Preheat oven to 325°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine crushed graham crackers, sugar, salt, and melted butter, stirring until the texture resembles damp sand. Press about 1 to 1½ tablespoons of this mixture into the base of each liner using the bottom of a glass. Bake for 8–10 minutes until golden, then set aside to cool completely.

Lower the oven temperature to 300°F. Using a stand or hand mixer on low speed, blend together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs individually, mixing well and scraping the bowl after each addition. Incorporate the heavy cream and vanilla extract, blending until fully homogeneous. Pour the filling nearly to the top of each prepared crust.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven off. Leave the cheesecakes inside for 30 minutes with the door cracked open, then let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until serving.

For the topping, sprinkle each cheesecake with approximately one teaspoon of sugar. Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch until golden and slightly darkened in places. Allow to sit briefly for the sugar crust to harden. If no torch is available, broil just until the sugar melts and caramelizes.