Basque cheesecake recipe: La Viña's burnt classic

Basque cheesecake takes the opposite approach to every other baked cheesecake: instead of protecting the top from colour, you push it until it blackens, which is exactly what keeps the centre loose and custardy.

The cake was invented in 1988 at La Viña, a bar in San Sebastián's old town, where chef Santiago Rivera baked it without a water bath, a crust or a springform lining, at a heat most recipes tell you to avoid. It has since travelled from that one bar to bakeries worldwide, usually stripped of the water bath, foil and gentle heat every other cheesecake recipe insists on.

Ingredients

You push the top until it blackens, which is exactly what keeps the centre loose and custardy.

• 900 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 300 g caster sugar
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 500 ml double cream
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 35 g plain flour

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C (fan) and line a 22cm springform tin with two overlapping sheets of baking paper, pushed well up the sides and left to stand proud of the rim; the paper's own creases and burn marks are part of the finish, so don't trim it neat.
2. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl once. Overbeating at this stage whips in air that puffs the cake unevenly, so stop as soon as no lumps remain.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating briefly after each just until combined. Adding them all at once makes the batter split, which shows up later as a grainy rather than silky crumb.
4. Beat in the cream and salt, then sift in the flour and fold it through by hand. The small amount of flour is what lets the cake hold together once sliced instead of collapsing into a pool.
5. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 50–55 minutes, until the top is deeply browned, almost burnt, and the centre still wobbles like loose custard when the tin is shaken.
6. Cool in the tin for at least 2 hours at room temperature before unmoulding; the residual heat keeps setting the middle as it cools, and a cheesecake cut hot will run rather than slice.

Serve it loose, not chilled solid

La Viña serves the cake at room temperature rather than fridge-cold, which is when the custard centre is loosest and most distinct from the burnt top and sides. If you do refrigerate it, take it out at least an hour before serving.

A spoon of unsweetened whipped cream or a spoonful of membrillo on the side is closer to how it's eaten in San Sebastián than any fruit coulis; the cake itself is already at the edge of too sweet from that dark, caramelised top.

Can it be made a day ahead? Yes, and it improves overnight in the fridge; just bring it back to room temperature for an hour before serving.

This Basque cheesecake recipe is one plate among many worth seeking out in the city; see our guide to what to eat in San Sebastián for the rest, from pintxos bars to the market stalls that supply them.