grinding, baking and waiting, but it is so worth it!

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