Basque Burnt Cheesecake

Every rule of cheesecake baking says low and slow, a water bath, and a pale surface with no cracks. This one is baked at 220C until the top is black at the edges, and it is the easiest cheesecake there is.

Where it comes from

It was created at La Vina in San Sebastian in the 1990s and stayed a local dish for two decades before the internet found it. The name in Spanish is tarta de queso, and the burning was a deliberate choice - the bitterness of a scorched top cutting the richness underneath.

Why the high heat is the whole recipe

At 220C the surface proteins and sugars brown aggressively through the Maillard reaction and caramelisation while the centre is still barely set. You end up with three distinct layers in one bake: a bitter, almost toffee-like crust, a firm ring, and a molten centre that stays custardy.

Bake it at 160C like a New York cheesecake and you get an evenly set, pale, perfectly nice cake that is not this cake at all.

The wobble is the doneness test

Ignore the skewer test - a clean skewer here means overbaked. Shake the tin gently at 50 minutes. The outer few centimetres should be set, and the middle should move as one soft mass, like jelly. It sets further as it cools and continues to firm in the fridge.

If you want the centre nearly liquid, pull it at 48 minutes. If you want it sliceable and firm, go to 58. The window is wide and forgiving.

Do not beat air into it

The one way to get this wrong is overmixing after the eggs go in. Whipped-in air expands in that hot oven, the cake climbs the tin, and then it collapses unevenly and tears. Beat each egg in only until it disappears, and use a low speed for the cream.

Tapping the filled tin on the counter knocks out the bubbles you did add.

The paper is not a mistake

Two crumpled sheets of baking paper standing proud of the tin gives the cake its ruffled sides. It is meant to look rough. Do not try to line it smoothly, and do not grease it.

Serving and keeping

Room temperature is important. Straight from the fridge the fat is firm and the flavour is muted; an hour on the counter brings back the texture and the caramel notes on top.

It keeps for four days covered in the fridge and is arguably better on day two. It does not freeze well - the texture goes grainy.

Nutrition

There is no pretending here: a slice is around 520 calories and 41 grams of fat, most of it saturated. It is also a genuine source of calcium and vitamin A from all that dairy. Cut ten slices from a 23 cm cake, serve it with sharp fruit - raspberries or roast rhubarb - and it does not need anything else.