Name: Mint Brownie Cheesecake
Cook time: 90 min
Yield: 1 8-inch cheesecake
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 140g Graham crackers; 60g Butter (room temperature); 452g Cream cheese; 100g Sugar; 2g Kosher salt; 5g Vanilla extract; 130g Heavy cream; 3 eggs; 5g Mint extract; 1g Green food coloring; 100g Fudge sauce

Description

A cool, refreshing mint cheesecake with a brownie crust and fudge sauce drizzled on top. The mint flavor in the filling is bright and clean, and the fudge sauce adds a rich, chocolatey finish. A subtle green tint is optional but makes for a fun presentation.

Special Instructions

For the brownie crust, bake 1/2 recipe of Cook’s Illustrated brownie in your pan and let it cool completely before adding the cheesecake filling. Use 1 tsp (about 5g) mint extract in the filling — start with less and taste the batter before adding more. After the cheesecake is fully baked and set, drizzle with 1/2 recipe of Serious Eats fudge sauce. Green food coloring is entirely optional.

Recipe

Pan size:

Number of cakes:

1

Makes 1 × 8″ cheesecake

Topping

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Fudge sauce	100g	1/2 recipe Serious Eats fudge sauce, drizzled on top

Filling

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Cream cheese	452g	2 × 8 oz bricks (Philadelphia)
Sugar	100g
Kosher salt	2g
Vanilla extract	5g
Heavy cream	130g
Eggs	3 eggs
Mint extract	5g	1 tsp, start with less and add to taste
Green food coloring	1g	Optional, just a drop or two

Crust (brownie)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Graham crackers	140g	1 bag of Honeymoon graham crackers (~140g)
Butter (room temperature)	60g

Instructions

Make the filling: Let the cream cheese and eggs come to room temperature, then beat the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Mix in sugar, salt, vanilla extract. Add eggs last, mixing just until combined so you don't work extra air into the mixture that will get stuck in the sous vide bag.
Make the crust: Let the butter come to room temperature. Break up brownie a bit, then add them with the butter to a food processor and process until fully integrated. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of your pan — make sure it's well packed with no gaps, or the filling will leak through when you pour it.
Cook: Sous vide at 176°F for 90 minutes. Every 30ish minutes, massage the bag to stir the filling (or stir directly if using an open container). Pay attention to the edges and make sure stirring is complete.
Set: Pour into the mold, then add any solid toppings right away or let the cheesecake cool in the fridge for several hours before adding a gell topping. Ideally, make the cheesecake at least a day before serving so it can set properly.