My favorite dessert is crème brûlée. I love the custard-y interior and the satisfying crunch of the burned sugar. I asked for it as my birthday 'cake' three years in a row (for my 8th, 9th, and 10th birthdays), just showing how much I love it. (Crème Brûlée is also the treat my dad and I get every time we go to Eric Keyser's – when it is available.) But, after we moved from Malawi my family has not had a kitchen torch and so we have not been able to make a crème brûlée cheesecake in years.
Everyone in my family loves cheesecake. We used to bring blocks of cream cheese back in our suitcases when we lived in Africa just to make them, (as they weren't available in the supermarkets) and so we were super excited when we moved to Phnom Penh and realized that we could buy affordable cream cheese in the supermarkets. Meaning we've been able to make a lot more in the past few years.
Because of my family's love for cheesecake my mom has made many different types, and since we all love crème brûlée, mom created this recipe. This blog post is the first time we have documented our recipe.
This is my all-time favorite cheesecake that we haven't been able to make in years, but because my mom got a new kitchen torch for Christmas we were able to make it again and I couldn't help but share it with others through this blog. I hope you all can enjoy this as much as my family does!
Ingredients:
Crust
1 1/2 c. Walnuts
1/4 c. Sugar
4 T. Butter, melted
Cheesecake
24 oz. Cream Cheese
2/3 c. Sugar
3 T. Sour Cream
1 Egg
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 c. Heavy Cream
2 T. Sugar
3 Egg Yolks
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Instructions:
Serves: 16
Crust
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Pulse nuts and sugar in food processor until ground, add melted butter and pulse until consistency of moist sand.
Press nut mixture in bottom of springform pan and bake at 350º F for 12 minutes or until golden brown on edges.
Decrease temperature to 325º F (for the cheesecake).
Cheesecake
Put a kettle of water on to boil.
Mix cream cheese and 2/3 c. sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth (2-3 minutes). Add sour cream, 1 egg, and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Mix after each addition until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl so that all ingredients get incorporated.
Separate egg whites from egg yolks.
In saucepan combine 1 c. heavy cream, 2 T. sugar, and 3 egg yolks. Mix and heat on medium until sugar is melted and yolks are fully incorporated. (You do not want it to boil, reduce heat if it starts to boil). Remove from heat, add 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.
Turn stand mixer on low and slowly pour in cream mixture. Stir until fully incorporated and smooth.
6. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly.
7. Line the outside of the pan with two pieces of aluminum foil, shiny side out. Place the cheesecake in a medium roasting pan and place in the oven. While on the oven rack with the door open, add boiling water to fill the roasting pan halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
8. Bake until the filling is just set in the center, about 1 hour, or until the top is slightly browned and only the center of the cheesecake jiggles a little. Turn the oven off, but leave the cheesecake inside the oven with the door slightly opened so that it's able to cool slowly to allow the center to set.
9. Transfer the cheesecake to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Remove
the foil, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
10. To serve, remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and sprinkle sugar,
about 1/4 c., evenly over the cheesecake. Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar
until evenly melted and golden. (Tip: If you don't have a kitchen torch, you can put the cheesecake under the broiler and watch for the sugar to start to melt.)
Enjoy!
(all photos taken on January 2 and 3 by Eowyn Collins.)