Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
In a world full of cheesecakes packed with store-bought cookies, candies, and a thousand over-the-top flavors, sometimes you can’t help but miss the simple flavor of a classic cheesecake.We made our favorite vanilla bean cheesecake and decided to add one additional element to elevate the overall tangy-sweet experience—we brûléed the top of the cheesecake to create a glassy layer of caramelized sugar, just like a creme brûlée. The thin layer of hard sugar cuts beautifully under the pressure of a knife, so each slice maintains a crunchy layer of sugar on top of the cake itself. Our cheesecake recipe calls for sour cream to add lightness to the filling and to add a little more tang, thus preventing the cheesecake from tasting too sweet. This unconventional cheesecake is a blend of two classics that are beloved for their simplicity and decadence, and we think the marriage of the two makes for something really special.
Gallery
Recipe Summary
Ingredients
Directions
Chef's Notes
If you can’t find vanilla bean paste, simply use the seeds of 1 vanilla bean. You can use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract if you don’t have access to vanilla beans, but the seeds from the beans are preferable in this dessert.