Crème Brûlée Cheesecake

Instructions

For the Crust

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Prepare your 9 inch springform pan for its later water bath by wrapping the bottom and sides of it with a decent amount of tinfoil. You want to make sure the tinfoil goes up about two inches on the sides of the pan so no water seeps into the pan as it bakes. I always use too much (around 8 layers) just so I know it’ll be okay.
Spray the sides with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
(I have also tried a new method recently- If you have a 10 inch cake pan that your springform pan can fit inside of, you can use this instead of wrapping the bottom with tinfoil. The 10 inch pan will sit inside of the large roasting pan and the cheesecake pan will sit inside of the 10 inch pan. The hot water will go in the roasting pan around the 10 inch pan leaving the cheesecake pan untouched by water! I hope this makes sense, like a box within a box within a box LOL.)
Pulse the Nilla Wafers in a food processor until they are finely ground.
4 heaping cups (240 g) Nilla Wafers, about 68 cookies
Add in the melted butter and sugar and pulse to combine.
1/2 cup (112 g) unsalted butter, melted, 2 tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about an inch up the sides of the pan.
Bake for crust for 10 minutes and then let it cool completely while working on the cheesecake batter.

For the Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350° F if not still preheated.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch together with a paddle attachment for two minutes on medium speed until everything is smooth and there are no lumps. (You can alternatively use a hand mixer). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything has been mixed well.
32 oz (907 g) cream cheese, softened at room temperature, 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated white sugar, 2 tbsp (16 g) corn starch
Add in the vanilla bean paste, sour cream and melted and cooled white chocolate and mix for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl again.
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract, 1/3 cup (82 g) sour cream, at room temperature, 8 oz (226 g) white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
At this point, stop and put a pot of water on the stove to start boiling. You will want enough water to go about 1 ½ inches up the sides of the springform pan.
Next add in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time to the cheesecake batter. Mix on low speed, ensuring that each is fully mixed in before adding the next. As soon as the last one is fully mixed in, turn off the mixer. Do not over mix the batter.
3 eggs, at room temperature, 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
Pour the batter into the prepared pan with the crust.
Place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan in the oven. Slowly pour the boiling water into the pan around the cheesecake being careful not to splash the cheesecake.
(If you're using the 10-inch pan method, place the cheesecake in the 10-inch pan, then place the 10-inch pan in the large roasting pan. Pour water around the 10-inch pan.)
Bake at 350° F for 1 hour. When 1 hour is up, turn off the oven and crack the oven door open using a wooden utensil. Let the cheesecake stay in the oven for 1 more hour. The cheesecake will continue to bake as it is cooling.
Once the 2 hours are up, remove from the oven and go around the edges of the pan with a butter knife to loosen the crust from the sides of the pan. Let the cheesecake cool completely on the counter, and then refrigerate until completely cold, 8 hours or overnight.

For the Vanilla Pastry Cream

While the cheesecake is baking or cooling make the pastry cream. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium-low heat just until it’s steaming. Then, turn heat down to low until ready to use.
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) whole milk
To a large bowl add the egg yolks, sugar, salt, vanilla and cornstarch and whisk until combined and a pale-yellow color. (It will be thick at first but will get smooth as you whisk.)
4 egg yolks, 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated white sugar, pinch of salt, 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract, 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (19 g) cornstarch
Add in ¼ of the heated milk while stirring vigorously. Then, add the rest in and stir to combine.
Transfer the mixture to the saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat and cook for 8-12 minutes, whisking continuously, until the mixture is thick and soft peaks form.
Remove the pastry cream from the heat and transfer it to a bowl. Add in the butter and mix to combine. Place plastic wrap right on top of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill it in the fridge until completely cold.
2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter, cut in cubes

For the Brûléed Sugar Shards

These are optional of course, but if you do want to decorate the cheesecake with them, make the brûléed sugar shards shortly before serving the cheesecake.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add the sugar to a saucepan over medium-low heat. As the sugar is heating it will crystalize and then eventually all melt down and turn golden in color. Melting all the sugar should take 10-15 minutes. Be sure to stir while it's melting.
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
When all the sugar is melted and golden in color, pour it onto the lined baking sheet and spread it in a thin, even layer with a rubber spatula. (Work fast as it will start to harden quickly.)
Let it cool and harden completely, then break it apart.

Assembling the Cheesecake

When the cheesecake has chilled, remove it from the pan and transfer it to a serving plate. Spread the pastry cream evenly on top of the cheesecake. It helps to use a cake turntable and offset spatula for this.
Sprinkle 1/4-1/3 cup (50-66 g) sugar over the pastry cream. Use a kitchen torch to brûlée the sugar until it is golden brown and smells like roasted marshmallows. Yum! Let the topping cool for about 10 minutes. Decorate with the brûléed sugar shards if using, then serve!
**Add the pastry cream on top and brûlée it only when you're ready to serve the cheesecake. The topping does start to "melt" after a few hours so you'll want to enjoy it right away. You can also re-brûlée the topping on leftovers stored in the fridge. The cheesecake will only really last two days in the fridge and will start to get really messy after the first day because the brûléed sugar starts melting once it has sat for a few hours. Fair warning! Make sure to enjoy it right away for best results!
1/4-1/3 cup (50-66 g) granulated white sugar (for the brûlée topping topping)

Ingredients

For the Crust

For the Cheesecake

For the Vanilla Pastry Cream

For the Brûléed Sugar Shards

Instructions

For the Crust

For the Cheesecake

For the Vanilla Pastry Cream

For the Brûléed Sugar Shards

Assembling the Cheesecake