Dessert

Basque cheesecake

Name: Basque cheesecake recipe
Yield: 7
Ingredients: 500g cream cheese, room temperature; 160g caster sugar; 1/4 tsp sea salt; 2 eggs; 1 egg yolk; 260ml pouring cream; 10g plain flour; Very thinly sliced Meyer lemon, to garnish (optional); 2 Meyer lemons; 60g runny honey; 1 tbs water

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by Analiese Gregory

CHEF

Mar 01, 2021

“When I was living in Basque country, just outside San Sebastian, I became obsessed with several Spanish sweets. Torrija and Basque cheesecake, especially. There is a pintxos bar in the old town of San Sebastian called La Vina, where they specialise in one thing: tarta de queso, or cheesecake. This is literally the only thing I would go there to eat. They bake approximately 10 to 14 cheesecakes a day, and they always sell out. This is my version. It works well with acidic fruits such as apricots and citrus. I’ve also made it with poached quince and topped with wild fennel seeds, which was a huge hit. You can either make one large cake (pictured opposite) or several small ones. If you are going for individual cakes, reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.” This is an edited extract from How Wild Things Are by Analiese Gregory (Hardie Grant Books, $45)

500g cream cheese, room temperature
160g caster sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
260ml pouring cream
10g plain flour
Very thinly sliced Meyer lemon, to garnish (optional)

Lemon Puree

2 Meyer lemons
60g runny honey
1 tbs water

Method

1.

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease the base and side of a 25cm pan or cake pan and line with baking paper, making sure it extends right up the sides, or line individual small cake tins or pans instead.
2.

To make the lemon purée, pierce the lemons all over with a skewer, then immerse in a small saucepan of water. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Discard the water and repeat this process two more times; by this stage, the lemons should be soft to the touch.
3.

Drain and blend the lemons with the honey and water until smooth. Pass through a fine chinois (conical sieve/ strainer) to get rid of any seed remnants.
4.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or by hand if you feel up to it), beat the cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Add the cream and mix thoroughly, but gently so as not to overwork or whip it. Sift the flour over the batter and fold through.
5.

Smooth 100g of lemon purée over the base of the pan(s), covering it completely (store whatever’s left over in the fridge; it will keep for weeks). Pour in the batter, then put the cake in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, increase temperature to 240°C and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until golden brown on top but still jiggly in the centre. Let cool at room temperature. Garnish with slices of lemon, if desired.