Basque cheesecake is the best cheesecake. It’s not too sweet, but much creamier and more dense than a New York cheesecake. The burnt top also adds a certain complexity to the flavor. It’s also relatively easy to make!
Ingredients:
- 30oz full fat cream cheese (this will be 4 standard packs of philadelphia minus 2oz)
- 1 ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 6 standard eggs
- 1 pint and a small pour of heavy cream (about 500ml, one pint being 473mL)
- vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup plain flour
You’ll want to preheat the oven to 400°. I never preheat the oven as the first step. No one is putting together an entire batter from scratch of any kind in the time it takes an oven to preheat, unless you have a super old really slow oven, then go ahead. I’ll tell you when. You will want to line an 8″ round pan with parchment though, and set another round pan inside of that one with the parchment between them so that the sheet conforms to the shape of the pan.
You’ll want to let your cream cheese soften until it is a stir-able consistency, this can take up to a few hours and you may even need to microwave it. Cream cheese is a pain to work with if it isn’t soft enough. In a large bowl, add your sugar and cream cheese and mix with a hand or stand mixer until fully combined.
Add eggs one by one, mixing in between.
Add vanilla and then salt, and mix again. Measure with your heart.
Turn on the oven (400°).
Slowly pour in the heavy cream while running your mixer. Do not stop mixing while you do this.
Sift in flour and mix again until there are no lumps.
Pour the batter through a mesh sieve into your pan so that it is extra smooth. Pick up your pan and drop it on the counter from a few inches several times to get all of the air bubbles out of it.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. This one took 53. The cheesecake will rise like a souffle and the top will be a deep brown color. When you take it out the center should still jiggle. Let cool for a couple hours on the counter (it will deflate as it cools, this is normal) and then refrigerate overnight. Serve!
九生 