Description
This crustless, burnt Basque Cheesecake recipe is light and airy with a caramelized top and luscious notes of vanilla. A rustic dessert that is easy to make.
Ingredients
- 9” springform pan
- parchment paper
- 4 pkg, 32 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (see notes on brands)
- 4 large eggs (see notes)
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour, all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. You want the oven fully heated before baking the cheesecake. (This takes about 1/2 hour in my oven.)
- Prepare the pan: Crumple up the parchment paper and fit it into the pan. Don’t make it overly perfect, the rumples and creases keep the edges insulated to prevent them from getting overdone. Lightly spray or butter the parchment.
- Make the batter: In a food processor or with a hand mixer, blend the cream cheese with the sugar just until smooth. You don’t want to over-mix. Be very cautious if using a stand mixer. Sift the flour into the cream cheese. Pulse or mix until just combined. Add the cream, vanilla, and salt and pulse a few times until just combined.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and pour into the cream cheese mixture mixing until just combined- avoid overmixing. Overmixing can affect the texture and cause cracks when it bakes.
- Assemble: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan down on the counter a few times to get rid of bubbles. Run a sharp knife or toothpick over the top popping the small bubbles, this is purely for appearance.
- Bake: Lower oven heat to 425F. Place on the middle rack and bake for 40-50 minutes; you want the center to have a good jiggle to it. Overbaking will result in a dry texture. Start checking at 40 minutes. The top should develop a dark golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
Eggs: Many Basque cheesecake recipes call for 6-9 eggs, which we found a bit too eggy flavored, but the 4 large eggs seemed just right. Feel free to add more eggs, as it will make the filling loftier.
Cream cheese: We have successfully used Organic Valley and Philadelphia cream cheeses. Regular, full fat cream cheese is best for optimal flavor and texture.
Texture: when served warmed the texture is light and mousse-like. When chilled the texture is a more traditional dense and creamy cheesecake texture.
Storage: When it’s at room temperature, put it in the fridge uncovered. It gets too moist if covered and messes up the browned top.
Achieving a brown top: Different ovens will brown at different rates. If it starts to get too dark, turn the oven down. If it is not browning enough when the cheesecake is close to done, you can put it under the broiler for a few minutes- keeping a close eye on it the entire time! It is best not to open the oven during the first 20 minutes of baking.
Tip: Err on the side of underbaking. You’ll lose the custardy texture if it is over-baked.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/12th of cheesecake
- Calories: 261
- Sugar: 22.4 g
- Sodium: 172.8 mg
- Fat: 16.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 9.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.2 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 107.6 mg