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Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Cheesecake made with vanilla beans and then layered with a vanilla bean white chocolate mousse. The creamiest, dreamiest cheesecake you've ever had!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time11 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 1 2/3 cups graham cracker crumbs fine
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 6 tablespoons butter melted

For the cheesecake:

  • 24 ounces cream cheese blocks, not from a tub, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 vanilla beans seeds scraped, pods discarded
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

For the white chocolate mousse:

  • 7 ounces white melting chocolate disks
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 ounces cream cheese blocks, not from a tub, softened
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean seeds scraped, pods discarded

For the whipped cream:

  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

For the crust:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 inch spingfoam pan with aluminum foil and form tightly around the edges of the pan. Add crumbs and sugar to a medium bowl and toss to combine. Add melted butter and use a fork to mix together. Pour into prepared pan and flatted with your hands or a flat-bottomed cup into one even layer. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Reduce oven to 325 degrees.

For the cheesecake:

  • Grab a large roasting pan. Make sure cheesecake pan will fit on the inside. Begin boiling 4 quarts of water. This will be used for the water bath.
  • In the bowl fitted for a stand mixer, add cream cheese, sugar, and seeds of 2 vanilla beans. Beat until combined and smooth. Mix in eggs, one at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each egg. Add sour cream and heavy cream. Mix until combined.
  • Tap the bowl on the counter about 30 times to remove air pockets from the batter. Pour batter over graham cracker crust and place cheesecake into roasting pan. Place pan into oven. Very carefully, pour boiling water into roasting pan to create a "bath" for the cheesecake. Make sure water reaches half up the side of the cheesecake pan.
  • Bake cheesecake for about 65 minutes until set but still jiggles in the middle. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove cheesecake from roasting pan and set on wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight so that cheesecake is completely chilled.

For the white chocolate mousse:

  • Melt white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl 30 second increments, making sure to stir between intervals, until melted and smooth. Set aside. In a bowl fitted for a stand mixer, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form then add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Scoop into another bowl.
  • Using the dirty mixing bowl for the stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese with seeds of vanilla bean until smooth. Add white chocolate and combine. Add in half of the whipped cream mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until nearly combined, then add remaining half of the whipped cream mixture and fold until combined and no streaks remain. Pour over cold cheesecake and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate for l 1 1/2 hours.

For the whipped cream:

  • In a mixing bowl fitted for a stand mixer, whip heavy cream with vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Run a knife around edges of cheesecake then spread whipped cream over mousse layer within 2 hours of serving. To serve remove foil from pan, pull latch and remove springform pan ring. Garnish with white chocolate shavings or fruit, if desired.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy