These Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars turn the classic French dessert into something even easier and tastier! Graham cracker crust, vanilla bean cheesecake filling, and a bruleed sugar topping. YUM!
Yield:
9 bars
Prep Time:15minutes
Cook:45minutes
Tessa's Recipe Rundown...
Taste: I love the intense vanilla aroma and flavor from the vanilla bean paired with the tang of the cream cheese which is offset by the sweetness of the sugar. Texture: The best part! The crust is chewy and buttery, the filling is thick, smooth, and luscious, and the brulee topping is shatteringly crunchy. Ease: Much easier than a full cheesecake or creme brulee! Pros: Tasty twist on the classic dessert. Cons: Not exactly diet friendly, but hey, at least the bars are smaller than slices of big cheesecake! Would I make this again? Yes, it’s such a crowdpleaser.
You know what’s great about these Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars? They require no custard making skills, no ramekins, no water baths, nothing too difficult at all. These bars are even easier than a traditional cheesecake. Certainly easier than traditional creme brulee!
But truly the best part? You get to light them on fire with a kitchen torch! If you don’t have one, you can also use your broiler. But the kitchen torch produces much better results. Plus it’s just plain fun to use. Add one to your wish list!
It’s also pretty cool to watch the sugar turn into liquid, deepen in color, and completely harden all within minutes. Don’t get too carried away, though, or you may set off your smoke detector. Also be sure to torch the topping on a heat-safe work surface with nothing flammable nearby. Who knew cheesecake could be so fun?
Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars Recipe Tips
How to Make Smooth & Creamy Cheesecake
Make sure all of your ingredients are completely at room temperature. The cream cheese specifically needs to be totally softened. If it’s a cold day, then the cream cheese will need to sit on the counter for several hours or you may need to nuke it in the microwave until it’s completely soft.
To ensure there’s no lumps, also be sure to scrape down your mixing bowl thoroughly after adding pretty much every ingredient. Even if you have a beater attachment that scrapes as it goes. Those don’t always catch everything, especially at the very bottom of the bowl.
If it’s a cold day, you often have lumpy cheesecake, and you’re using a metal mixing bowl, you might want to run the bowl under warm water then dry thoroughly before mixing your cheesecake batter.
Creme Brulee Key Ingredient
The key to making that deliciously flavorful and rich creme brulee flavor is VANILLA. I love to use vanilla paste in this recipe because it gives a generous dose of vanilla without having to cut open and scrape a vanilla pod. If you’d prefer to use a pod, then use 1. If you only have extract, then just use the same amount as the paste called for.
How to Make Ahead of Time
Store the untopped (non-bruleed) cheesecake bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The bruleed topping should be completed soon before serving so it stays crunchy.
These Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars turn the classic French dessert into something even easier and tastier! Graham cracker crust, vanilla bean cheesecake filling, and a bruleed sugar topping. YUM!
Ingredients
For the crust:
9whole (135 grams) graham crackers
5tablespoons (72 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
16ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, completely softened at room temperature
1cup(200 grams) granulated sugar
1/4cupheavy cream
2large eggs, at room temperature
1large egg yolk, at room temperature
2teaspoonsvanilla bean paste
1/2teaspoonfine sea salt
For the brulee topping:
1/4cup(50 grams) granulated sugar
Directions
For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square metal baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned and set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool and reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
For the filling:
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese at medium-high speed until smooth. Add the sugar and continue beating until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Add the cream then the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla paste, and salt one at a time and beat until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 300°F until the cheesecake is set but still slightly jiggly in the center, about 35 minutes. Do not overbake.
Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack to cool completely in the pan. Cover and chill until firm, at least 4 hours. Using the foil overhang, transfer the cheesecake to a heat safe work surface and cut into squares.
Sprinkle the tops of each square with sugar and torch the tops with a kitchen torch until it turns a deep amber color. Alternatively, use a broiler to brown the sugar (just don’t walk away – it goes from bruleed to black fast!). Refrigerate until ready to serve.
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
About Tessa...
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
Kiersten @ Handle the Heat
— January 20, 2023 at 1:33 pm
That’s correct, Pat – along with a lot of delicious vanilla flavor! More info on that in the pink tip box, above the recipe! Let us know if you give this recipe a try 🙂
As a trained chef and cookbook author, I share trusted baking recipes your friends & family will love alongside insights into the science of sweets. I help take the luck out of baking so you *always* have delicious results! Learn more here.
Over 200 pages with 50+ cookie recipes that'll make
you a COOKIE PRO. Discover how to turn your biggest cookie flops into WINS by mastering the
sweet science of baking. Even learn how to customize your own recipes! Beautiful, hardcopy,
full color, photos of every recipe so you know EXACTLY how your cookies should look. Order
now to have the book delivered to your doorstep!
Do you want a more delicious life?
Instead of digging through cookbooks and magazines and searching the internet for amazing
recipes, subscribe to Handle the Heat to receive new recipe posts delivered straight to your
email inbox. You’ll get all the latest recipes, videos, kitchen tips and tricks AND my
*free* Cookie Customization Guide (because I am the Cookie Queen)!
Is the sugar on top and torching it what classifies it crème brûlée
That’s correct, Pat – along with a lot of delicious vanilla flavor! More info on that in the pink tip box, above the recipe! Let us know if you give this recipe a try 🙂