Recipe: Creme Brûlée Bars

DURING THE FIRST ABERDEEN Magazine recipe demonstration at the K. O. Lee Public Library, we joked with Cara Perrion about someday doing a crème brûlée recipe, complete with the kitchen torch and all. That seemed to be a daunting task, especially to pull off at an establishment with so many flammable materials. Unfortunately, our lovely midwest winter did what midwest winters like to do, and we had to postpone our demonstration.

This recipe uses a base of sweet potatoes and cream cheese, which makes for a nice, sweet, and smooth bar. If you also feel that a kitchen torch is a little daunting, you can finish off the iconic crème brûlée glaze by using your oven’s broiler feature. These bars are a great way to add a little twist to a classic dessert, and they’re just as delicious even if you forgo the hard sugar topping. //

Creme Brûlée Bars

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 59 minutes mins

Servings 24 bars

Equipment

• Kitchen torch optional

Ingredients

  

• 11 Graham crackers finely crushed
• 1/4 c packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 tbsp Kosher salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
• 4 8-oz packages cream cheese soften
• 2 c granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
• 1 15-oz can sweet potato puree
• 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• cooking spray

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Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on all sides.
• In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and salt. Add butter and stir until combined.
• Transfer crumb mixture to prepare pan, pressing into bottom and up sides of pan with a measuring cup, glass, or spoon.
• In a large bowl, use a handheld mixer on low speed and beat cream cheese and 1 ó cup granulated sugar, scraping down sides of bowl until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 2 to 3 minutes).
• Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Overmixing eggs can cause the cheesecake to crack. Beat in vanilla.
• Transfer 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture to a small bowl, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Add sweet potato puree to remaining cream cheese mixture in the large bowl. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and mix to combine.
• Spoon sweet potato mixture over crust. Using a spatula, smooth top. Freeze until cold (about 45 minutes).
• Carefully spoon reserved cream cheese mixture over the frozen sweet potato mixture and smooth it out.
• Bake bars until they are just set, about 40 to 50 minutes. Turn off oven, prop open door, and let bars cool for about 2 hours. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until bars are chilled and firm.
• Using the parchment overhang, lift bars out and transfer to cutting board. Slice bars into squares.
• Sprinkle the tops of each square with granulated sugar. With a kitchen torch, torch each square until the top is a deep amber. With oven broiler, place bars into the oven for about 2 minutes, until the sugar is melted.