Foolproof Basque Cheesecake Recipe – Cookie and Kate

slice of Basque cheesecake

Behold, my favourite luscious dessert! This cheesecake recipe hails from the Basque area of Spain—particularly, from a restaurant referred to as La Viña, the place recent cheesecakes line the partitions and scent like heaven.

Actually, I’m undecided why this cheesecake (tarta de queso in Spanish) is named Basque cheesecake over right here. We should always name it La Viña cheesecake or Santiago Rivera’s cheesecake to offer full credit score to the person who created the idea in 1990.

Basque cheesecake ingredients

We sampled the true deal on our honeymoon in San Sebastián in 2019. We spent the night wandering by means of the previous a part of city, sampling pintxos and sipping marvelous cheap white wine all over the place we went, as you do in San Sebastián. I insisted that we make room for the magical, legendary cheesecake at La Viña, so we adopted our noses across the nook till we discovered it.

Quick-forward just a few years, and we’re sleep-deprived with a child at dwelling. My husband introduced dwelling a shock Basque cheesecake from a neighborhood store. We’ve been obsessively recreating it at dwelling ever since, attempting completely different strategies and proportions. I’m tremendous excited to share the perfected recipe with you as we speak.

Basque cheesecake mixing process

5 Causes to Love Basque Cheesecake

Earlier than we get to the recipe, right here’s why you’ll love Basque cheesecake. It’s an expertise!

  1. Basque cheesecake is remarkably scrumptious. It’s creamy, wealthy, and tangy with a deeply caramelized crust on prime that gives tons of taste.
  2. Basque cheesecake is the best of do-it-yourself cheesecakes. When you have the elements, you possibly can make it on a whim for any event—for Valentine’s Day, a celebratory dinner, a potluck with buddies, or simply as a enjoyable weekend undertaking. Simply understand that it is going to want about an hour to chill, and it’s a fantastic recipe to make a day forward if that timing works for you.
  3. No water bathtub required for Basque cheesecake. Certainly, we need the highest to crack. Embrace it!
  4. There’s no crust to fuss with. Once more, embrace the expertise. With the quantity of taste within the caramelized prime, you gained’t miss it.
  5. It’s not too candy. Conventional cheesecake could be method too candy, and Basque cheesecake will not be overwhelming in that method. The recipe beneath gives a spread for sugar content material so you may make it fit your style buds.

pouring cheesecake into prepared pan

Basque Cheesecake Substances

Cream Cheese

Like different cheesecakes, this Basque cheesecake depends on cream cheese for its heft, creaminess and tang. You’ll want two kilos for this recipe, which is 4 eight-ounce blocks of cream cheese. Don’t substitute “cream cheese unfold” or whipped cream cheese for this recipe.

Sugar

Plain previous sugar is finest right here. I attempted making the recipe with honey, and it merely wasn’t nearly as good or as creamy. For a frivolously candy cheesecake that also tastes like a deal with, use one and one-fourth cups sugar. For extra conventional sweetness, add one other one-fourth cup. Sweetness is subjective, however we discovered the sweetness cloying after we used nearer to 2 cups.

Heavy Cream

Heavy cream thins out the cream cheese combination with out watering it down. We’ll want one pint of heavy cream for this recipe. We’ll use a portion of it upfront with the cream cheese to assist combine it, then we’ll add the remainder later.

Eggs

Cheesecake depends on eggs for construction. A half-dozen eggs is excellent; seven eggs tastes distractingly eggy.

Vanilla Extract

Whereas technically non-obligatory, a light-weight splash of vanilla ramps up the flavour a bit.

Flour

A small quantity of flour absorbs extra moisture, which turns into extra obvious the subsequent day. You might have a number of choices. All-purpose flour works properly, as does sifted complete wheat flour (unsifted will depart little flecks of bran in your cheesecake). To make the cheesecake gluten free, we efficiently used Bob’s Purple Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.

Basque cheesecake hot out of the oven

Basque Cheesecake Ideas

Let Basque cheesecake be.

I attempted making it each which method—with added orange zest, honey as an alternative of sugar, Greek yogurt as an alternative of cream cheese, macerated strawberries on prime, and so forth. Basque cheesecake actually is finest served plain. With the caramelized prime, it isn’t boring in any method. It’s a delight! If you wish to add some presentation worth, attempt serving with a ripe pink strawberry on the facet. That’s it. I imply it.

Use a meals processor or combine on low.

For the perfect texture, we wish to keep away from whipping air into the batter or over-mixing the batter. Use a massive meals processor if in case you have it (minimal 12 cups capability) or a mixer on low pace. The low mixing pace would possibly take a pair additional minutes, however it’s well worth the wait.

Know when it’s performed.

Bake till the cheesecake is deeply golden brown on prime and nonetheless very jiggly within the heart, about 60 to 65 minutes. As soon as cooled, the middle will solidify properly sufficient to slice, and the highest will deflate and switch darker and extra shiny.

Basque cheesecake

Advisable Tools

For those who bake considerably often, you’ll in all probability have all the pieces you want for this recipe. You actually do want this stuff to bake Basque cheesecake at dwelling (the hyperlinks are affiliate hyperlinks):

Giant meals processor or mixer

Use a big meals processor (minimal 12 cups—I used my Vitamix meals processor attachment), or a stand mixer (good offers on KitchenAid at Goal proper now!), or a hand mixer with a big mixing bowl (I’m a fan of this 7-speed mixer). I attempted making this cheesecake by hand and quite inconceivable.

Parchment paper

Parchment paper for lining the pan. Don’t attempt to get by with out parchment paper or your cheesecake will overflow into the oven!

Springform pan

A 9-inch springform pan for baking the cheesecake. The springform pan is the perfect top and in addition permits you to simply take away the edges earlier than serving. I’m afraid a 9-inch spherical cake pan may be too quick.

Sliced Basque cheesecake

Tips on how to Serve Basque Cheesecake

Basque cheesecake, like most baked items, tastes even higher the subsequent day. The flavors turn into extra complicated and properly developed. Make the cheesecake prematurely if in case you have the time.

Some recommend serving Basque cheesecake at room temperature. I like this cheesecake served anyplace from frivolously heat to straight-out-of-the-refrigerator chilled. In different phrases, I’m not choosy concerning the temperature.

For those who’d like to brighten up the plate, merely serve your slices with a pink strawberry on the facet.

At La Viña, they typically serve the cheesecake with a glass of candy Pedro Jimenez sherry. I like this cheesecake with a glass of dry white wine, like an Albariño or Sauvignon Blanc, or a dry rosé. You can additionally attempt a dry, funky cider such as you’ll discover in San Sebastián. We love ANXO cider.

Extra Dessert Recipes to Attempt

For those who take pleasure in this cheesecake recipe, attempt these as properly:

Please let me know the way your Basque cheesecake seems within the feedback! I like listening to from you.

slice of Basque cheesecake next to cheesecake

Print

Basque Cheesecake

  • Creator: Cookie and Kate
  • Prep Time: half-hour
  • Cook dinner Time: 60 minutes
  • Complete Time: 1 hour half-hour
  • Yield: 12 slices 1x
  • Class: Dessert
  • Technique: Baked
  • Delicacies: Basque
  • Food plan: Vegetarian

This Basque cheesecake is wealthy, creamy and completely foolproof. It’s additionally very simple to make, so far as cheesecakes go! Recipe yields 12 slices.


Scale

Substances

  • 2 kilos cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups sugar, relying on desired degree of sweetness 
  • 2 cups heavy cream, divided
  • 6 massive eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon nice salt
  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

Directions

  1. Place a rack in the course of the oven, with no rack above it so the cheesecake has loads of house to rise. Preheat the oven to 400 levels Fahrenheit. Tear off two beneficiant sheets of parchment paper. Cross one on prime of the opposite and press them into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Roughly pleat the edges of the parchment in opposition to the pan to assist make room for the cheesecake. Ideally, the paper will rise a minimum of 2 inches all the way in which across the pan.
  2. In a big meals processor (minimal 12-cup capability), stand mixer or massive mixing bowl (with a hand mixer), mix the cream cheese and sugar. Add about ½ cup of the cream. Course of (or combine on low pace) till the combination may be very easy and the sugar has dissolved, pausing to scrape down the edges of the bowl as crucial, about 2 minutes. 
  3. Within the meantime, crack the eggs right into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Whereas mixing, pour in all the eggs directly and mix till easy. Reserve the measuring cup.
  4. Pause and scrape down the edges if crucial. Pour within the remaining cream, plus the vanilla and salt. Course of till mixed, about 30 seconds (it will take somewhat longer if utilizing a mixer).
  5. Pour 1 cup of the combination into the measuring cup. Whisk the flour into the combination till easy (this prevents the flour from flying all over the place when blended). Pour the contents of the cup again into the meals processor and mix till easy, about 10 to twenty seconds. 
  6. Pour the batter into the ready springform pan. Gently jiggle the pan to distribute the batter evenly. Take a second to crease the folds of the paper extra sharply so that they relaxation in opposition to the facet of the pan. Bake till the cheesecake is deeply golden brown on prime and nonetheless very jiggly within the heart, about 60 to 65 minutes. 
  7. Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack (it is going to fall dramatically because it cools). Let it cool for about an hour earlier than serving it or refrigerating it for later, coated. 
  8. To serve, launch the outer piece of the pan and peel away the parchment from the edges of the cheesecake. Slice the cheesecake into wedges and luxuriate in.

Notes

Recipe tailored from Bon Appétit, Style Cooking and King Arthur Flour.

Make it gluten free: Substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour mix. We efficiently used Bob’s Purple Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.

▸ Vitamin Info

The data proven is an estimate offered by a web-based diet calculator. It shouldn’t be thought of an alternative choice to an expert nutritionist’s recommendation. See our full diet disclosure right here.

Did you make this recipe?

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