Crème Brûlée Cheesecake

1. Stage

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Stage

Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal s-blade attachment, add the graham crackers. Pulse until they are ground fine like sand; you should have 1 1/4 cups. Add the sugar, salt, and nutmeg (if using). Pulse 3 or 4 times until combined. Pour melted butter around the bowl in a circle; pulse 4 or 5 times to combine. The mixture should clump a little bit but may still look a little dry. Dump the mixture into the bottom of your springform pan. Use your fingers or the underside of a cup to press the mixture into the bottom of the pan, making it as even as possible. Place the crust in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.

3. Stage

Reduce the oven temp: Once the crust has baked, reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

4. Stage

Make the filling: In a small bowl, gently beat the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt together with a fork. Set it aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large bowl and a hand mixer set to low), add the cream cheese. Beat the cream cheese on low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla bean seeds and beat again on low for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the stand mixer on low add the sour cream, beat for a minute, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Slowly add the sugar. Stop the mixer. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Beat for another minute or 2 until light and fluffy. Add the egg mixture in 2 additions, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Beat on low until fully combined.

5. Stage

Prepare the water bath and add the filling: Wrap the outside of your springform pan in 3 layers of aluminum foil. Be careful not to tear or puncture the foil. Bring the foil all the way up the sides. Set it inside a roasting pan or a large Dutch oven. Pour the filling into the springform pan. Fill the roasting pan with hot water about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Be careful not to splash any water into the cheesecake pan or inside the foil. Put the pan in the oven and bake until the cheesecake is just barely set in the center, 55 to 65 minutes. It will still jiggle slightly, but shouldn’t slosh in the center when moved.

6. Stage

Let it cool: Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Let the cake cool in the water bath for about an hour, then remove it from the water bath and transfer it to a cooling rack on the counter for another hour. Finally, keep the cake in the springform pan, and let it cool, uncovered, overnight in the fridge.

7. Stage

Brûlée the top: Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan. About 10 minutes before serving, sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar evenly across the surface of the cake. Use a culinary torch to caramelize the sugar on the surface. Place the torch flame about 4 inches above the cake and apply direct heat to the sugar. Constantly move the torch in small circles until it takes on an even, golden color. Wait about a minute, then sprinkle on the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and repeat the torching process.

8. Stage

To serve: Serve the cake within 20 minutes once the top has been brûléed. To remove the cake from the base of the springform pan, gently run a long knife between the crust layer and the bottom of the pan. Then slide it carefully to your serving platter.