This is a lighter version of the nutella cheesecake already on the blog and equally if not more delicious. The base is crushed digestive biscuits (Graham crackers) with butter, nutella and ground hazelnuts. A layer of red bean paste is spread over this. Then comes the beautiful creamy cheesecake mixture of Philadelphia cream cheese combined with red bean paste and nutella, deliciously light and not very sweet at all. There’s a touch of saltiness and a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts on top adds a delightfully tasty crunch. I made this cake in about 20 minutes this afternoon and the experiment was so successful I’m posting it immediately. I really love it with the red bean paste and you might too. 🙂
red bean and nutella cheesecake, easy and no-bake
The June and July cake collection
Just quickly before we make the cheesecake, here are some summer treats that require more experimentation before the recipes are posted: spicy chilli lattice cherry pie, apricot and rosemary tarts, layered fruit pavlova, sugar-free black forest cake and ‘climbing wall’ cherry lemon drizzle cakes. Maybe the photos will inspire you.
I also recently got Keiko Ishida’s Okashi book and adapted her recipes to make a black sesame and yuzu chiffon cake and green tea soufflé roll. They’re so light, delicious and not very sweet. I love them and will eventually post recipes but first I have to experiment with matcha so my roll cake becomes green. Ahem.
And there’s la feuille d’automne, a classic French chocolate mousse and meringue cake with chocolate work that’s crazy to attempt in summertime Barcelona. But it was amazingly delicious! My French climbing friends were totally over the moon and I quote: Il est incroyable – it’s incredible! So recipe on the blog soon…
Finally, the sensible summer cakes on the blog are: healthier kiwi tarts, Earl Grey tangy travelling loaf cake, Dreams of Florence caramel-raspberry dome cakes and vacherin glacé ispahan, an amazing entremets with meringue layers, lychee-rose sorbet, raspberry sorbet and cream.
And now for the red bean-nutella cheesecake.
The recipe
This is an adaptation of my nutella cheesecake recipe adapted from Nigella’s. My idea of adding the red bean was to use up some extra paste hanging around in the kitchen but also to make the cheesecake less sweet and perhaps more interesting with an extra layer of flavour and texture. It works!
red bean and nutella cheesecake, easy and no-bake
For 6 mini cheesecakes (diametre 6.5cm/2.5in – use 6 cake rings). To make a 20-23cm/8-9inch diametre cake use the quantities in the illustration.
Base biscuit layer
- 20g/1 and 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 4g/1 tsp nutella
- 70g/2.5oz digestive biscuits (Graham crackers)
- 8g/3 tsps chopped hazelnuts
Follow the instructions in the diagram below:
Red bean middle layer
- 150g/6 good tablespoons red bean paste, to taste (for the large cake: 535g/21 good tbsps)
Spread a layer of red bean on the chilled base and smooth evenly with the back of a metal spoon.
Creamy layer
- 140g/5oz Philadelphia cream cheese
- 10g/1 and 1/4 tbsps icing/powdered sugar
- 40g/2 tbps nutella
- 68g/3 tbps sweetened red bean paste
- topping: handful of chopped toasted hazelnuts
For a 20-23cm/8-9inch diametre cake use the quantities in the illustration (142g/5oz nutella and 242g/8.5oz red bean paste).
Storing and eating
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and eat cold (straight from the fridge) within 3 or 4 days. Have a little cheesecake now and then…
red bean and nutella cheesecake, easy and no-bake
Farewell sweet reader! Wishing you a lovely week with some happy baking, no-baking and eating! Lili x
lili's cakes 
This looks awesome and beautiful!
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Aw thank you! 🙂
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I love your posts. You have a true passion for pastries.
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Thank you so much for such lovely and motivating words. You’re very sweet. x P.S. It’s true that I love cakes… 🙂
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It shows. Plus, I love your pictures/diagrams!
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Aw I’m so pleased. Thank you again! x
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Beautiful cheesecake, and such lovely flavours in there
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Thank you! Sometimes experiments are nice … now curious about other red bean combos!
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What a fascinating combination Lili! Red bean and nutella. And cheesecake. It sounds delicious! I find red bean paste a difficult ingredient to work with beyond the usual applications and flavour combinations. I can never think of anything and am sometimes too scare to try! I love that you had a little bolt of inspiration to use up leftovers and came up with something so wonderful 🙂 Besides, using up leftovers is always great!
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Thank you Laurie! It was a fun and tasty experiment using up stuff in the kitchen … am now curious about other red bean combos. Looks like it’s often paired with green tea but I wonder if it would be happy with lemon or bergamot. Looking forward to seeing more of your flavour experiments too! 🙂 x
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They are so pretty! One can never go wrong with nutella 😊
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Thank you Daniela! And so true about nutella. 🙂
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I love your visual recipes! nicely done.
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Thank you! So pleased you enjoy them. You’re very kind. 🙂
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whoa. your flavor combos sound incredible! i feel like red bean tends to get paired with asian flavors (matcha, black sesame) and fruit, and i definitely fall into that rut. this is so inspiring (:
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