Basque Burnt Cheesecake

January 1, 2022

Basque Burnt Cheesecake is deeply caramelized "burnt" on the top and the bottom, has a creamy center. It is said to have originated in 1990 in San Sebastian, Spain. The beauty of this dessert is that you really can't mess it up. My brother David was in town recently and wanted to make this together. Well, we never got around to it and since I actually had 4 blocks of cream cheese during the cream cheese shortage, I decided to give it a try. FYI - There was a cyberattack against the largest US cheese manufacturer in October, 2021. Anyway, it is one of the best desserts I have ever made and I am a serious New York style cheesecake fan. It's so light and silky smooth.

Yields: 12 Servings

Ingredients

Unsalted butter (for pan)

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1½ cups sugar

6 large eggs

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

Sherry (for serving; optional)

Special Equipment

A 10"-diameter springform pan

Directions

1Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400° F. Butter pan, then line with 2 overlapping 16x12" sheets of parchment, making sure parchment comes at least 2" above top of pan on all sides. Because the parchment needs to be pleated and creased in some areas to fit in pan, you won’t end up with a clean, smooth outer edge to the cake; that’s okay! Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet.

2Beat 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.

3Increase speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, beating each egg 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.

4Turn off mixer and sift flour evenly over cream cheese mixture using a fine-mesh 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.

5Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cheesecake until deeply golden brown on top and still very jiggly in the center, 60–65 minutes.

6Let cool slightly (it will fall drastically as it cools), then unmold. Let cool completely. Carefully peel away parchment from sides of cheesecake. Slice into wedges and serve at room temperature, preferably with a glass of sherry alongside.

Do Ahead

1Cheesecake be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Be sure to let cheesecake sit for several hours at room temperature to remove chill before serving.

Recipe by Molly Baz, Bon Appétit, January 24, 2019.

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