Basque Cheesecake

As soon as I ate this cheesecake, I knew my mission: get the recipe! Now that I’ve done so, my life is pretty much complete. (I use a Thermomix in this video but if you don’t have one, bliss is still possible using a mixer.)

I  first ate a slice of this cloud of joy while shooting a video in San Sebastian, in the Spanish Basque country. We stopped by La Viña, a famous pintxos (snack) bar which has lots of great food but is most famous for its cheesecake. Read more about my first bite of this life-changing cake and the tricky (and hilarious) story of getting the recipe!

The cake is more like a set custard. It is incredibly jiggly and wobbly when first cooked then it firms up a little as it cools and dries, settling to a more traditional baked cheesecake consistency.

Don’t be frightened by the dark exterior – that caramelised edge has just the right touch of bitterness to take the edge off the creamy interior.

If you’re making this in a TM31 you’ll need to reduce the quantities a little – check the recipe below. Don’t worry, your cake will be just as delicious.

See Tips for gluten-free, lactose-free and LCHF ideas!

Serves: 10
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Thermomix Method

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC (390°F).

2. Place eggs into mixing bowl and mix 20 sec/speed 4.

3. Add cream cheese and mix 30 sec/speed 5. Scrape down and mix for a further 30 sec/speed 5.5 or until smooth.

4. Add sugar and mix 1 min/speed 5.

5. Add cream and mix 30 sec/speed 5. Scrape down and mix for a further 30 sec/speed 5 or until smooth.

6. Add flour and mix 2 min/speed 5.

7. Line a 22 cm springform tin with paper, ensuring paper extends 10 cm beyond the top of the tin. Pour cheesecake mixture into tin.

8. Cook for 1 hour (200°C/390°F) (see Tips). Cool in tin. When cool, carefully open springform tin, peel away paper and transfer to a serving plate.

You could serve it with berries or just keep your bliss pure!

Traditional Method

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC (390°F).

2. Place eggs into mixer bowl and mix until smooth and combined.

3. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth, stopping the scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

4. Add sugar and mix until smooth.

5. Add cream and mix until smooth.

6. Add flour and mix until smooth.

7. Line a 22 cm springform tin with paper, ensuring paper extends 10 cm beyond the top of the tin. Pour cheesecake mixture into tin.

8. Cook for 1 hour (200°C/390°F) (see Tips). Cool in tin. When cool, carefully open springform tin, peel away paper and transfer to a serving plate.

You could serve it with berries or just keep your bliss pure!

Tips

• Check the cake is ready using the ‘jiggle test’: you want a little bit of wobble in the centre and not too much around the edge. Err on the side of over-baking rather than under-baking if you are not sure.
• It is normal for the cake to darken on top as it caramelises but if you are concerned it’s getting too dark, place a sheet of baking paper over the cake about halfway through baking time.
• Gluten-free cake lovers can replace the plain flour with corn flour, arrowroot or gluten-free flour.
• Lactose-free cake lovers, guess what! A subscriber has successfully used Liddells lactose-free cream cheese and Zymil lactose-free light thickened cream. Adam says, “The texture looked a little thinner than yours towards the end, so I added 50 grams (2 oz) of flour instead of 30 grams (1 oz). It was done in 70 mins.”
• LCHF cake lovers can try Soph Wright’s version: “Sugar subbed for 200 grams (7 oz) baking stevia (which I would reduce again to 150 grams (5 oz)) and flour subbed for 10g coconut flour.” And she looooved the result. In fact, she sent me a very funny email while it was cooling: “Well I have just made the Basque Cheesecake (finally!) and I am very very upset and angry, and felt compelled to email you. Why do I have to wait so long for it to cool down???? Ahhhhhhh it’s killing me, taunting me with its sexiness……patience has never been my strength.”

Would you like to know how I got this recipe? Become a member for access to my San Sebastian video where I first encounter the life-changing cheesecake that inspired this recipe. Members have complete access to the library of 200+ Thermomix videos and recipes with more content added all the time!