Amazing San Sebastian Cheesecake (Basque Burnt Cheesecake)

• The outside of the cheesecake looks… burnt! It’s cooked at a high temperature for a (relatively) short time. This gives it its impressive (ugly duckling?) golden brown top. Which is why it’s also known as a Burnt Basque cheesecake!

• The inside is surprisingly light and smooth. Cook it for a shorter time for a soft and silky, almost custardy interior. Serve it while still slightly warm if you like. Cook a little longer and serve chilled for a denser result that’s more like a New York cheesecake without a crust. It’s easy to make this incredible burnt cheesecake recipe your own!

• There’s no crust, which is what makes this such a quick cheesecake to make. Just mix everything together in a food processor, with a hand-held whisk (I like ones like this that come with a storage case!) or even just with a spoon. Then pour into a 9 inch spring form pan and bake. No water bath necessary! (affiliate links)

• Watch it rise up like a soufflé as it cooks! Pour the batter into a high-sided spring form pan lined with a triple layer of baking paper pointing straight up. The cheesecake will sink as it cools. The paper is part of the impressive presentation so only remove it as you serve the dessert.

• Tweak the ingredients to match your taste. Add salt, vanilla, lemon zest, all three of these or none. Add a little yogurt, crème fraiche or sour cream for a tiny bit of tang. Or don’t!

Cream cheese: Philadelphia is great, as are supermarket brands of plain cream cheese. Make sure you use full fat – this cheesecake is supposed to be ultra creamy! Other creamy cheeses can work, too. Try replacing a third of the cream cheese with mascarpone, for instance.

Sugar: Use ordinary white sugar. Different Basque cheesecake recipes call for very different amounts. I’ve kept it to a modest amount in my recipe – just 1 cup. Don’t be afraid to increase or decrease the amount if you have a sweeter (or less sweet) tooth!

Eggs: 5 large.

Heavy cream: Sometimes called double cream (UK), thick cream or thickened cream (Australia). This is not the time to go low fat!

Greek yogurt: How do you make (arguably) the best cheesecake in the world even better? 😉 By adding half a cup of Greek yogurt for a tiny bit of tang! Use sour cream or crème fraiche instead if you like.

Salt: Just a teaspoon to complement the caramelized crust.

Cornflour: Different burnt cheesecake recipes contain different amounts of flour. I’ve gone for 3 tablespoons. It’s not much but it helps the cheesecake to ‘set’ so it’s easy to slice. Cornflour makes this a gluten free baked cheesecake, of course, but feel free to substitute with ordinary plain flour if you wish.

Lemon zest: This is another optional ingredient. If you don’t have a lemon, no worries. Replace with lemon or lime zest, or just skip the zest.

Step 1: Prepare the spring-form/loose-bottomed cheesecake pan. (affiliate link) Spray lightly with oil first to help the baking paper stick. Then line with 3 layers of baking paper at different angles. Don’t fold it down at the top – keep it pointing straight up so the cheesecake doesn’t overflow as it cooks! (Watch the how-to video to see what I mean!

Also preheat the oven to 210C/410F.

Step 2: Grab a big mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese on a low speed. Beat in the cream and yogurt, then the sugar, salt and lemon zest.

Step 3: Add the whisked eggs a little at a time, just until mixed in thoroughly.

Step 4: Mix some batter into the cornflour. Then whisk this into the mixture too.

Step 5: Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared tin/pan. Bake at a high temperature for around 40 minutes or until the top is dark golden, the edges are set and the middle is still wobbly.

Another great thing about this easy burnt cheesecake recipe is that it tastes good enough and looks fabulous enough to serve on its own. No fussy toppings necessary!

You can actually serve San Sebastian cheesecake slightly warm, at room temperature or chilled from the fridge. I really like it chilled, but see what you prefer.

In Spain, this cheesecake is often served with a sneaky glass of sherry (sweet Spanish wine) on the side! If you’d like to give this a try but can’t easily find sherry, just serve with any sweet red or white wine. This would be an especially nice touch at a dinner party, don’t you think?

What I usually do is serve my cheesecake with a bowl of red berries on the side. Fresh is great, but frozen work really well too as they look more like a simple topping as they defrost.

Feeling adventurous? Another thing you can do is add a flavour to your cheesecake to make it a bit different. Vanilla is the obvious choice – just whisk 1.5 teaspoons into the batter.

• For a chocolate Basque cheesecake, warm the cream in the microwave, before pouring it over 200 grams/7 ounces dark chocolate (70% cocoa). Stir well, then let it cool before making the recipe as described below, but using your ‘chocolate cream’ instead of ordinary.

• For coffee flavoured, again warm the cream, then dissolve 2 tablespoons of instant coffee into it. Let it cool, then proceed with the recipe, using coffee flavoured cream instead of regular!

• For a dramatic looking green matcha Basque burnt cheesecake, sift 2 tablespoons of matcha powder into the mixture.

• Finally, why not try stirring some crushed Oreos into the batter before pouring it into the pan for a super decadent Oreo San Sebastian cheesecake?