How to make Basque Cheesecake

 2020 was full of food trends. People have had more time at home to experiment in the kitchen. One recipe that became popular was Basque Cheesecake. This cheesecake comes from San Sebastian, Spain about 30 years ago. Unlike American cheesecakes, it doesn't have a crust. It's also baked at a high temperature resulting in the top being brown. It only bakes for about 30 minutes to bake. This dessert is also called Burnt Cheesecake because of how dark the top can get. I myself, didn't want mine to be that dark because I was worried it would taste too burnt. The cheesecake tastes like caramelized cheesecake and is really quite tasty.  

Basque cheesecake uses flour and heavy cream making it creamy and dense. The flour is used as a thickening agent. This looked like a fun recipe to try and the cheesecake looked so pretty with its dark and cracked surface. 

For Christmas, I received a tart pan from my aunt. So I decided to make mini Basque Cheesecakes with it. My cheesecakes turned out more like mini tarts. They were also pretty thin, but they definitely tasted creamy and delicious. You'll want to chill your cheesecake for at least two hours after it bakes. Cheesecake always tastes so much better after chilling. 

I found a recipe for Mini Basque Cheesecakes, but I didn't follow it exactly. She used parchment paper to create jagged edges around each one, resulting in a beautiful presentation I didn't notice until after I baked mine. For some reason, she also used grams for some things and not for other ingredients, making the recipe hard to read. I re-typed the recipe I used below, but with the changes I made. 

Mini Basque Cheesecake 

Adapted from thedessertedgirl.com.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature 
• 1/4 cup whipping or heavy cream 
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions 

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
• In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, and sugar with a hand mixer on medium speed, until smooth.
• Add the egg, cream, vanilla and salt and beat again to combine until the egg is incorporated.
• Now sprinkle the flour into the bowl and beat on low speed until the mixture thickens and is completely smooth, about 15 to 30 seconds.
• Divide the batter equally among the six slots in the tin, filling them about 3/4th of the way. Tap them lightly on a flat surface to burst any air bubbles.
• Bake for 30 or until the tops are deeply browned and puffy. I found that there wasn't much of a jiggle in the center by the time the tops were fully done, but if your cheesecake still looks jiggly, that's ok.
• Let the cheesecakes cool to room temperature, the tops will fall and create sunken centers. You can either eat them now, or do what I did and chill them for about 2 hours first. Lift them out of the ramekins using the paper, peel it off and dive in! The texture is soft but firm, creamy but dense, all at once. Some recipes say the center should be gooey but I personally prefer it this way and because it cooks at a high temperature, I don't think there's much scope for gooeyness.
• These cheesecakes need to be kept in the fridge at all times, where they will last for 4 to 5 days. You can also freeze them for a few weeks.