Basque Burnt Cheesecake
This no-crust cheesecake breaks all cheesecake rules. It’s cooked at high heat, its surface will crack, and you will burn it intentionally. It’s also one of the easiest and best cheesecakes you’ll ever make. Serve it with a nice glass of whiskey or whatever your favorite strong drink may be.
Ingredients:
(makes 1 gigantic cheesecake)
900g of cream cheese, at room temperature
270g of sugar
6 eggs
470ml of cream
50g of flour
Zest of half an orange
Seeds of a quarter a vanilla bean or 1 tsp of vanilla extract
½ tsp of salt
Special Equipment Needed:
30cm round spring form or similar baking dish
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Parchment paper
Instructions:
Preheat the oven on conventional heat to 200°C.
Grease your spring form with butter. Line it with two layers of parchment paper. You can cut off some excess paper but there should be about 3cm of excess to fold over the edges.
In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar. Mix together for a few minutes on low speed until the texture is smooth and the sugar is completely dissolved.
Mix in all six eggs, one egg at a time.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the orange zest, cream, vanilla bean and salt. Mix until everything is combined.
Sift in the flour and gently fold the batter together.
Pour the batter into the spring form. Tap the spring form a couple of times onto a counter so that any air bubbles rise to the top.
Bake in the oven for 50 - 70 minutes until it has a nice burnt color at the top.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven. It will have risen significantly but will collapse as it cools. The cake will be very jiggly - almost until the edges. You will think it’s undercooked, but don’t worry, it will set.
After 3 - 4 hours, when the cheesecake has fully cooled down to room temperature, open the spring form and remove the cheesecake holding it by the excess parchment paper. To get a clean slice, run your knife under hot water before slicing.
Note: The cake will keep in the refrigerator for several days. It’s best enjoyed at room temperature, so ideally, remove it from the fridge 1-2 hours before serving.
¡On egin! ¡Buen provecho!
