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Creamy Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Dramatic and impressive Basque-style cheesecake with a creamy interior and caramelized exterior! This is a must make.
Ingredients
- 18 oz (500g) brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup plus 1 tsp (155g) granulated sugar divided
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups (300ml) 35% whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon (18g) all-purpose flour sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line an 8-inch round non-stick springform pan with 2 overlapping 16x12-inch sheets of parchment, making sure parchment comes at least 2" above top of pan on all sides. Lay the second piece at a 90° angle to the first piece to make sure there are no sides of the pan uncovered. Because the parchment needs to be pleated and creased in some areas to fit in pan, you won’t end up with a clean, smooth outer edge to the cake, and that’s okay!
- Add cream cheese to a large bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until very smooth. Gradually add in ¾ cup of sugar and continue mixing until very well combined and sugar is dissolved and there are no lumps. Scrape down the bowl at least 2 times during this process. The more you mix at this stage, the smoother the batter will be. You can also do this using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl frequently.
- Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well before adding the next. Scrape down sides of bowl between each addition. Beat in lemon juice, vanilla and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, 1 teaspoon of sugar and half of the cream until smooth and lump-free. Add it to the batter and mix well. Gradually beat in remaining cream until combined and the batter is smooth and silky.
- Pour batter through a sieve (to remove any lumps) and into prepared pan and bake for 22-26 minutes until deeply dark brown on top and still very jiggly in the center. Transfer pan to a cooling rack and let cool completely in the pan (it will fall drastically as it cools). Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight for best results.
- Carefully peel away parchment from sides of cheesecake. Slice into wedges and serve at room temperature, preferably with a glass of sherry alongside.
