If you make this cheesecake, snap a photo and share on Instagram using #TheFoodCharlatan. I would be so happy to see it!! Who high-fives while holding an EXTREMELY SHARP number 2 pencil?? Watch out for those nephews, guys. They have no mercy. I have been double checking every high five since that day. No sharp pencil? Okay, we’re good, let’s high five. Now look, I know cheesecake has a real reputation for being fussy. A prima donna, if you will. But all she needs is a little star treatment. I’m going to show you exactly how to pamper her so she can steal the show (and your heart). The idea for this cheesecake has been floating around in my head for a few years now. The first hurdle was getting a kitchen torch, because this recipe is impossible to make without it. Someone gave me a torch for Christmas last year, but I had no fuel. Finally got some butane at Home Depot a few weeks ago, and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t do this sooner, because oh. my. gosh. This cheesecake. Guys. She took one bite and said, Karen, I think this is the best thing you have ever made. Then we got really excited with the torch and tried to caramelize the outer edges of the cheesecake. It sorta worked. (If you want to try this, the best method is to wet your hands and moisten the side of the cheesecake, then use your other hand or a spoon to press sugar onto the wet part. Then torch. But probably none of you are as desperate for brûléed sugar as we are.) After our fire-fun, Lani went home, but I got this text from her several hours later, “All I can think about is that cheesecake! Best dessert I think I have ever had.” I think she liked it. If you are stumped for what to get your special someone for Valentine’s Day this year, I say just make them this. No one is going to argue with this cheesecake. Skip dinner and eat the whole thing. I can’t think of anything more romantic. Start by wrapping the bottom and sides of your springform pan in three layers of aluminum foil. Pulse the gingersnaps into fine crumbs, then add sugar, salt, and melted butter and pulse again.Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer, then bake. Remove from the oven and let cool while you make the filling. Beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, then add sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt, and beat again. Heat the cream on the stove. While it’s heating, crack the eggs, separating the yolks, and beat. Pour the heated cream through a fine mesh strainer into a large pourable glass measuring cup. While the beaters in the egg yolks are on, slowly add the warm cream, then pour this mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Transfer the foil-wrapped crust into a large high-sided skillet, or a roasting pan, then pour the cheesecake batter into the gingersnap crust. Fill the skillet or roasting pan with hot water from the tap and transfer the water bath to the oven. Bake the cheesecake until done, then crack the door of the oven and let the cheesecake come to room temperature inside the oven. When the cheesecake is mostly cool, remove it from the water bath, and remove the foil. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. Sprinkle superfine sugar all over the top of the cheesecake. Use the torch to caramelize the sugar. Let sit for a minute for the sugar to harden, then garnish with fresh raspberries.
Substitute blueberries, blackberries, peaches, or any fruit you choose for the raspberries. The basic flavors of the cheesecake are caramelized sugar and cream – you basically can’t go wrong adding any fruit topping you want. Instead of vanilla bean paste, you can use a vanilla bean. Scrape the pod and add it to the cream cheese mixture. Throw the remaining bean in with the cream when you cook it, so that you soak up all the flavor. You don’t have to use gingersnaps for the crust! You can use 1 and 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs or Nilla Wafer crumbs instead. YUM.
Wrap your cheesecake in foil. This is going to keep your cheesecake dry since it will be baked in a water bath. I know 3 layers of foil may seem excessive, but talk to me when you spend half a day making your precious cheesecake and you end up with a soggy crust. Trust me, the prep time is worth the cost of the foil! You don’t have to buy special sugar. You can just throw some regular sugar into the blender or food processor for 30 seconds or so. Smaller granules help the sugar melt faster when you are torching it. Regular sugar will still work fine though. I’ve tried both. Keep the beaters going while you’re adding cream to yolks. Add the warm cream sloooowly. If you are not mixing while you do this, the eggs will curdle. Enlist help if you can, this part is a little tricky. Don’t pull the cheesecake out of the oven…yet. When the cheesecake is finished baking, you can either crack the door of the oven and let the cheesecake come to room temperature inside the oven, or you can take it out but leave it in its water bath for a couple hours. The goal is to avoid a drastic change in temperature so the cheesecake doesn’t crack, a classic cheesecake problem! Leave time to chill the cheesecake. You need to wait until the cheesecake is mostly cool, remove from the water bath, and remove the foil. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight. If you don’t it’s going to be an absolute mess. Release the spring slowly. After all that work we are not going to let this cheesecake crack! When you are ready to serve it, remove the plastic wrap and carefully loosen the sides of the pan; you can use a butter knife or just make sure to release the spring gently.
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