Hazelnut Rocher Cheesecake Bars 🍮🍦🥮

As a child of the 1980s, I always considered Ferrero Rocher chocolates the height of sophistication. The adverts declared them worthy of an ambassador’s black-tie soirée, and I bought into the fantasy. My no-bake rochers are a cross between cheesecake and a choc-ice (Klondike Bar), another childhood favorite. The frozen cheesecake is coated in a milk chocolate shell that hardens almost immediately, a fun textural element that is reminiscent of those gold-wrapped chocolates.

Ingredients

Serves 12–15

For the crust:

250g (9oz) speculoos (Lotus Biscoff) cookies

50g (1¾oz; ⅓ cup) toasted hazelnuts

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

85g (3oz; 6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

240ml (8½fl oz; 1 cup) heavy cream, chilled

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

700g (1lb 8½oz; 3⅛ cups) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

120g (4¼oz; 1 cup) icing (powdered) sugar

150g (5½oz; ½ cup) chocolate-hazelnut spread, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

For the shell:

170g (6oz) milk chocolate, roughly chopped

45ml (1¾fl oz; ⅛ cup plus 1 tablespoon) coconut oil

100g (3½oz; ¾ cup) toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped

Step 1

Lightly grease your 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) baking tin and line with a large single sheet of parchment paper that fully covers both base and sides.

Step 2

Add the cookies, hazelnuts, and salt to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until ground to fine crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and pulse until evenly mixed. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and use the base of a glass or measuring cup to compact evenly. Set aside.

Step 3

For the cheesecake, put the cream and vanilla into a large bowl and whisk into soft peaks. Set aside.

Step 4

Put the cream cheese, icing sugar, chocolate spread, and sea salt into another bowl and use an electric mixer to beat together until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes.

Step 5

Add the whipped vanilla cream to the cheesecake mixture and fold together until evenly combined. Scrape this into the tin and spread it evenly. Cover and place in the freezer until the cheesecake is solid, about 4 hours.

Step 6

For the shell, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl in a microwave, using short bursts of heat to prevent it from burning, or over a pan of simmering water. Once melted, stir in the chopped hazelnuts, then set aside for at least 10 minutes before using.

Step 7

To serve, use the parchment paper to carefully lift the frozen cheesecake from the tin and transfer it to aboard. Cut into squares, then dip them into the chocolate mixture or simply pour a little of it on top of them. I like to serve the rochers while still firm from the freezer, almost like ice cream, but if you prefer, you can leave them to soften so that the cheesecake has a more mousse-like texture.