Brown Butter Vanilla Bean (Print View)
Creamy layers of brown butter, vanilla bean, and cream cheese meet a pecan-cookie crust for a rich, indulgent treat.
# What You'll Need:
→ Brown Butter
01 -
226g (1 cup) butter without salt
→ Crust
02 -
120g browning butter (½ cup plus 1 tbsp)
03 -
Ground pecans, 115g (1 cup)
04 -
Two cups (240g) of cookie crumbs (pick from digestive biscuits, Oreos without filling, or graham crackers)
05 -
Two tbsp powdered sugar
→ Filling
06 -
Two blocks of cream cheese (8 oz each, 452g total), let them soften
07 -
Brown sugar, 210g (1 cup)
08 -
Scrape one vanilla bean, or use 2 tsp of vanilla extract or paste
09 -
Brown butter (mostly the nutty bits), 57g (¼ cup)
10 -
Sour cream or labneh, 120g (½ cup)
11 -
Fine salt, ¼ teaspoon
12 -
Two large eggs
→ Whipped Topping
13 -
Brown sugar, 2 tbsp
14 -
Vanilla bean scrapings or 1 tsp vanilla extract
15 -
Just a pinch of salt
16 -
Heavy cream, 1 cup
# Directions:
01 -
Put butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Let it melt, then keep cooking, watching for it to sizzle and foam. When it gets quiet, brown specks will start forming at the base, and it should smell nutty. Carefully pour it into a bowl, keeping all the brown bits. Set aside to cool down.
02 -
Warm up the oven to 350°F (175°C). Blend together powdered sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, and ½ cup plus 1 tbsp of the yellow part of browned butter. Push this mix into a lined and greased cake pan (8 or 9 inches) to form a bottom layer and partway up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes, then pull it out to cool. Drop oven heat to 325°F (163°C).
03 -
Mix the softened cream cheese with reserved brown butter bits, salt, vanilla, and brown sugar until it's fully smooth. Stir in the sour cream until it blends nicely. Finally, add eggs one at a time and gently mix to combine—don't overdo it, or you'll get cracks.
04 -
Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Place the filled pan inside a bigger pan, and pour hot water around it until it's halfway up the cake pan. Cook for 60–75 minutes until the center has a slight jiggle, and edges are set. Turn off the oven, open the door a bit, and let it rest there for 30 minutes. Move it to the countertop next to cool another 30 minutes, then refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours.
05 -
Pour heavy cream, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla into a bowl. Beat until the mixture is whipped into soft peaks. Add this over the cheesecake once it's fully chilled and ready to eat.
# Notes:
01 -
Save the nutty brown butter bits for the filling—they add all the flavor.
02 -
Cooling it down slowly makes cracks less likely to show on the top.