This is the cheesecake you would happily want to burn!
Tips and tricks in making Burnt Basque Cheesecake
Use a removable base springform baking tin
The removable base and springform baking pan will allow you to release the cheesecake with ease without the fiddly part.
Darker baking pan will give you a darker cheesecake crust color
Because darker baking pan tend to absorb heat much more than lighter ones, it is recommended that you use a darker baking baking tin to get that deep dark color on the side of your cheesecake.
Ensure that you also place the cheesecake closest to the heating bar at the top of the oven during baking to get that burnt top.
CAUTION: If you have your lined parchment paper over hanging your baking pan, allow gaps between the paper and the heating bar of the oven for hazard reasons. The cheesecake will rise quite a bit during baking before collapsing slightly out of the oven during cooling, so you want to make sure that the baking pan is closest to the top of the baking bar in the oven but enough space for the cake to rise!
Mix at low speed at all times
To avoid the cheesecake from exploding in the center too much, ensure that you mix the ingredients at low speed at all times to that you do not incorporate too much air bubbles in the cheesecake mix. Once all the ingredients have been mixed, transfer them into the pre lined baking tin then tap out the excess air bubbles before baking.
RECIPE
Equipment needed : 18 cm diameter x 6.5 cm depth removable base cake tin
Basque Cheesecake
750 g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
250 g Castor Sugar
1 u Lemon Zest
25 g Juice of Lemon
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
200 g Whole Eggs
25 g Plain Flour
85 g Thickened cream/ Double Cream
Lemon Curd
100g Whole Eggs 20 g Egg Yolks 145 g Castor Sugar
1 u Finely grated Lemon Rind 85 g Fresh Lemon Juice
100 g Cold Unsalted Butter -cubed
2 g Gold Gelatin Sheets (1 Sheet)
Method
For the Basque Cheesecake
A few hours prior to preparing the cheesecake, remove the cream cheese and eggs from the fridge to bring them to room temperature. (This is to ensure that the ingredients mix well together and do not separate)
Preparation
Prepare the cake tin by spraying some oil spray on the base and sides of the tins and with a round parchment paper larger than the tin, push the parchment paper into the tin ensuring that there are some overhanging parchment paper above the rims.
Pre heat the oven to 200°C.
1. To start, place the room temperature cream cheese into a stand mixer bowl with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until smooth ensuring that you scrape the side and the bottom of the bowl frequently to avoid lumps that will be hard to get rid of after all the ingredients are added in.
2. Once there are no longer any lumps in the cream cheese, add in castor sugar, lemon zest and vanilla bean paste and mix on low speed until they are well incorporated.
3. Then, add in the eggs one at a time making sure that the mix is smooth again before adding in the next egg.
4. After all the eggs are added and the batter is smooth, add the sifted plain flour, mix on low speed to incorporate followed by the Lemon Juice and then the thickened cream. Continue to mix until well combined. (The mix should be quite fluid at this point)
Transfer the cheesecake mix into the prepared cake tin that is placed onto a baking tray.
5. Place the baking tray closest to the top of the oven then bake in the pre heated oven for approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour, increasing the oven temperature to 210°C, ten minutes before the finishing time or until the top starts to "burn".
6. Turn the oven heat off and with the oven door still close, leave the cheesecake inside for around 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to fully cool in the tin then transfer it into the fridge overnight before serving.
(The Cheesecake will still be slightly jiggly out from the oven and will start to shrink over time at room temperature during cooling)
While the cheesecake is cooling, proceed to preparing the lemon curd.
Tips: Mix the cheesecake mix at low speed at low speed all the time to avoid incorporating too much air bubbles which can cause the cheesecake to rise irregularly and have explode in the center during baking.
For the Lemon Curd
1. Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water for 10 minutes to soften. Once softened, squeeze out the excess water and set aside in a medium bowl until ready to use. Cut the butter in to cubes to ensure that they are at room temperature.
Place the Lemon juice in a large saucepan and heat until it comes to a mere simmer. In a separate bowl, which the eggs, egg yolks and sugar until well combined. Stream in the hot lemon juice over the egg mix while whisking, then transfer the curd mix back to the saucepan again over low heat. Cook the curd over low heat until it reaches 75°C.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and strain the curd over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin have fully dissolved. Add the lemon rind to combine. Add in the room temperature butter in 4 additions and whisk to combine ensuring that the butter are well incorporated before adding in the next addition.
3. Let the Lemon Curd sit at room temperature covered with cling film touching the surface to cool.
4. Once the lemon curd and the cheesecake has cooled, spread the curd over the top of the curd.
Note: The excess lemon curd can be stored in a sterilized jar in the fridge to up to 3 weeks. As the curd sits on the cake in the fridge overtime, it will slightly set in consistency If you want to omit using gelatin in the recipe, you can, the curd will just be a softer consistency.
