Bruleed Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Recipes

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse crackers with granulated sugar and salt until finely ground. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Add butter; pulse until combined. Transfer to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom; firmly press into bottom and up sides. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake until crust is dry and set, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Filling: Place cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla seeds, and salt in cleaned food processor; blend just until smooth. Fill crust with cheesecake mixture. Bake until filling is just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool 1 hour. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• To serve, place 2 tablespoons superfine sugar in a sieve and evenly sift over top of cheesecake (avoiding crust). Move a small kitchen blowtorch back and forth across sugar until caramelized (aiming torch toward center to avoid burning crust). Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons superfine sugar, making a second caramelized layer. Top with spun sugar and serve, slicing through spun sugar and cake with a sharp knife, and wiping blade between slices.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and lightly butter a 10 inch springform pan.
• Place the sandwich cookies into a plastic bag, and crush with a rolling pin. Pour the crumbs into a bowl, and mix with the scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean. Drizzle the crumbs with melted butter and stir to combine. Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan, and set aside.
• Place the softened cream cheese and sugar into the work bowl of an electric mixer, and beat for about 3 minutes on Medium speed, until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next one. Add the scraped seeds of 2 vanilla beans, the vanilla extract, sour cream, and heavy cream, and beat on Medium-High speed for about 1 minute, until the mixture is blended and smooth.
• Pour the mixture into the cookie crumb crust, leaving about 2 inches of space from the top of the pan for the cake to expand as it bakes.
• Place a baking dish onto the bottom rack of the preheated oven, and fill it halfway with boiling water. Place the cheesecake onto the middle rack, above the pan of boiling water, and bake until a small knife inserted into the middle of the cheesecake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
• Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool down inside the oven for 1 hour. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Steps:

• Split 1 vanilla bean lengthwise with the tip of a sharp knife. Holding the pod open, scrape seeds from each half using the flat side of your knife; place in a bowl. Repeat with second vanilla bean, placing seeds in a separate bowl.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1/4 white sugar together in a bowl. Press over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Combine 2 packages cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup white sugar, and cornstarch in a large bowl; mix until sugar is dissolved. Add seeds from 1 vanilla bean, softened butter, and vanilla extract; blend until smooth. Pour over graham cracker crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is a light tan color, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 1 to 2 hours.
• Beat 2 cups heavy cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until cream is stiff. Place in the refrigerator.
• Melt white chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Remove from heat and let cool, about 5 minutes.
• Beat 1 package cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in white chocolate until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Spread over the cooled cheesecake. Chill for 1 to 2 hours.
• Beat 1 cup heavy cream in a chilled bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in seeds from the second vanilla bean and 1 1/2 tablespoon confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread over cheesecake. Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 day.

Steps:

• Make brown butter: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Cook until the milk solids separate out and the butter turns deeply golden and fragrant like toasted nuts, 10 minutes. Refrigerate until solid, 15 minutes. You should have 4 ounces of brown butter. Meanwhile, pulse and grind the graham crackers to fine crumbs in a food processor. Measure out ¾ cup (81 g) of crumbs and set aside.
• Graham Cracker Crust: Add the brown butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to soften, 30 seconds, then add the brown sugar and continue mixing on medium speed, 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Crack the egg into a small cup or bowl and add the vanilla. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the egg and vanilla to the batter and mix to combine almost all the way. Turn the mixer off; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together. Mix on medium speed for 30 seconds until nearly homogeneous; turn mixer off. Add both flours, both salts, and graham cracker crumbs; mix on low speed until the dough just comes together but still looks shaggy, about 30 seconds. Do not overmix. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer; use a plastic bench scraper to transfer the dough to a work surface. Bring the dough together into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled throughout, 1 hour or up to overnight. (Keeps for up to two days in the refrigerator.)
• Bring dough to room temperature, 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 F. Trace the circumference of a 10-inch springform pan onto parchment paper: this will be the template for rolling the dough into a circle. Spray your work surface with nonstick spray and lay the prepared parchment paper on it; the spray will keep the parchment from slipping as you work. Knead dough several times and shape into a ball. Using your hands and the rolling pin, flatten the dough into a thick disk. Dust the parchment with flour, then place the dough on it; dust the dough with flour. Using short strokes of the rolling pin, flatten the disk to be 1 inch larger than the circle, all the way around. (If the dough cracks, pinch it back together.) Place the plate of the springform pan over the circle and use a knife to trim the edges so the crust is flush with the plate. (Save extra dough for another use, such as making cookies.) Remove the plate, cover the dough with another sheet of parchment paper, flip over; then peel off and set aside the top layer of parchment. Make sure there's no residual flour on top; if there is, gently brush it off. Place the dough on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
• Crust is ready when it is golden brown and feels like a cookie. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. (Crust can be made 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator, lightly covered.)
• Cheesecake: Preheat oven to 300 F. Add cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed and blend until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and continue mixing on medium speed until aerated, 2 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the springform pan: Grease the inside with nonstick spray, then line the plate with a fitted parchment circle. Spray again. Wrap the outer sides and bottom of the pan with foil to insure there is no leakage. Set aside.Once the cream cheese mixture is fully aerated, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to bring the mixture together. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and add the vanilla.
• With the mixer on medium speed, add one egg at a time to the cream cheese mixture. When just incorporated, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add sour cream, heavy cream, and salt; mix on low speed just to incorporate. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl and pour the cheesecake mixture through, using a rubber spatula to pass it into the bowl. Pour the strained mixture into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to smooth the top; give the pan a few light taps on the countertop to remove air bubbles. Place the pan into a large roasting pan and then into the oven. Pour enough water into the roasting pan to go halfway to the level of the cheesecake filling. Bake 40-45 minutes, checking after 30 minutes. Cheesecake is done when it feels set when poked gently. Remove pan to a towel to dry the bottom. Place in the freezer for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
• Assembly: Remove springform ring from frozen cheesecake. Stack crust on top of cheesecake, then invert onto a baking sheet so the springform plate is on top. Gently remove plate and peel off the parchment paper. Brûlée Topping (optional): Distribute a thin, even layer of superfine sugar on top of the cheesecake. Move a torch across the top until the sugar bubbles and caramelizes. Allow the cheesecake to rest until the sugar hardens. (You may serve it without the brûléed top, or add a berry garnish.)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• In a bowl, mix together the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and ground pecans if you have them. Add the butter and mix well. Press evenly into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.
• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar a few tablespoons at a time and then the flour and vanilla extract. Add the eggs and heavy cream, beating on low speed until it is all combined. Split open your vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds and guts inside the bean. Add this to your batter. Save your split beans to garnish the top of the cheesecake.
• Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the middle of the oven until set, the center should be slightly soft. It should bake for 55 to 70 minutes. Remove from the oven, loosen the outer ring and let cool in the pan.
• Refrigerate the cake, for about 6 hours, then remove the outer ring. Top with the vanilla beans and a sprig of something green like peppermint leaf.