In Spanish “tarta de queso” translates to “cheesecake”. The word "tarta" means cake and "queso" signifies cheese. This cheesecake hails from the Basque region of Spain. It was created in the 1980s by Mr. Santiago Rivera at his parents bar-restaurant La Viña in San Sebastián, Spain. Mr. Santiago experimented with various versions of cheesecakes and finally, came up with this crustless and rustic cheesecake that had a flan-style twist. An adaptation of the traditional cheesecake with a caramel top that is intentionally burnt to complement the creamy centre. Baked without a water bath until the top is caramelized and jiggly in the centre. Cooled at room temperature, chilled, sliced and served. I have drizzled blueberry compote on the cheesecake. A perfect combination of the fruit, with the bitter sweet layer and rich velvety texture of the cheesecake.
A very easy and heavenly dessert to prepare for a special occasion. All the ingredients have to be at room temperature before mixing. Avoid overbeating and incorporating too much air into the batter. This can cause the cake to rise during baking and sink on cooling. Bake until the top is burnt and wobbly in the centre. Overbaking will result in a dense cheesecake with the proteins in the batter starting to tighten too much and releasing out liquid. Basically curdling with an unpleasant texture. If done right, this is a no-fail, foolproof, ultimate, delicious basque burnt cheesecake.
A very easy and heavenly dessert to prepare for a special occasion. All the ingredients have to be at room temperature before mixing. Avoid overbeating and incorporating too much air into the batter. This can cause the cake to rise during baking and sink on cooling. Bake until the top is burnt and wobbly in the centre. Overbaking will result in a dense cheesecake with the proteins in the batter starting to tighten too much and releasing out liquid. Basically curdling with an unpleasant texture. If done right, this is a no-fail, foolproof, ultimate, delicious basque burnt cheesecake.
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Basque Burnt Cheesecake
(Serves 8 or 10)
Ingredients:
750 grams cream cheese
1 cup white granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs
300 ml sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Ensure that the cream cheese, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature.
Line a 9-inch springform pan by overlapping two sheets of parchment paper in a cross. To ensure that the top of the cake is exposed to the oven’s heat, fold the overhanging parchment paper down along the outside edge of the pan.
Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C and place the rack in the middle position.
Using a stand mixer or electric beater, beat the cream cheese at moderate speed till smooth and with no lumps. Add the sugar and beat until creamy. Then include the eggs, one at a time followed by the flour, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Do not overbeat and incorporate too much air or else the cake will rise and sink.
Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Carefully place the springform pan in a baking sheet ensuring that the parchment sheets are folded down as indicated above.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until the cheesecake is wobbly in the centre. It will firm up on cooling. (Do not test cake with a toothpick.) For uniform browning, rotate pan during baking.
To caramelize the top, after 40 minutes, I switched the oven from bake to broil at 500 F or 260 C for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep a watchful eye or else the cake will over burn.
Cool cake completely in the pan and refrigerate with the pan or else, it will start to lose its shape.
Cover pan and refrigerate overnight or at least for 12 to 24 hours.
When ready to serve, remove the outer rim of the pan. Carefully, detach the parchment paper. To transfer cheesecake onto a platter, use a thin removable flat bottom of a pan between the parchment paper and cake.
Dip a smooth knife in hot water, wipe dry with paper towel and slice the cake.
Repeat the above process for each cut.
Serve cake with blueberry compote.
Blueberry Compote
Ingredients:
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Method:
In a saucepan, heat the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice until the blueberries have broken down slightly. Stir in the cornstarch with water and remove from heat when the compote is thick.
Set aside to cool before drizzling over the cheesecake.
Note:
To read click here: Copyright & Privacy Policy
Basque Burnt Cheesecake
(Serves 8 or 10)
Ingredients:
750 grams cream cheese
1 cup white granulated sugar
4 extra-large eggs
300 ml sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Ensure that the cream cheese, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature.
Line a 9-inch springform pan by overlapping two sheets of parchment paper in a cross. To ensure that the top of the cake is exposed to the oven’s heat, fold the overhanging parchment paper down along the outside edge of the pan.
Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C and place the rack in the middle position.
Using a stand mixer or electric beater, beat the cream cheese at moderate speed till smooth and with no lumps. Add the sugar and beat until creamy. Then include the eggs, one at a time followed by the flour, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Do not overbeat and incorporate too much air or else the cake will rise and sink.
Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Carefully place the springform pan in a baking sheet ensuring that the parchment sheets are folded down as indicated above.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until the cheesecake is wobbly in the centre. It will firm up on cooling. (Do not test cake with a toothpick.) For uniform browning, rotate pan during baking.
To caramelize the top, after 40 minutes, I switched the oven from bake to broil at 500 F or 260 C for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep a watchful eye or else the cake will over burn.
Cool cake completely in the pan and refrigerate with the pan or else, it will start to lose its shape.
Cover pan and refrigerate overnight or at least for 12 to 24 hours.
When ready to serve, remove the outer rim of the pan. Carefully, detach the parchment paper. To transfer cheesecake onto a platter, use a thin removable flat bottom of a pan between the parchment paper and cake.
Dip a smooth knife in hot water, wipe dry with paper towel and slice the cake.
Repeat the above process for each cut.
Serve cake with blueberry compote.
Blueberry Compote
Ingredients:
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Method:
In a saucepan, heat the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice until the blueberries have broken down slightly. Stir in the cornstarch with water and remove from heat when the compote is thick.
Set aside to cool before drizzling over the cheesecake.
Note:
- Though most Basque Cheesecake recipes incorporate whipping cream in the batter, I prefer sour cream that provides a slight acidic tang balancing the sweetness.
- The cheesecake was perfectly sweet and addictive.
