Creme Brûlée Cheesecake – an ultra creamy salted caramel cheesecake is baked in a buttery graham cracker crust, and topped with salted caramel sauce, a creme brûléed topping, & whipped cream! My recipe walks you through every step with detailed directions and photos to help you easily master homemade cheesecake!
Why you’ll love this Creme Brulee Cheesecake:
- Ultra Creamy Cheesecake – Salted caramel cheesecake is baked to creamy perfection (a water bath helps with this – full details in the recipe!).
- Buttery Crust – A buttery graham cracker crust provides the perfect crisp base for our cheesecake.
- Salted Caramel Sauce – Salted caramel sauce is baked into the cheesecake, and spread on top after cooled. The salty sweet balance is utterly delicious!
- Creme Brûlée Topping – The final touch is spreading a layer of granulated sugar over the caramel, then torching it for that signature creme brûlée topping.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Cream Cheese – Use full fat cream cheese, in the block style. This needs to come to room temperature before you bake.
- Eggs – Use large eggs, at room temperature.
- Sour Cream – Use full fat sour cream, at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract for best results. I really like to use vanilla bean paste here!
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter for the crust if you prefer.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs – Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until you have a fine crumb, or buy ready made graham cracker crumbs. Ready made crumbs seem to need less butter to form the proper consistency for the crust, and crumbs made from whole graham crackers seem to need a bit more butter.
- Heavy Cream – Yes, this is different from half and half. Use heavy cream (sometimes called heavy whipping cream) for the caramel sauce and whipped cream, and not a substitute.
Ingredient Substitutions & Variations:
- Gluten-free – Use gluten-free graham crackers to make this recipe gluten-free!
- Dairy-free – I have not experimented with dairy-free cheesecakes so I can’t recommend anything with confidence here, except to check out a vegan baking blog, like The Banana Diaries or Little Blog of Vegan!
- Pastry Cream – Don’t like salted caramel? Skip it to make a vanilla bean cheesecake, then top it with a batch of this delicious pastry cream recipe from my friend at Baran Bakery before adding the creme brûlée topping.
- Whipped Cream – Feel free to use canned whipped cream in a pinch.
How to Make this Creme Brûlée Cheesecake Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Make the Salted Caramel Sauce. Cook sugar in a saucepan until melted, then whisk in butter and heavy cream. Finish with a little flaky sea salt. Let cool.
Step 2: Make the Crust. Make & Bake the Crust. Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and a pinch of sugar. Press this into a 9-inch springform pan and bake for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Make the Cheesecake Batter. In a large bowl, beat your cream cheese on high speed with an electric mixer (or a stand mixer) until smooth & creamy. Then, mix in the sugar, beating well for 1-2 minutes on high speed to get all the lumps out. Next, add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium until each is just incorporated. Mix in the vanilla, sour cream, and salted caramel sauce last. You’ll have a silky batter.
Step 4: Bake the Cheesecake. Place the springform pan of cheesecake batter inside of a 10-inch cake pan (this is your foolproof buffer against the water bath), then place this into a roasting pan. Pour boiling water (not just hot water!) into the roasting pan only.
Bake cheesecake in a 350 degree oven for 94 to 110 minutes. Turn the oven off and crack the door to let the cheesecake cool gently for one hour. Then, cool to room temperature on your counter before refrigerating overnight before finishing & serving.
Step 4: Add Caramel Sauce. Top the chilled cheesecake with a thin layer of salted caramel sauce.
Step 5: Brûlée the Cheesecake. Add a layer of granulated sugar on top of the cheesecake and use a blow torch to melt the sugar – the melted sugar will harden within a few minutes, creating your brûléed topping.
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Once the brûlée topping is hardened, pipe on some whipped cream (optional – you can serve it on the side as well) and add some fresh berries for a pop of color. Slice and enjoy! Store leftover cheesecake in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Expert Success Tips for Caramel Cheesecake:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes! You can halve the recipe and bake it in a 9×9 square pan. I believe it may still be a bit too much batter when halved for a 6-inch springform pan, but you can try it. Just have a muffin tin handy & some extra crust so you can bake any extra batter that way. (It’s ok to fill your pan pretty close to the top – this doesn’t rise like a cake).
Yes! You can simply omit the caramel sauce from the cheesecake batter (and from the top, if desired). Start the bake time at 10-15 minutes less, checking for doneness as directed in the recipe card, adding more time as needed.
You can in theory. You would need to place the cheesecake with the sugar on top in the oven under your broiler. The broiler would melt the sugar and create the brûlée topping. However, be careful as we don’t want to heat the cheesecake up too much.
Unfortunately, the aluminum foil seems to always let some water leak into the cheesecake in my experience. So, I recommend getting a 10-inch pan to set your 9-inch springform pan inside of playing chance with the foil.
Special Tools:
- Springform Pan – This lemon meringue cheesecake recipe uses a 9-inch springform pan.
- 10-Inch Cake Pan – Use a 10-inch cake pan as your barrier between the cheesecake pan and the water bath in the roasting pan.
- Roasting Pan – A roasting pan is essential for a water bath when making cheesecake.
- Kitchen Torch – You know those cute little hand held kitchen torches? They crap out after a couple uses – don’t waste your money on those cheap things. Buy this Bernzomatic Trigger Start Torch and a few Propane Tanks to go with it – it’s a much higher-quality torch and has lasted me for years!
Affiliate links above.
More Cheesecake Recipes to Love:
- Lemon Meringue Pie Cheesecake
- Mini S’mores Cheesecakes
- Key Lime Pie Cheesecake
- Strawberry Cheesecake
- Biscoff Cheesecake
- Triple Nutella Cheesecake
- Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!
Salted Caramel Creme Brûlée Cheesecake
Ingredients
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar 215 grams
- 6 tbsp salted butter, cubed 85 grams
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream 133 mL
- pinch of flaky sea salt
For the Crust:
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs 276 grams
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted 113 grams
For the Cheesecake Batter
- 32 ounces full fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature 906 grams
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar 315 grams
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup full fat sour cream, at room temperature 160 grams
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup salted caramel sauce 290 grams
- 1/8 tsp salt
For the Creme Brûlée Topping
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar 72 grams
For the Whipped Cream
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 118 mL
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For Decorating:
- fresh berries, optional
Instructions
- Make Salted Caramel Sauce: Make one batch of salted caramel sauce according to my salted caramel sauce recipe. Let it cool at room temperature or in the fridge before using. If made ahead, it will need to be gently reheated in the microwave for 20-45 seconds so it's a spreadable consistency.
- Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and make sure the bottom is securely fastened. Stir together crust ingredients and press into prepared pan and up the sides of the pan (see photos above). Bake this for 10 minutes. Set aside. Keep the oven on at 350. Fill a large pot with water and set it on your stove, and get out a large roasting pan – you'll need this for your water bath later.
- Make the Cheesecake Filling: Remember that your cold ingredients need to come to room temp before you start. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with electric mixer until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar & mix on high speed until well incorporated, about 1-2 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as you go – little lumps of cream cheese love to hide in the bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed after each until just incorporated. Add the vanilla, sour cream, salted caramel sauce, and salt and mix until just combined. Tip: You can also do this in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Prepare the Water Bath + Bake: Bring the large pot of water to a boil. Set your springform pan on a rack positioned in the center of the oven, and place the roasting pan on the rack below, or wrap the base of the cheesecake pan in foil and place it inside a 10-inch cake pan inside the roasting dish. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan. Both of these methods ensure no leaks.
- Bake: Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 45 to 2 hours and 10 minutes. When done, the cheesecake will have only a slight wobble in the center, and a knife inserted into the edge will come out clean, and will have just a bit of thick batter when inserted into the center. Turn off the oven and crack the door open. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 1 hour before removing it.
- Cheesecake Cooling: Once the hour is up, remove the pan from the oven. It should be cool enough to handle. Remove the foil and set the springform pan on a wire rack. Let cool completely at room temp, then cover with foil and refrigerate at least 6 hours or up to 1 day before removing from the pan and serving.
- Brûlée Topping: Once you're ready to serve the chilled cheesecake, spread a thin layer of caramel sauce on top. (You will need to gently microwave your caramel sauce if it's been in the fridge.) Then, sprinkle on the granulated sugar in an even layer. Use a blow torch to melt the sugar, making the creme brûlée topping. Pop the cheesecake back in the fridge to help the sugar harden faster (it will initially be molten and will firm up fairly quickly – it will also be extremely hot initially, so do not touch it.)
- Make the Whipped Cream: Add the whipped cream ingredients to a medium bowl and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Or, use a food processor – this will make the whipped cream easier to pipe! Pulse 10 times, then run on low until cream is thickened and stiff.
- Serve & Store: Serve with whipped cream on the side or pipe it on (I used a wilton 4B tip). Add fresh berries for garnish, then slice and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Leave a Reply