Cheesecakes have become almost as common as layer cakes these days, a truly decadent way to end a meal or celebrate a special occasion. There’s an almost endless variety of different types of cheesecakes, but some of my favorite ones don’t have all the caramel and fruit and things, just a dense, rich, perfectly-flavored cheesecake- maybe with a crunchy crust.

If you’re looking for that good old cheesecake, too, then this brown butter cheesecake is exactly that kind of taste experience.

As the name implies the main flavoring for this recipe comes from brown butter. Some cheesecakes call for the addition of sour cream and this one calls for both sour cream and brown butter -butter that’s been cooked on the stovetop.

You’ll have to be careful not to burn the butter when you cook it, just give it a golden color in the saucepan. When you do this the taste is transformed into a deeper, darker, richer kind of butter flavor. It’s an enhancement that’s well worth this extra step.

The brown butter is in both the cake and the crust, for a really special boost of flavor. We used a vanilla bean pod to give it even more flavor, but a cheaper and more convenient shortcut is to buy the vanilla paste. It will still give you the little speckles of vanilla bean and the extra kick in your baked goods, while being a lot less expensive than whole vanilla beans.

You can serve this with some berries if you wish, but in my opinion you only need a little whipped cream to bring out the best in this cheesecake.

I would definitely call this brown butter cheesecake a new classic because it’s a take on the original that really takes it to mouthwatering new heights.