Crème brûlée cheesecake

An exquisite crème brûlée cheesecake with a wonderfully creamy texture, inspired by the famous French dessert. A biscuit base, a vanilla cheesecake filling enriched with egg yolks and cream, topped with a delicious layer of crème brûlée and finished with crisp, caramelised sugar. Beautiful, elegant and utterly delicious, with several contrasting layers. Serve with fresh raspberries. There really isn’t much more to say – this cheesecake is very hard to resist ;).

Ingredients for the biscuit base:

• 160 g digestive biscuits or other wholegrain biscuits
• 50 g butter, melted

Place the biscuits and melted butter in a food processor and blitz until finely crushed and the mixture has the consistency of wet sand. If you don’t have a food processor, place the biscuits in a sturdy bag (such as a resealable bag) and crush them thoroughly with a rolling pin or meat mallet, then combine with the melted butter.

Line the base of a 23 cm springform tin with baking paper. Tip in the biscuit mixture, spread evenly and press firmly into the base and about one-third of the way up the sides of the tin.

Bake at 180°C for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and leave to cool while preparing the cheesecake filling.

Wrap the outside of the tin twice with aluminium foil – the cheesecake will be baked in a water bath.*

Ingredients for the cheesecake filling:

• 750 g full-fat or semi-fat curd cheese, finely ground three times
• 250 g mascarpone
• 250 g caster sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 200 ml double cream
• 2 tbsp potato starch
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (not vanilla flavouring)

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Place all the cheesecake filling ingredients, except the double cream, in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix just until combined. Do not overmix, as incorporating too much air will cause the cheesecake to rise excessively and then sink. The finished cheesecake should remain level. Add the double cream and mix briefly until combined. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the cooled biscuit base.

Bake the cheesecake in a water bath* at 150°C for about 60 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the crème brûlée layer.

Ingredients for the crème brûlée layer:

• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 tbsp vanilla sugar (for example, homemade vanilla sugar)
• 300 ml double cream

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Pour the double cream into a saucepan and add the vanilla sugar. Bring almost to the boil, then remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. The mixture should remain hot, but not boiling. In a bowl, gently whisk the egg yolks with a hand whisk, just until combined – do not whisk until fluffy. Gradually pour in the hot cream, whisking gently all the time. If necessary, strain the mixture through a sieve to remove any lumps.

Assembly:

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and check the surface. It should be set and slightly springy all over, particularly in the centre. If it is not, return the cheesecake to the oven and continue baking. The cheesecake should also be firmly set against the sides of the tin so that the crème brûlée mixture will remain on top rather than run down the sides.

Reduce the oven temperature to 100°C. Very gently pour the crème brûlée mixture over the cheesecake, a spoonful at a time. Return to the oven and bake for a further 60–70 minutes, this time without the water bath. Towards the end of baking, check that the crème brûlée layer is set; the centre should still have a slight wobble, similar to jelly. The surface should not brown. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and leave to cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

The following day, remove the cheesecake from the fridge, release it from the springform tin and transfer it to a serving plate. Sprinkle the surface of the crème brûlée with a thin, even layer of white granulated sugar. Caramelise the sugar using a crème brûlée torch.
Slice the crème brûlée cheesecake and serve with fresh raspberries.

* Baking in a water bath: Place the tin containing the cheesecake inside a larger baking tin or roasting dish. Pour in boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cheesecake tin. The cheesecake is therefore baked surrounded by steam and high humidity. This allows it to bake evenly throughout, including in the centre, prevents cracking and gives it a wonderfully smooth, creamy texture.

Enjoy!