Ultimate Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Brown Butter Whipped Cream
This vanilla bean cheesecake is the ultimate base cheesecake that’s also perfect on it’s own. No toppings needed except brown butter whipped cream.
Flavored cheesecakes are excellent. My favorite cheesecakes usually include fruit or maybe white chocolate. However, sometimes you need a great base cheesecake. Maybe because you want vanilla cheesecake, or maybe because you want to create some sort of topping of your own. Either way, this is the ultimate vanilla bean cheesecake. It’s creamy yet not too light or too dense, and the flavor is just perfect on it’s own. The texture is lightly tangy, creamy and melts in your mouth and the whipped cream adds a little saltiness and depth.
I do have a similar vanilla cheesecake in my recipe for Raspberry Lemon Curd Cheesecake, however the flavor in that is a little more mild and less vanilla as to not take away from the citrus topping. It is still an excellent and similar cheesecake though. This one is much more vanilla forward, and designed to be just right with no toppings. That being said, pretty much any topping will work with this from fruit, to chocolate, to caramel. Go crazy!
Baking Notes & Tips
A lot of baking a cheesecake is about your technique. HOW you prepare it can have a bigger impact sometimes. Personally, I do use a water bath in baking cheesecakes because I don’t think it really adds much extra work and it’s a much more even bake. Is it required? Definitely not. When I started making cheesecakes I never used them and still turned out with delicious desserts.
There are many different ways to do a water bath. I personally use an 8 inch cheesecake pan (I like these ones that have removable bottoms), put it inside a 9 inch cake pan, which goes into a roasting pan. It doesn’t require me to use tinfoil and hope nothing seeps through, or buy roasting bags. The roasting bag method does work well, I used to use these before I figured out the pan in pan method. However you choose to make your water bath is fine, I just find this way the easiest.
Make sure you let your cheesecake sit in the oven while it’s off and the door cracked for at least an hour. This cooling down is part of the baking process. It’s slowly finishing cooking the middle while the temperature goes down. A large temperature change also can lead to cracks in your cheesecake as well. While cracks don’t change the taste, I know for many this is something to be avoided.
Lastly, making the brown butter whipped cream for this vanilla cheesecake is going to be a little bit unique compared to most whipped cream. After browning the butter you will need to sort of temper then emulsify into a part of the cream before adding it to the rest. This will help it blend into the cream for whipping. This will whip up properly, however it will seem slightly grainy from the milk solids. I spread it on as a single layer but it can be piped on or just served as a garnish as well.
I know this might seem like a plain cheesecake but it’s honestly delightful on it’s own. However, if you need a little extra with your vanilla I have tried this with my salted caramel on top, and other variations I’d recommend would be adding berries or perhaps even a chocolate sauce.
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Key Ingredients
- Vanilla bean paste – While technically vanilla extract will perform perfectly fine, vanilla bean paste seems like a necessity. I wanted the cheesecake to have vanilla bean flecks which are only present if you use vanilla bean, or vanilla bean paste. Trader joes has small bottles of paste you can get for not too much, but if you are a Costco member they have a much better deal (and brand) of it.
- Creme fraiche – Many cheesecakes will use sour cream, or heavy cream (I usually prefer these because of the wonderful texture). I chose to use creme fraiche in this recipe as it’s sort of a blend of the two. It’s a little tangy like sour cream, but still very creamy so you get a very smooth cheesecake with a light tang that pairs perfectly with the vanilla.
- Brown butter – Again, technically the whipped cream is not required, but I’m telling you don’t skip it because it’s how you ace the test. It adds a rich umami flavor that balances out the sweetness so nicely. If you are adding a fruit topping this can be skipped in lieu of regular whipped cream but for a plain vanilla, please indulge.
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Ingredients
Crust
- 185 g Graham crackers ~12 crackers, crushed finely
- 30 g Granulated sugar 2 tbsp
- ¼ tsp Sea salt
- 70 g Unsalted butter 5 tbsp, melted
Cheesecake
- 680 g Cream cheese 24 oz, room temperature
- 198 g Creme Fraiche 7 oz, room temperature
- 200 g Granulated sugar 1 cup
- 3 large Eggs room temperature
- 1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
Whipped Cream
- 28 g Unsalted butter 2 tbsp
- 180 g Heavy whipping cream ¾ cup, cold
- 1½ tbsp Confectioner's sugar
- pinch Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F
- In a small bowl, add your graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and stir together.185 g Graham crackers | 30 g Granulated sugar | ¼ tsp Sea salt
- Add melted butter to the crumbs and stir until you get a coarse sandy mix.70 g Unsalted butter
- Dump the crumbs into a 8-9 inch springform or cake pan and press them into an even layer.
- Bake your crust for about 10-12 minutes on the center rack of your oven.
- Remove your pan from the oven and set aside to cool before adding your filling.
- While your crust bakes, add your cream cheese, creme fraiche and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer with paddle attached or a large bowl with a hand mixer.680 g Cream cheese | 198 g Creme Fraiche | 200 g Granulated sugar
- Mix the ingredients together until creamy and smooth (2-3 minutes on a medium-low speed). Stop halfway through and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated into the mix.
- Add your eggs one at a time, mixing on a low speed for about 30-40 seconds for each.3 large Eggs
- Make sure to scrape down the bowl again and add your vanilla. Mix together for about 10-15 seconds.1 tbsp Vanilla bean paste
- After your crust has cooled to the touch (it can be warm, but not hot) pour your cheesecake filling into the crust.
- Lightly tap your pan on the counter to dislodge any air bubbles.
- Optional – Prepare your water bathI use a large roasting pan and another cake pan. I place my 8 inch cheesecake pan inside a 9 inch cake pan, and then the cake pan inside in the roasting pan. Add about an inch of water into the roasting pan. (See photo above)If your cheesecake pan doesn't fit or you don't have a pan that it fits inside of, many people wrap their cheesecake pan in layers of tin foil. I personally have used oven roasting bags, securing the sides around the edge of the springform pan so the top of the cheesecake is still exposed but no water can reach the bottom of the pan.
- Place your cheesecake on the center rack of your oven and bake for 50-60 minutes. Try not to open the oven door until the time is up, check on it as best you can through the window. Your cheesecake is done baking in the oven when the edges are set but the center still is soft and jiggles if you shake the pan gently.When the cheesecake has reached this point, turn off the oven and prop the door open but leave the cheesecake inside. I use a wooden spoon in the door jam to keep the door open just a crack.
- Let your cheesecake cool in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove your cheesecake from the oven and let cool on the counter for another 30 minutes or so before moving to the refrigerator. Place it in the refrigerator uncovered and let chill for at least 8 hours/overnight.
- The next day, brown your butter. Melt your butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted it will begin to bubble and then foam. When the butter starts smelling nutty and the milk solids become a medium golden brown, remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Let cool.28 g Unsalted butter
- Add about a third (¼ cup) of your heavy cream and sugar to your browned butter and whisk together vigorously. Place in the refrigerator once it has emulsified.
- Let this chill for about 30 minutes, then add this and the rest of your heavy cream, sugar and salt to a large bowl with hand mixer or the bowl of your stand mixer with whisk attached.
- Whisk your ingredients together, slowly increasing the speed until your whipped cream reaches stiff peaks.180 g Heavy whipping cream | 1½ tbsp Confectioner's sugar | pinch Sea salt
- Top your cheesecake with the whipped cream. Slice your cheesecake and serve.
