A crustless, custardy cheesecake with a caramalized, top that borders on burnt.
This easy, though decadent dessert has the rich flavor of a tangy New York-style cheesecake but with a much lighter, silky-smooth custard texture. Baking at a very high temperature creates a stunning, almost burnt, caramalized top that perfectly balances the creamy, sweet interior.
The 5-ingredient recipe comes together in minutes and bakes in about a half-hour. In the tiny pintxos bar, La Vina, in San Sebastian, Spain where it was created, it is served warm and runny. I prefer to let it cool to room temperature before serving to allow the custard to have a little more structure. If need be the cake can be made the day ahead and refrigerated, but it will lose a bit of its tender texture.
The cheesecake is wonderful just as it is, but also pairs well with a berries or a fruit coulis.
Its super easy to make, but here are a few things to keep in mind:
Ingredients:
- Before you start, everything needs to be at room temperature.
- This recipe uses the Philadelphia brand cream cheese but other creamy cheeses like the French brand Kiri can work.
- If you cannot find full fat crème fraiche you can substitute full fat cream.
Temperature of the oven and timing:
- The goal is to have a golden, almost burnt top before the center of the cake is fully set. The timing will vary depending on ovens.
- The oven needs to be heated to 450°F (230°C). Temperature sensors inside the oven are not always accurate so use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the right temperature.
- In my conventional oven (without the fan) the cake bakes in about 35 minutes. If you bake the cake in a convection oven, it may cook more quickly.
- Once the cake is in, start checking after about 20 minutes. The cake is done when the top is dark brown, but not black. The edges should be set and the middle jiggly and loose. If the cake is starting to look done, but the top is not browning, turn the temperature up. If it is too dark, turn the temperature down.
Recipe adapted from LA Times
Ingredients
- Serves 10 to 12
- 4 (8 ounce) blocks of cream cheese, cut into 1-inch chunks and brought to room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 9 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup full fat crème fraiche
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450° F (230°C) with the rack in the bottom third.
- Brush a 9-inch springform pan with melted butter and line with parchment paper, using 2 sheets if necessary, to ensure the paper comes up above the top of the pan all the way around. Press the paper into the bottom and pleat and crease the sides as necessary to make it fit. It won’t be smooth, but that’s okay. Place pan on a baking sheet.
- Put the cream cheese, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until very smooth; scraping down the sides of the bowl at least 3 times to get out all the lumps. Add the eggs, all at once, and pulse until smooth, again scraping down the sides of bowl a couple of times. Add the crème fraiche and pulse until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake cheesecake until deeply golden, almost dark brown on top. The edges will start to pull away from the sides, but the center will be still very jiggly. (See notes on temperature and timing above.) This can take anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes. Start checking after 20 minutes.
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https://www.charlottepuckette.com/recipes/basque-cheesecake/
