Espresso-Hazelnut Cheesecake

This cheesecake is a coffee lover’s dream built from the crust up. Ground butter cookies, toasted hazelnuts, sugar, and cinnamon get pressed into a springform pan to form a fragrant, nutty base that tastes like a biscotti before the filling even enters the picture.

The filling is pure velvet: two full pounds of cream cheese beaten smooth with sour cream, heavy cream, and instant espresso dissolved in warm water. That espresso doesn’t just add coffee flavor. It deepens the richness of the cream cheese and gives the whole thing a bittersweet complexity. Chopped roasted hazelnuts stirred through the batter add crunch in every slice.

Water bath baking is what keeps this cheesecake crack-free and silky. The slow cool-down in the oven with the door cracked is just as important. Rushing the cooling causes the center to collapse.

Chef Tips

• Wrap the springform pan in a double layer of foil. A single layer leaks and waterlogged crust is a tragedy
• Beat the cream cheese alone first until completely smooth before adding anything else. Lumps at this stage never come out
• Add eggs one at a time and beat only until just combined. Overbeating incorporates air that causes cracking
• Make this at least a day ahead. Overnight chilling lets the texture set properly and the espresso flavor mellows

Variations

• Use Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur) in place of the water for dissolving the espresso for a boozy kick
• Swap the butter cookie crust for an Oreo crust for a chocolate-espresso combination
• Top with a thin layer of chocolate ganache instead of whipped cream for a mocha finish