Creme Brulee Cheesecake

Right, so first recipe of the post-exam season.... This recipe I really like, not only because it combines the miracles of both Creme Brulee AND Cheesecake, but because it is the actual recipe used in Lumiere and Triton's Restaurant on the Disney Cruise Line! Woo! I bought the book before exams so now I finally have the freedom to start cooking. So to start, here it is.....

 I have also got a fabulous shiny new camera for my birthday, for which this photo is credit of :) Beautiful, is it not? I have also been very nice to you, because the recipe was in American measurements, and with my amazing powers that be, I have converted it into grams for you :D

 

 Right, so to start, here is what you will need.. The list is a little extensive but totally worth it

For the Bottom Crust;

• 80g Graham  Crackers (I couldn't find these, but something similar should do)
• 180g Butter, Melted
• 30g Brown Sugar
• 55g Shortbread

For the Creme Brulee;

• 580ml Heavy Cream (I used Double Cream)
• 1 Vanilla Bean, Split
• 6 Large Egg Yolks
• 100g White Sugar

For the Cheesecake Mix;

• 530g Cream Cheese (I used Philly)
• 240g White Sugar
• 45g Heavy Cream (Or Double Cream)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 4 Whole Eggs
• 3 Egg Yolks

 For the Caramel Sauce;

• 160ml Evaporated Milk
• 225g Caramel Toffee Sweets

Recipe and Photo Tutorial After the Break! 

To Make the Crust, heat the oven to 350'F / Mark 4 / 180'C, and mix all the butter, crackers, sugar and shortbread together in a mixer until well combined. You'll need a 10" Springform Cake Pan (also 2 and 1/2" high) and if you like, I would suggest lining the bottom with greaseproof paper. Press the cracker mix into the pan, try to make sure there are no holes, or as you'll see, the mix will leak out of the pan. Bake the mix for 15 minutes and leave to cool.

The Crust Ingredients

The Baked Crust

 Now heat the oven to 250'F / Mark 1 / 130'C. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and heat with the cream in a saucepan for about 12 minutes. The seeds can clump together so using a wooden spoon crush the clumps with a knife to separate the seeds and keep mixing to infuse the cream and disperse the seeds
In a medium bowl, mix together the egg yolks and sugar at high speed for 3 minutes, or until the mixture is pale. Switch to a wire whisk and put 250ml of the cream into yolk mix and whisk again. Then add the egg yolk mix back into the cream mixture a little at a time to temper it. I would place the pan on a baking tray just in case the mix leaks out, you can then scrape the cooked mix off the tray and put on top of whats left in the pan. Pour on top of the crust and bake for 45 minutes. Leave to cool.

The split vanilla pod

The seeds with the cream, you can see how they've clumped together

How the seeds should eventually look

The Sugar and Egg Yolks

The Mixed Sugar and Yolks

This shows the cream mixture on the left and the yolk mix on the right, adding slowly back into the cream mix

As you can see, my base wasn't well covering the bottom of the pan, and it leaked, so you might want to put it onto a baking tray. It should be spongy when cooked

 Now heat the oven to 200'F, which I actually cooked on Gas Mark 1 on the bottom shelf for not the whole time. In another bowl, blend the cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract from the cheesecake mix until smooth, but scrape down the side of the bowl often so lumps don't form.
Add the whole eggs, little at a time, then the yolks, and pour on top of the last mix. Bake for about 3 and a bit hours, or until you can balance a spoon on top of the mixture without it sinking. Chill Overnight.

The Cheesecake Ingredients

Adding the whole eggs

The Cooked Creme Brulee

The Spoon Balancing Act :)

 Finally, and this is the easy bit, make the Caramel Sauce, by putting the Evaporated Milk and Sweets in a saucepan and heat on a medium heat until they melt together forming a thick sauce ready to pour over the cheesecake and Creme Brulee

Before Melting

Just before the sauce forms

 Please Comment, Rate and Enjoy!!!