The burnt Basque cheesecake is a unique and delicious dessert that is sure to impress guests at any gathering. The burnt exterior and creamy interior creates a perfect balance of flavors and textures, just the right amount of smokey and tart. And, it’s an incredibly simple dessert to make, with just a few easy-to-hand ingredients and minimal prep time. It can also be easily customized to suit your taste preferences, in some recipes this cheesecake has very little sugar and takes on an almost savoury quality, but it can also be given a personal touch with any number of toppings or sides.
Rustique = Dinner party chic
The burnt Basque cheesecake has gained popularity in recent years, making it a trendy and fashionable dessert option for any occasion. It’s simple to make, almost completely fail-proof and doesn’t require a whole lot of technical know-how – it can also be made the day before, making party prep all the easier!
Yum, yum, yum! It’s not often I eat dessert, but when it’s this good I definitely make and exception or three!
Yeverton dias
For other fail-proof treats for entertaining try: Irresistible caramelized orange cake
A note on ingredients:
I’m a big believer in the concept that the quality of the ingredients make the dish, especially when the recipe is based on only a few simple ingredients.
Major Ingredients
- Eggs: As always, the fresher the better. If I have the choice I’ll always go for pasture-farmed eggs because whether it’s just in my mind or not, I’m sure the yolks are always a brighter orange and creamier, which I believe contributes to the flavour of the bake, especially when there’s so many of them in the recipe!
- Cream: Not all heavy cream is actual heavy cream! What I mean is the cream that’s also sometimes called double cream and is always almost solid when it comes out of the container… you shouldn’t be able to pour this cream.
- Vanilla: You can totally get away with using vanilla extract if you don’t have vanilla paste, but the little tiny seeds give the finished cake a kind of beautiful grainy look which makes it feel even more decadent, not to mention true vanilla is a flavour you just can’t beat. Better yet if you can use the seeds from an actual pod if you can’t find the paste, but otherwise extract is a fine enough substitute.
This cake is pretty much the easiest cheesecake recipe you’ll ever come across, but here are some tips for baking the perfect cheesecake every time just in case!
Never fail a cheesecake again…
- Use room temperature ingredients to ensure a smooth and creamy consistency.
- Use a water bath to prevent cracks on the surface of the cheesecake.
- Avoid over-mixing the batter to prevent incorporating too much air, which can cause the cheesecake to collapse.
- Chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving to allow it to set and develop flavors.
- Consider adding toppings to enhance the flavor and presentation of your cheesecake.
Enhancing the Recipe:
Because of its simplicity, it’s extremely easy to make tiny adjustments to this recipe and achieve some pretty stunning results. Whether it’s as simple as serving it alongside a chantilly cream or as complex as adding a boozy-infused syrup or a sultry salted caramel, You don’t have to do much to turn this from decent to decadent.
Chantilly cream: keeping it simple silly! Literally, all it takes is a vanilla-enhanced whipped cream to add some lightness to the dense texture of the cheesecake.
Boozy-infused syrups: Make a syrup from your favorite fruit. Wait for it to cool. Add booze: Pour all over a piece of extravagant cheesecake. What’s not to love? I’ve used oranges and berries, but it’s safe to say I think there’s plenty of room to experiment.
Caramel dreaming: Caramel just makes everything better really doesn’t it? So simple to make, and one of the most luxurious things on the planet. You just can’t go past a good dollup of rich buttery caramel sauce on a piece of this cheesecake.
Basic Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Equipment
- 1 10" baking pan
- 1 stand mixer hand mixer will also work, otherwise you'll be requiring a lot of elbow grease!
Ingredients
- 1 lb cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (Caster preferred)
- 6 large eggs
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla paste
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 200°C
- Butter pan, then line with 2 overlapping 16×12" sheets of parchment, making sure parchment comes at least 2 inches above top of pan on all sides. You will need to pleate and crease the parchment in some areas to make it fit in the pan, so you won’t end up with a clean, smooth outer edge to the cake; but that’s okay, the rustic look is part of the appeal!
- Beat cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until very smooth, no lumps remain, and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.
- Increase speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, beating each egg for around 15 seconds before adding the next. Scrape down sides of bowl, then reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add cream, salt, and vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Turn off mixer and sift flour evenly over cream cheese mixture using a fine sieve. Beat on low speed until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl (yet again) and continue to beat until batter is very smooth, homogenous, and silky, about 10 seconds.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cheesecake until deeply golden brown on top and still very jiggly in the center, 60–65 minutes.
- Let cool slightly (it will fall drastically as it cools), then unmold. Let cool completely. Once cool, carefully peel away the parchment from the sides of the cheesecake. Slice into wedges and serve at room temperature as is or what ever sauce takes your fancy.
Did you make this recipe?
Lovely. If you loved this burnt basque cheesecake then me know how you liked it. Tag me @thetastyspoonful on Instagram or send us a message on Facebook @ The Tasty Spoonful
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Until next time. Keep following, liking, sharing, commenting and cooking, and may your every spoonful be tastier than the last!
