Basque Cheesecake Recipe

How many times have I obsessed over Le Creuset cookware? The bright iconic orange, the tints of reds, and the blues. Staub too, often found on the adjourning shelves, looking just as lovely. How many hours have I spent just walking around department stores and browsing through their displays? So bear with me, as I posed the cheesecake in my sister’s Staub. I most assuredly didn’t bake this cheesecake in it, but the Staub's too pretty not to photograph it every chance I get.

But let me get back to this Basque Cheesecake. After two less-than-stellar results from other recipes, I finally struck the proverbial gold the third time around. The top is a deep burnished mahogany surrounded by a ring of deep brown without burnt spots. The inside, soft and creamy. 

This cheesecake is chilled for 8 hours before serving, making it the perfect make-ahead dessert for a party.  For us, I finished baking it by afternoon, and stuck it in the fridge. I had planned to turn in early for the night, but somehow, time slipped on by. When midnight came around, we were still sitting around the kitchen, drinking wine and chatting. So I pulled the cheesecake out of the fridge, and we shared a single perfect slice for supper. 

Basque Cheesecake Recipe

Adapted from RecipeTin Eats 

Makes a 7-inch cheesecake 

The cheesecake, baked until deeply-bronzed, is rich and flavourful. My favourite New York cheesecake recipe from Stella Park uses goat cheese as a secret ingredient to booster a cheesecake's richness further. For my subsequent attempts, I'll be interested to see how adding 100g of goat cheese would do for the recipe. 

INGREDIENTS

450g (2 blocks) cream cheese, at room temperature 

120g granulated sugar 

1/4 + 1/2 cups heavy cream

2.5 tbsp all-purpose flour 

0.5 tsp vanilla bean extract

3 large eggs (about 1/2 cup), at room temperature

STEPS

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Set a rack in the middle of the oven.

2. Crumple up a 15-inch piece of baking paper, then smooth out the baking paper to be used to line the inside of a cake pan. If one piece of baking paper isn't enough to cover the sides of cake pan, you may need a second piece of a 15-inch baking paper, set perpendicularly to the first piece of baking paper. Fold the baking paper(s) outwards over the rim of the cake pan. 

3. In a large bowl, whisk cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, for about 2 minutes. Add sugar and continue to whisk on low speed for 10 seconds.

4. In a medium-sized bowl, combine 1/4 cup of heavy cream and flour until a smooth paste forms. Slowly drizzle in the remaining half cup of cream while continuing to stir until just combined. Then add vanilla. 

5. Drizzle the cream mixture into the cream cheese bowl while whisking on low speed, just until combined. Add the eggs until mixed in, then stop whisking. 

6. Pour the cheesecake batter into the cake pan. Gently rap the cake pan against a cloth set on a table to bring any air bubbles to the surface, and then pop the air bubbles with a spoon or butter knife.  

7. Bake until the surface is a deep golden brown, or about 30-32 minutes (although for some, it may take much longer. Go by visual cues instead of fixed timings. It should look browned but not burnt.) Rotate the baking sheet midway to ensure even browning. The centre will still be wobbly - that's alright!

8. Remove the cheesecake from the oven at let cool in the cake pan for 2 hours at room temperature. (The cheesecake will sink and lose height as it cools.) Refrigerate the cheesecake uncovered for at least 8 hours before serving. The cheesecake can be served straight from the fridge, or be allowed to bring up to near room temperature.