Creamy dreamy low carb vanilla cheesecake with delicious swirls of sugar-free Nutella. The ultimate healthy chocolate hazelnut dessert recipe.
It really is true what they say, that it’s the thought that counts. Even in our hyper-commercial, acquisition-driven society, where we all desire the next best thing in clothes, shoes, phones, and cars, this sweet little adage still means something. It means a lot, actually. So much that when your sweet 10 year old son spends some of his hard-earned money on a few bars of soap for your birthday, they instantly become your most treasured possessions. I couldn’t love those lavender-scented bars of soap more if they were strands of pure gold studded with diamonds and rubies. Given that I wear little jewelry as it is, the soaps are infinitely more personal and useful. Nice job, son!
And I know just how much thought he put into it, as he started thinking about my birthday a few days in advance and asking his father if he could buy me something. I think he was at a loss of what to get for me and he doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to hit the store in search of the perfect birthday present. But he kept his eyes open for his chance and when I sent him over to Whole Foods for a brick of cream cheese, he snuck a few of his own dollars into his pocket. I was actually getting worried and wondering what was taking him so long when he trudged up the driveway with one of his hands hiding something in the flap of his jacket that he wouldn’t let me see. I was so touched, it honestly wouldn’t have mattered what he had purchased.
With that kind of start to my day, my birthday was a guaranteed success. And it finished just as successfully, with a fire on a chilly day, a few thoughtful presents, some great take-out barbecue and this glorious low carb Nutella Swirl Cheesecake. Did I mention that it was glorious? Yes, it was an absolutely glory of a cheesecake. My sugar-free chocolate hazelnut spread came out unbelievably smooth this time, and I credit my Blendtec with that. You can get it pretty smooth in food processors or less high-powered blenders but it takes a lot more work and a lot more scraping down the sides and mixing it up and re-blending. Trust me, I’ve made my share of sugar-free Nutella in my day!
This truly is a must-make recipe for chocolate hazelnut lovers. The crust is made with hazelnut meal and the filling is so creamy and delicious, with big swirls of homemade Nutella. I can hardly wait to make it again! If you aren’t in the mood to make your own Nutella, consider this sugar-free Nuti-Light Chocolate Hazelnut Spread.
Nutella Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/4 cup hazelnut meal
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
Filling:
- 3 packages cream cheese, 24 ounces, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 cup granulated Swerve Sweetener
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup homemade sugar-free Nutella OR Nuti-Light
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 325F. In the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, combine hazelnut meal, cocoa powder and sweetener. Stir in melted butter until well combined. Press crumb mixture firmly and evenly into bottom of pan.
- Bake 10 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool while working on the filling.
Filling:
- Reduce oven temperature to 300F.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sweetener until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl and beaters as needed.
- Beat in heavy cream and vanilla until mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Brush the sides of the pan with melted butter or spray with coconut oil spray.
- Pour half the cheesecake batter over the cooled crust and drizzle with half of the Nutella. Swirl with a knife. Repeat with remaining batter and remaining Nutella.
- Bake cheesecake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minute, until filling is mostly set but just jiggles slightly in the center.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan. Run a sharp knife around the edge and release the sides. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.
Notes
Saturated fatty acids: 12.20g
Total fat: 29.37g
Calories from fat: 264
Cholesterol: 94mg
Carbohydrate: 6.09g
Total dietary fiber: 2.40g
Protein: 6.59g
Sodium: 171mg
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Just wanted to comment on how DELICIOUS this recipe is! Thank you so much! You’re making Keto so much more enjoyable for me!
You’re welcome!
Hey Carolyn,
In the notes it says 318kcal, are those calories per slice or per cake?
Thanks!
always per serving, whether that’s a slice or anything.
Hello! Any suggestions in measurements if I want to use sugar instead of sweetener? Also, since I don’t know if I’ll be able to make my own sugar free Nutella, could I use regular Nutella and use less sugar in the mixture?
Thank you!
You can sub in sugar directly for the Swerve. No need to reduce the sugar due to real nutella.
Hello Carolyn,
I am your devoted follower. Today I made this delicious recipe. It lifted in owen really nicely. However once I took it out of the owen the cake flattened so even though it taste very good it looks awful. Any idea why it happened? Thank you so much
Happy Holidays to you and your family. I am looking forward to more great recipes in new year 2016!
Tatiana
I am not sure what you mean by flattened…did you mean it was puffed up before and then when you removed it, it deflated? Because that’s supposed to happen with cheesecakes.
I can’t wait to make this ! Making it this weekend for my brother and my birthdays. Do you think it would be ok made the night before the party and have it sit in the fridge overnight until our part the next night?
Verry touching story… 🙂 Looking forward to trying the nutella cheesecake, that’s one indulgence that I miss.
Swirly, sweet and delicious fun! That’s probably how we’d describe this cheesecake. Looks amazing 🙂
OMG. I spend a few days offline making a hazelnut-chocolate mousse cheesecake recipe only to queue it up for tomorrow morning and see that my favourite blogger literally just posted a better one 😛 Oh well, at least I can console myself that I had a similar idea to a genius? 😉
I don’t know how you can possibly know mine is better! I am sure yours is wonderful.
Oh come now– you’re the best there is at this stuff! I am glad to hear you had a wonderful birthday and I hope the rest of the year continues as happily!
Thanks for your answer re the Swerve. I have another question for you: I am a recently diagnosed pre-diabetic and, like you, am thin and exercise alot though I am older (67). When you test your blood sugar after eating something, how high will you allow it to go before you decide you shouldn’t eat what you just had. I was taught in a diabetic class I took that if you are non-diabetic, 140 is ok and 180 if you are diabetic. However, alot of things I have read elsewhere state that your blood sugar should not rise much at all. So much of the info on diabetes is conflicting and seems it is all geared to losing weight.
I have read a lot of the same information. Typically I try to stay under 110, maybe 120. I start doing things to manage the sugar level (like taking a walk), if I am higher than that. I know a lot of people who eat low carb try to stay under 100. I am happy with what I am seeing on my meter. There IS a lot of conflicting info, I agree and I don’t want my personal experience to be construed as advice but I do understand where you are coming from!
What is “3 packages of cream cheese” in real measurments? (cups, onces, grams ect.)
24 ounces.
Thank You!
Is the Swerve in the crust granulated or powdered? It looks like you have moved on from erythritol to Swerve since your original nutella recipe in the link. If I use Swerve in making that, would the amount be the same? Thanks.
Granulated in the crust. I used Swerve in the same amounts in the nutella.
It looks amazing, but what does nutella taste like? Nutella I guess. But I never had it. I have a feeling I couldn’t find it unsweetened around here.
Have you ever had a Ferrero Rocher chocolate? That is what Nutella tastes like. And they don’t make an unsweetened version.
Your gorgeous low carb desserts never cease to amaze me!
Hi Carolyn,
For the nutella, could you use hazelnut flour instead of the 3/4 cup of roasted hazelnuts? If so, do you approximately how much hazelnut flour you would need for your recipe?
Thanks for another great recipe!!
I suppose you could, but you would not get that wonderful toasted hazelnut flavour. I don’t really know how much for sure. I’d probably do 1/2 cup or so.
Hi Carolyn! Happy belated birthday. Just had to comment on how sweet and touching that story of your son is.
And of course, how delicious this cheesecake looks! Still wish I could just special order from you any old time I wanted. 😉
Thanks, Shannon! Hope you are well.
Is the the swerve in the filling only supposed to be 1/2 cup or 1 cup, as it is listed twice in the ingredients?
Hi Theresa…if you read a little more carefully, you will see that it’s 1/2 cup powdered and 1/2 cup granulated. 🙂 You’re not the only one to get confused there!
Any reason for both types of Swerve? I only use the condectioners kind-okay to use one cup of only that?
Thanks