Basque burnt cheese cake

Basque Burnt Cheese Cake has been going on for a while and today, I get a chance to try it as I have cream cheese balance from a project that I was working on and I do not want the leftover sitting in the fridge.

Initially, I thought this cake was originated from Japan but then I found out that its name was taken from a little Bar, named La Vina in Basque country, a place straddles France and Spain.   People from all over the world will queue for a slice of this cheesecake.

The characteristic of this special cheesecake is that the top layer is caramelised which gives it a slightly bitter taste (like how caramel supposed to be) to counter the sweetness of the inner texture between a flan and a New York cheesecake.

Another characteristic is that it does not have a nice smooth round which most cake has.  This was created by having a baking paper roughly lined round the pan.

I have seen many actually produced a “blacken” top and after being warn of the carcinogen effect, thus I really took care not to burnt my cake.

If you are curious about how this should look like, Andrea Duty actually took a really good photo of the actual cake in La Vina.  (unfortunately, Andrea had since taken down her blog but La Vina, has a small picture in their website). 

Her recipe was a huge one, so I downsize it to one that fits a 6" round.

Learning experience: 

This cake is the 2nd I baked.  The first one yields a prettier top but since I am giving away the 2nd, I am not sure how receptive of a darker tone.  So to play safe, I took it out before it caramelised any further.

Nevertheless, the aroma of this cake baking in the oven is awesome.

I started monitoring the cake at 20 mins so that I will not burn the cake.

What you need:

250g cream cheese
80g caster sugar
2 eggs
10g plain flour
120g whipping cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 220°C.  Double-lined a 6" pan with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, cream cream cheese and sugar until smooth and light.

Add in one egg one at a time, beating it until it fully incorporated before the next.

In a bowl, add flour and slowly whisk in the whipping cream until flour mixture dissolved.

Pour into the cheese mixture and beat to combine.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 mins.



Enjoy!