Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
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Indulge in the ultimate dessert mashup with this Crème Brûlée Cheesecake—a rich, creamy cheesecake with the crisp, caramelized topping of classic crème brûlée.
I baked my first cheesecake in pastry school 20+ years ago, and since then have perfected my base recipe inspired by my favorite London cheesecake from Nigella Lawson. Super rich and creamy, and totally irresistible.
Then, I thought about how to combine this recipe with my Crème Brûlée recipe—not just adding that crackly topping, but adding more crème brûlée flavor into the cheesecake base itself. Read on to find out how.
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Why Make This Recipe
- Simplified Preparation: Both the buttery graham cracker crust and the creamy filling are done in the food processor.
- So Elegant: Perfect for impressing guests at any gathering, especially when you cut into that crackly crust!
- Make-Ahead: Must be prepared in advance, so it can chill and set properly. Great for flavor but also frees up time on the day of serving.
- Dramatic Finish: Who doesn’t love bringing out the kitchen torch?!
🥗 Key Ingredients for Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
- Graham Crackers: These create a sturdy crust that holds up well under the dense cheesecake. You could replace with digestive biscuits, vanilla wafers, or biscoff cookies if you wanted.
- Cream Cheese: Full-fat cream cheese give you a rich and smooth texture—I highly recommend that. You could use a lower-fat version for some of the cream cheese needed, but please don’t use the fat-free version.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is totally fine for the batter of the cheesecake itself, but for the brûlée topping, choose superfine sugar (also called caster sugar) if you can. Superfine sugar melts and caramelizes more evenly than regular granulated sugar, resulting in a smoother, more uniform crust.
- Eggs and Egg Yolks: The combo of whole eggs with additional yolks gives you that custard-like consistency similar to traditional crème brûlée.
- Lemon Juice: This dessert tends to skew too rich and sweet without a little bit of acidity from lemon juice. Fresh-squeezed is recommended.
- Vanilla Extract: Try replacing with a spoonful of vanilla bean paste if you have it.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. To make the crust, break up 12 full sheets of graham crackers as you add them to a food processor. Pulse and then grind until they are in crumbs. Add 4 tablespoons softened or melted butter to the food processor and pulse until well combined.
Scrape buttery graham cracker crumbs into a 9-inch springform pan, then press firmly and evenly all around the bottom of the pan. Refrigerate pan until filling is ready.
Wash food processor blade and bowl, and dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Add 24 ounces softened cream cheese (close to room temperature) to the processor and blend until creamy and smooth. You may need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides a few times.
When cream cheese is smooth, add 1 cup granulated sugar and blend again until combined. Add 3 eggs and 2 egg yolks, and blend. Pour in 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and blend. Continue to scrape down the sides as necessary.
Put a kettle on to boil water. Wrap springform pan with the crust in one or two layers of aluminum foil (heavy duty foil if you have it) to cover almost all the way up the sides of the pan. Place springform pan into a large roasting pan.
Pour cheesecake batter over the crust in the springform pan, and move roasting pan into the oven. Pour just boiled water into the roasting pan, reaching about an inch up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake cheesecake for about 60 minutes, until the top is set, and the cheesecake filling barely jiggles when you move the side of the pan.
Remove from oven carefully, then remove cheesecake pan from water bath. Unwrap foil from cheesecake pan and let pan cool on a baking rack.
When cake has cooled to just warm, put in the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours. When you are ready to serve, take off the springform pan sides and sprinkle ⅓ cup superfine sugar evenly over the top of the cheesecake.
Hold a kitchen blowtorch 2-3 inches from the top of the cheesecake and turn on. Move slowly in circles over the entire top layer until the sugar melts and begins to brown.
Let sugar top harden for a few minutes, then serve.
Storage Tips
Note: Storing this cheesecake after you have brûléed the top will result in a softened top sugar layer that is not very appealing. The cheesecake itself will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container (or in the pan, covered with foil).
If you know you will only serve some of the slices when you first make it, I would recommend only brûléeing the slices you know you will need. Then refrigerate the rest and repeat the process the next day when you are serving it again. If you do brûlée the whole cake and have leftovers, scrape off the bruléed sugar layer before you refrigerate and re-do it when you want to serve the cake later.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
A kitchen torch provides the best control and results for caramelizing the sugar. However, you can use your oven's broiler in a pinch. Heat the broiler and put in the cake, making sure that you leave a few inches between the heating element and the top of the cake. Leave the oven door cracked, and keep a close eye on it to prevent burning.
The cheesecake can be frozen for up to 2 months, as long as you have not brûléed the top. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then add the sugar topping and caramelize just before serving.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
I know water baths seem fussy, but trust me when I say that baking your cheesecake in a hot water bath really makes it better. The water bath helps maintain a consistent temperature, reducing the risk of cracks in your cake, and making sure the texture stays silky smooth.
When torching the top sugar layer, keep the blowtorch moving continuously to avoid burning spots and achieve an even caramelization across the surface. You may need to turn the fan on if the sugar begins to smoke a bit.
This cake can be a little difficult to slice, especially if your sugar topping is thicker in spots. Use a large, very sharp knife to cut. You can also heat it with your kitchen blow torch to make it a little easier to cut through the sugar layer.
If you need to make the crème brûlée topping a little bit in advance, you can. It will last for about an hour in the refrigerator without softening.
If you don’t have a nonstick springform pan, butter the sides and bottom of your pan before putting in the crust.
An alternative for making the cheesecake batter is to use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Whip at medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently. This can be helpful if you only have a small food processor that won’t fit the batter.
Want to make this crème brûlée cheesecake even more elegant? Garnish with fresh berries on top for added color and great flavor.
Love cheesecake recipes? Try my Biscoff Cheesecake next, or this delicious Apple Crumble Cheesecake. For a no-bake option, try this fluffy Cheesecake Mousse. And this Toblerone Cheesecake is a showstopper you need to try if you're a chocolate lover!
Other Showstopper Desserts
Love to impress your guests? Me too! Here are some of my favorite desserts that are not hard to make, but look like you spent hours on them. Perfect for a holiday dinner or special occasion.
If you try this Crème Brûlée Cheesecake recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cheesecake:
- 12 full-sheet graham crackers 190 grams
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted or very soft (57 grams)
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened (680 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar 190 grams
- 3 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
For the topping:
- ⅓ cup superfine sugar 67 grams
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- To make the crust, break up graham crackers as you add them to a food processor. Pulse and then grind until they are in crumbs. Add butter to the food processor and pulse until well combined.
- Scrape buttery crumbs into a 9-inch springform pan, then press firmly and evenly all around the bottom. Refrigerate pan until filling is ready.
- Wash food processor blade and bowl, and dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
- Add cream cheese to the processor and blend until creamy and smooth. You may need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides a few times.
- When cream cheese is smooth, add sugar and blend again until combined. Add eggs and egg yolks, and blend. Pour in vanilla extract and lemon juice, and blend. Continue to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Put a kettle on to boil water.
- Wrap springform pan with the crust in one or two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil to cover almost all the way up the sides of the pan. Place springform pan into a larger roasting pan.
- Pour cheesecake mixture over the crust in the springform pan, and move roasting pan into the oven. Pour just boiled water into the roasting pan, reaching about an inch up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake for about 60 minutes, until the top is set, and the cheesecake barely jiggles when you move the side of the pan.
- Remove from oven carefully, then remove cheesecake pan from water bath. Unwrap foil from cheesecake pan and let pan cool on a baking rack.
- When cake has cooled to just warm, put in the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours, and up to 24 hours.
- When you are ready to serve, remove the springform pan sides. Sprinkle superfine sugar evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Hold a kitchen blowtorch 2-3 inches from the top of the cheesecake and turn on. Move slowly in circles over the entire top layer until the sugar melts and begins to brown.
- Let sugar top harden for a few minutes, then serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I’d love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
