I remember the first time I baked a cheesecake. I followed all the steps in Junior’s cookbook, but it still had crack after crack. It was such a disappointment. Over the next few years, I mastered cheesecake without any cracks and that has been my cheesecake highlight ever since – until the day I tried the Basque cheesecake recipe. I baked one after the other, and the result was all you could ever want: creaminess, contrast, balanced sweetness, and no fussiness.

As it turns out, Basque cheesecake was not a thing centuries ago. At a time when all the great foods originated many centuries in the past, the history of this is unforgivingly new. Invented by the owner of the restaurant La ViñaSantiago Rivera only 29 years ago with the arrival of Philadelphia cream cheese, it has become one of “the” cheesecakes to make.

It took several attempts and failures to get the perfect balance between a gooey and moist interior and the burnt exterior — every New York cheesecake master’s nightmare.

Today, the Basque Burnt cheesecake recipe is traveling the world (the owner has not kept the recipe a secret). Everyone makes and loves it, starting from your next-door neighbour to the world’s most celebrated chefs – Alinea (USA) to the cake shop Gaztain Tokyo to MoVidain Australia. With its simple ingredients and technique, it is one of the most forgiving and exceptional cakes to make.

Ingredients

770 g cream cheese
35 g farin sugar
165 g white sugar
6 middle size eggs
2 tbsp wheat flour
320 g whipping cream
½ vanilla pod seeds only

Prepare

Place a rack in the middle of oven; preheat the oven 200°C. Layer the pan with 2 overlapping sheets of baking paper, making sure parchment comes 10 cm above the top of the pan on all sides. You will need to fold in a paper in some areas to fit in the pan; it’s ok. It makes the cake look more beautiful.

Beat the cream cheese, salt, vanilla and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium-low speed (with the paddle attachment), scraping down sides of the bowl, until smooth and there are no lumps, and sugar has dissolved, about 3-4 minutes. Increase speed to medium, add the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated (not more) before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after beating in each egg.

Reduce mixer speed to medium-low, add the flour, mix in, and add the cream and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl (again) and continue to beat until batter is smooth and silky, about 10 - 20 seconds. Pour into the prepared pan, and bake until deeply golden brown on top and still very jiggly in the center, about 60–65 minutes. Take out and let it cool (it will fall while cooling) and unmold.

When ready to serve – preferably after 4-5 hours, carefully peel away the paper, slice into wedges, and serve at room temperature. If you leave it till the next day, then take it out of the fridge 4h before serving. It tastes much better when room temperature.