Prep: 25 minutes

This chocolate-lover’s dream is rich, decadent and delicious. A cheesecake designed to impress – and is the perfect way to round-off a dinner party. You can make it ahead and freeze for up to three months, but don’t decorate it until the day you plan to serve it.

Method.

• Heat oven to 175°C (fan). Grease and line a 20cm deep springform cake tin with parchment paper.
• Blitz the biscuits to a fine crumb, stir in the ground hazelnuts followed by the melted butter.
• Squeeze a clump of the mixture together to see if it holds, if it crumbles add a little more melted butter. Press the crumb mixture into the base of the tin and halfway up the sides to make a base using your knuckles or the bottom of a small glass.
• Bake for 10 minutes and then remove and allow to cool while you make the filling.
• Sieve the cocoa powder, salt and sugar together into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the cheese and blend using the whisk attachment for about 3 minutes, stopping every minute to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time blending well between each one.
• Add the chocolate hazelnut spread and vanilla and beat for three minutes, stopping each minute to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sour cream or yoghurt and give it a final blend to ensure that it is mixed.
• Wrap the base and sides of the tin in two layers of heavy-duty foil and place the tin in a large roasting tin. Carefully pour the cheesecake filling into the tin. Boil a full kettle of water and carefully pour this into the base of the roasting tin so that you do not splash the cake.
• Place the tin in the oven and bake for approximately 90 minutes. The centre should still have a little bit of a wobble. Turn the oven off and prop open the door with a wooden spoon. Leave the cake in the oven for around an hour to prevent the top cracking.
• Make the ganache: break the chocolate into small pieces, bring the cream up to a scald and then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 3-4 minutes then stir it to melt the chocolate before stirring in the vanilla extract.
• Pour approximately half the ganache over the top of the cake, tilting the tin carefully to cover the top in an even layer. Allow the ganache to set overnight then remove the tin and the paper collar.
• Remove the leftover ganache from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before whipping it with a hand or stand mixer. Pipe 12 rosettes around the cake before topping them with a Ferrero Rocher ball.