Basque Burnt Cheesecake

Name: Basque Burnt Cheesecake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: Bakery
Ingredients: 750 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature; 200 g caster sugar; 1 pinch Salt; 4 large eggs, at room temperature; 300 ml double (heavy) cream; 1 tsp Vanilla extract; 2 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)

San Sebastián’s crustless cheesecake: deeply caramelised outside, custardy and molten inside. No water bath.

Bakery · Cakes · prep 15 min · cook 45 min · waiting 3 h · serves 10 · Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Pescatarian

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Ingredients

750 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
200 g caster sugar
1 pinch Salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
300 ml double (heavy) cream
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)

Method

Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, 425°F). Crumple two large sheets of baking paper, flatten them out and use them to line a 20 cm springform tin, overlapping so the paper stands 5 cm above the rim.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt until completely smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the cream and vanilla.
Sift the cornflour over and whisk in until there are no lumps. The batter will be very runny.
Pour into the tin and bake for 35–45 min, until the top is a deep mahogany brown, almost black in places, and the centre still wobbles loosely when you shake the tin.
Cool in the tin for at least 1 hour; it will sink in the middle, which is right. Eat at room temperature for a gooey centre, or chill for 2 hours or more for a firmer slice.

Tips

Cornflour keeps it gluten-free; check your cream cheese label if you are coeliac.
Do not pull it early: the burnt top is the point, and the wobbly middle sets as it cools.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook BBC Good Food

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